If you've got a local history museum in your community, this might be interesting! Please pass it on...
Jennifer John Patterson Continuing Education Coordinator Central Texas Library System, Inc. 512-583-0704 x16 ________________________________ From: heritage-tourism-list-l-boun...@lists.thc.state.tx.us [mailto:heritage-tourism-list-l-boun...@lists.thc.state.tx.us] On Behalf Of Carlyn Hammons Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 7:14 AM To: heritage-tourism-lis...@lists.thc.state.tx.us Subject: [Heritage-tourism-list-l] THC Museum Grant Applications NowAvailable The application for the Texas Historical Commission's (THC) History Museum Grants program is now available on the THC web site <http://www.thc.state.tx.us/grantsincent/gramus.shtml> . The intent of this grant program is to improve the standard of collections care in small history museums. Museums may apply for up to $1,000 for collections-related conservation and preservation services, supplies and equipment. Popular uses of the funds include purchasing collections management software, acid-free storage supplies, steel storage furniture, environmental monitoring equipment, ultra-violet light filters and professional conservator services. Deadline to apply is Oct. 19. Museum Services Program staff offer these tips for improving your application's chances of success: * Start early. There are seven weeks available to complete your application, but don't wait until Week Six to get started! Give yourself time to carefully develop your proposal and to review it several times. * Confirm your eligibility. Contact our staff to confirm your institution's eligibility and your project's eligibility. Several eligibility requirements have changed in recent years; criteria that kept you from applying in the past may no longer be a barrier. * Keep projects simple. Many past awardees have gotten overwhelmed because their project was much too large in scope. Your project should be in good proportion to the amount of the award. Aim for a project that you can complete by devoting 10 days or less to it. You don't want to create more work for yourself than you can reasonably handle. * Don't let the match requirement keep you from applying. Yes, the program requires a one to one match, but you don't need to have cash on hand to meet the requirement. Your match can come from a variety of in-kind services, including the value of staff or volunteer hours spent working on the project. Since a volunteer hour is now worth $20.25, your match can add up fast-it only takes 50 volunteer hours to match a $1,000 grant award. * Let us help you. Our staff can help you design your project or develop your budget. We can even provide you with feedback on a draft of your application before you submit it. We want to help you write the best proposal possible. The more quality applications we receive, the better position we're in to advocate for the allocation of more monies to this grant program. Since 1984, the THC has granted nearly than $257,000 to small history museums through the History Museum Grants program. The following are a few examples of the more than 300 projects that have benefitted from this funding: Galveston County Historical Museum, Galveston, Awarded $996, FY2009 The museum holds dozens of rare books which document several important aspects of the region's history. The grant funds permitted the museum to purchase two steel storage cabinets and acid-free phase boxes for the books to better protect them from potential environmental damage. Before being transferred to the new storage, each book was inspected for condition, cleaned and photographed. Staff also updated the catalog record for each book. Overall, the grant allowed the museum to provide more appropriate care for the books and to use its limited storage space in the most efficient manner possible. Kell House Museum, Wichita Falls, Awarded $1000, FY2008 The Kell House turned 100 years old in 2009. The museum planned a momentous year-long event, and one facet of the celebration was an exhibition featuring contributions each Kell family member made to their community. Grant funding was used to procure professional textile conservation services for two of the most significant costumes in the museum's collection-Sadie Kell Bullington's 1911 wedding dress and Willie May Kell's WWI Red Cross uniform. The pieces are ideal for showing the growing diversity of women's roles in society in the early 1900s. The textile conservator stabilized, repaired and cleaned each piece in preparation for the exhibition. Matagorda County Museum, Bay City, Awarded $974, FY2009 The museum undertook two small projects with the awarded grant funds, both designed to better protect their collections from damaging environmental conditions. The first project involved purchasing and installing ultraviolet (UV) filters for all 110 fluorescent light bulbs in the storage area to protect the collections from harmful UV light rays. The museum also used grant funds to purchase more than a dozen acid-free storage boxes and 2 rolls of tissue paper for use with their textile and costume collection which had previously been improperly stored. Both of these projects allowed the museum to address recommendations set forth in a 2005 Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) report. Martin & Frances Lehnis Railroad Museum, Brownwood, Awarded $1000, FY2009 The primary collection at the museum is that of Martin Lehnis, a Santa Fe Railway employee for 50 years. Since its donation in 2007, the collection has lacked appropriate storage containers and suffered from previous minor damage from heat, dust and mold. The grant award allowed the museum to purchase a variety of storage and cleaning supplies that will help prolong the life of these original railroad materials. Among the products purchased with the grant are a metal cabinet for storing slides, 50 acid-free storage boxes, 400 acid-free folders, 250 polyester photo sleeves and other related supplies. Since museum staff and volunteers carefully cataloged the objects as they re-housed them, the collection's photos, books, slides and other objects are now in a file system that makes storage and retrieval easy. For more information or application assistance, contact Carlyn Hammons at carlyn.hamm...@thc.state.tx.us or 512.463.5756. Application and all instructions are available here: http://www.thc.state.tx.us/grantsincent/gramus.shtml. Please be sure to download both documents. Carlyn Hammons Museum Services Program Specialist History Programs Division Texas Historical Commission P.O. Box 12276 Austin, TX 78711 512.463.5756 www.thc.state.tx.us
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