Grants & Awards: LGRMIF: 2009 Grant Application Materials

Historical Records

Historical records, also known as archival records, are those records worthy of permanent preservation and special care because of the continuing importance of the information they contain. Historical records may exist in a variety of formats, including paper files, maps, photographs, videotapes, or computer files. These records are frequently identified on records retention and disposition schedules as having permanent retention periods or potential historical importance.

Project Subcategories

a) Assessing Your Historical Records. Funds are available to hire consultants to assess the current status of archival activities, identify needs, develop plans, write policies and procedures, and recommend future activities. When developing a needs assessment project, refer to State Archives Publication #59, Archival Needs Assessment Guidelines and Template.

b) Storage Facility Improvement. Funding is available to purchase and install intruder alarm systems, fire detection systems, fire suppression systems, water detectors, and environmental monitoring equipment for historical records storage facilities. Minor renovations and improvements to such facilities are also eligible.

c) Improving Access. Funding is available for projects to hire archivists or catalogers to arrange, describe, and catalog records; to hire consultants to train staff and provide advice on archival techniques; and to reproduce and distribute guides and other finding aids in paper or electronic format. Projects generally address historical records at the records series level, and must follow the standard practices described in the State Archives manual, Guidelines for Arrangement and Description of Archives and Manuscripts. Funding will usually not be approved to support item-level description.

Funds may also be used to improve access to historical records through digitization. If you propose to use digital technology, you must justify your project in terms of enhancing access to the records. Digitization is not a preservation solution.

Funds are not available to address a backlog of data entry or processing that has built up after completion of a previous LGRMIF historical records project.

Subcategory Requirements

• Explain how you determined the time needed to process the records involved in the project. Full processing includes flat-filing, cleaning, arranging, describing, cataloging, foldering, and boxing. Use the following as a guideline:
• Completely unorganized collection - 16 hours per cubic foot
• Complicated series, such as correspondence or subject files - 8 hours per cubic foot
• Fairly straightforward series that may need some work, such as case or job files or business records - 4 hours per cubic foot
• Well-organized series consisting primarily of bound volumes or voluminous series with uniform or repetitive information, such as invoices - 2.5 hours per cubic foot
• Work with the State Archives to create series descriptions, catalog records, and collection guides in electronic format. All series descriptions and guides must be made available on a local website or through the State Archives' Historic Documents Inventory (HDI). For assistance, call the State Archives at (518) 474-6926.
• For all projects involving document imaging, adhere to the Imaging and Document Management project requirements outlined under the Active Records category. In addition, the plan of work must
• indicate that the records have been arranged and described prior to any imaging activities
• explain the criteria used to choose what items to scan

d) Preservation. Preservation consists of general maintenance and other practices that inhibit the deterioration of records. Most records can be adequately preserved with proper housing and storage, or through reformatting. Eligible expenses for preservation include:

• Survey and analysis, by a professional conservator, of the preservation needs of historical records, and the development of a plan to address those needs.
• Rehousing and basic processing activities, which may include the purchase of pH-neutral or alkaline (pH not less than 7.5), lignin-free storage supplies, including folders, boxes, records cartons, and paper to wrap volumes.
• Applying conservation treatments to return deteriorated or damaged items to stable and usable condition, or to prepare archival materials for duplication. Restoration activities such as inpainting, leafcasting, replacing leather bindings, goldleafing, and tooling are not eligible for funding. Grant funds will be provided for conservation treatment only if the records have been or will be microfilmed, unless you demonstrate that the condition or small quantity of records precludes microfilming.

Subcategory Requirements

• Base requests for shelving, alkaline folders, and boxes on the volume of archival records involved in the project.
• Demonstrate that by the end of the project you will house the historical records in a safe, secure environment with appropriate temperature and humidity controls. Also demonstrate that continued use of the records will not cause subsequent deterioration.
• Justify the historical significance and intrinsic value of any records that must be preserved in their original form rather than on microfilm.
• For each item to be conserved, submit eight copies of vendor treatment proposals and estimated price quotes. Treatment proposals should describe specific tasks, proposed materials and techniques, estimated number of hours needed, and itemized costs for the project.

e) Outreach and Public Programs. Outreach and public programs may include the use of historical local government records in informational brochures, local history publications, videos, exhibits, workshops, and lecture series. Proposals must indicate the intended audience for the program, the plan for distributing the materials produced, and the commitment of participating organizations or governments.

General Category Requirements (as applicable)

• Demonstrate that you have located and identified your historical records. Also demonstrate that you understand the difference between historical records and historical publications, since funds cannot be used for published materials.
• Provide a list of each records series involved in the project, including the cubic feet and condition.
• Demonstrate that your government has clear custody to the records involved.
• Discuss policies and procedures relating to access, storage, and security of the historical records, unless these will be developed during the project.
• Indicate that you will submit copies of any products, including brochures, collection guides, and procedures manuals, to the State Archives and your RAO.