FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
State Archives Announces $91,000 In Grants To Make New York's Historical Records Available
The New York State Archives awarded $91,828 in Documentary Heritage Program (DHP) grants to eight not-for-profit organizations and higher education institutions across the state to help identify, collect and make available New York State鈥檚 historical records, State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia announced today.
鈥淲e鈥檙e proud to support projects that preserve New York鈥檚 unique documentary heritage,鈥 said Board of Regents Chancellor Betty A. Rosa. 鈥淭hese grants will fund important projects across the state that will make historical records accessible to our students and teachers so they can learn about New York鈥檚 history using original source materials and primary documents.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 critical that we preserve our state鈥檚 history,鈥 Commissioner Elia said. 鈥淭hese grants will enable non-profits and higher education institutions to make valuable historical records accessible to the public today and in the future. I thank the applicants for valuing the importance of preserving our history and their commitment to making that history available to all.鈥
Bob Clark, Chair of the State Historical Records Advisory Board, added, 鈥淭he Documentary Heritage Program Grants are critical to ensuring that stories of under-documented groups, events, locations, and peoples are fully woven into the rich tapestry that is New York State. Through programs like the DHP, New York State history can belong to all of us.鈥
Awards range from $3,710 to $24,993. Awards by organization are below:
| Organization | Project | Award Amount |
| Adirondack Historical Association | Arranging and Describing Adirondack Economic History | $7,447 |
| Brooklyn Historical Society | New York Activists Working for Change in the Modern Era | $14,590 |
| Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CUNY Hunter College) | From Community Projects to Academia Presence, Puerto Rican Educators and Cultural Leaders | $11,526 |
| Rochester General Hospital | Arrangement and Description of Rochester Regional Health Corporation Collection | $3,710 |
| Rochester Public Library | Arrangement and Description of Social Reform and Activism Collections | $7,920 |
| SUNY Albany | Arrangement and Description of Collections on Women and Politics | $9,803 |
|
SUNY Buffalo |
East Side History Project | $24,993 |
| SUNY Maritime | Arranging and Describing the Early Records of SUNY Maritime College | $11,839 |
The State Archives, part of the State Education Department, administers the DHP grants, which provides financial support to New York State not-for-profit organizations that hold, collect, and make available New York鈥檚 historical records. It is a competitive program with grants awarded based on the merits of the applications.
Since its inception in 1988, the program has provided over $3 million in competitive grant funds to not-for-profit organizations statewide. These funds support a variety of projects that help build a more comprehensive and equitable documentation of New York鈥檚 history and culture. Project categories include:
Documentation: projects that build a comprehensive record that more fully and fairly represents all New Yorkers and their history. These projects identify and collect unique, original source materials about people, groups, events, and/or on the political, economic, and social conditions in New York, to pave the way toward making these materials accessible to all.
Arrangement and Description: projects that make publicly available the unique, original records of traditionally under-represented groups and topics of New York State. Applications to arrange and describe historically valuable born-digital materials as well as paper-based materials are encouraged.
Grant projects may start on July 1, 2017 and all work on grant projects must be completed by June 30, 2018. For more information about DHP grants please visit:
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