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What is the Documentary Heritage Program?
The Documentary Heritage Program (DHP) is a New York Statewide records program designed to locate, organize, and make available the state's
historical records that are critical to ensuring the survival of New York's heritage. Established by law in 1988, the DHP is administered by the New York State Archives, State Education Department, and is
funded through the Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund. The DHP offers regional services and a statewide comprehensive grants program.
Who Does the DHP Serve?
Any organization that holds historical records and makes them publicly accessible may use the DHP's regional services and apply for a DHP grant.
Such organizations include non-for-profit archives, libraries, historical societies and local historians, museums, and similar institutions within New York State.
What Regional Services Does the DHP Provide?
Regional services are provided through Greater Hudson Heritage Network and serve the counties of Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam,
Rockland, Sullivan and Ulster counties.
Coordinating historical records training workshops;. Working with regional organizations, businesses, ethnic and racial groups, libraries, archives and museums to ensure the
identification of, and permanent care for, historical records.; Raising public awareness of the importance of historical records, especially for under-documented groups and topics; Working with regional repositories and organizations to seek local, state, and federal funding for projects to support historical
records programming; Providing advice to historical records repositories on how to strengthen their programs.
What Statewide Services Does the DHP Provide?
Offering competitive grants for projects that address the DHP priorities; Providing statewide coordination of regional services and documentation projects; Encouraging the development of finding aids and access to information bout historical record holdings; Developing workshop curricula and publications on historical records techniques and issues; Encouraging coordinated efforts to seek federal and private funding; New York State Archives.
What are the DHP's Grant Priorities?
The DHP competitive grants program concentrates on identifying, collecting, and making available historical records relating to under-documented
groups in 20th & 21st century New York. Many of the records from this period are documenting major changes in local communities, the state and the nation, yet are in serious danger of being lost or neglected.
GRANT APPLICATION DEADLINE FEBRUARY 1
What Grant Funding is Available from the DHP?
NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
STATE ARCHIVES DOCUMENTARY HERITAGE PROGRAM
2009-2010 GRANT ANNOUNCEMENT
Legislative Authority
The Documentary Heritage
Program (DHP) is a statewide program established in 1988 under Education Law, ** 140, 207; L. 1988, ch. 679. The DHP is administered by the New York State Archives to ensure the identification, sound administration
and accessibility of New York*s historical records.
Purpose
One component of the DHP is the grants program. Grant funds will be allocated for projects that support the DHP goal of ensuring
the identification, retention and availability of historical records for underdocumented groups and topics in New York State.
Eligible Applicants
Applications will be accepted from
not-for-profit archives, libraries, historical societies, museums community organizations and similar institutions within New York State, and from consortia or cooperating groups of such agencies. Projects to be
carried out by service providers such as historical service agencies, colleges and universities, professional associations, or other not-for-profit institutions or systems which provide services to historical
records programs, are also eligible for consideration.
Funding
A total of $100,000 is expected to be available for grants projects.
Grants will be available in amounts up to $25,000. Applicants may seek
support for personnel; purchased services, including qualified
consultants; supplies; materials and equipment; and travel as needed for
the project.
Important Dates
Grants in this cycle are for 12-month projects, from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010. Applications must be postmarked by February 2,
2009. It is anticipated that announcements of grant awards will be made by June 24, 2009.
Grant Project Types
Documentation - The purpose of a documentation project is to identify and ensure the systematic preservation of papers and records that provide information on the people, groups, events or changing political, economic or social conditions of New York State. Documentation projects typically consists of three phases - planning, surveying and collecting - and usually takes at least two years to complete. Cost sharing of at least 20% is required for Documentation projects.
Arrangement & Description - Arrangement and Description are the processes used to achieve physical and intellectual control over the materials held in archives. Arrangement is the process of physically organizing records following accepted archival principles. Archival description is the process of first gathering information on the physical and intellectual contents of records, and on the context in which those records were created, then providing access to those records through tools such as finding aids. Cost sharing of at least 50% is required for Arrangement & Description projects.
Archival Needs Assessment - Historical records repositories undertake needs assessments to evaluate and plan for archival program development. A comprehensive needs assessment, carried out by an experienced archivist with the requisite expertise, can pinpoint problems, recommend solutions, set priorities, and guide the development of archival activity. Cost sharing of at least 50% is required for Archival Needs Assessment projects.
Ineligible Project Types
Several types of historical projects are not eligible for funding under the DHP. Where there is doubt about eligibility, a call to the State Archives DHP office is
advisable. Ineligible funding areas include:* Projects that do not have primary focus on New York State * Newspapers, which are not considered to be historical records under the DHP law * Preservation, i.e.,
physical work to conserve, restore, or repair records, or reproduction for preservation purposes such as
microfilming * Oral history and video taping * Item-level description and indexing
Topical Priorities
In order to insure that the Documentary Heritage Program addresses the New York State Historical Records Advisory Board*s mandate to identify, survey, collect, and make available historical
records that relate to under-documented groups or topics, the State Archives has identified and given priority to specific topical areas for DHP grants. Although applications for projects that focus on any
under-documented group or topic will be accepted, projects that focus on the priority Levels One and Two discussed below will be given higher consideration
during grants review.
Priority Level One
* Population groups in the 20th and 21st centuries
* De-industrialization and Economic Revitalization in the 20th century
* World Trade Center disaster, September 11, 2001
* Education policy
Priority Level Two
* Environmental affairs
* Mental health
Priority Level Three
Projects in Level Three address
New York State topics that are under-documented yet do not fall within either of the first two priority levels. For example, projects focused on records that document 18th or 19th century immigration, the careers of
famous artists, recreational hunting and fishing, or grassroots politics would be considered Priority Level Three.
Additional Information
Grant application forms,
guidelines and publications, may be obtained from the State Archives or from the State Archives Web site, www.archives.nysed.gov. Potential applicants are strongly urged to contact the State Archives to
discuss potential projects before submitting an application. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) will be posted on the State Archives website.
The DHP also provides regionally based grant information
sessions at various dates and locations throughout the state, including sessions on December 4, 2008 in Garrison, November 6, 2008 in Oneonta and December 11, 2008 in Manhattan. Contact the DHP Grants Office for the
complete schedule.
For further information, please contact:
Pamela Cooley/Documentary Heritage Program
New York State Archives
Room 9C71 Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230
Telephone: 518-474-6926
Fax: 518-402-5372
Email: dhs@mail.nysed.gov
The State Education
Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, religion, creed, disability, martial status, veteran status, national origin, race, gender, genetic predisposition or carrier status, or sexual
orientation in its educational programs, services and activities. Portion of any publication designed for distribution can be made available in a variety of formats, including Braille, large print or audiotape, upon
request. Inquiries regarding this policy of nondiscrimination should be directed to the Department*s Office for Diversity, Ethics, and Access, Room 530, Education Building, Albany, NY 12234.
GHHN
2199 Saw Mill River Road
Elmsford, NY 10523
914-592-6726 (tel)
914-592-6946 (fax)
dhp@greaterhudson.org (email)
FREE Site Visits
The Hudson Valley DHP offers free advice and on-site consultations with a regional archivist to area non-for profits.
To speak with a regional archivist about your archival needs, or schedule an appointment, contact Dianne Macpherson, 914-592-6726, lowerhudson@man.com. Organizations of any size are invited to participate. Historical
societies, museums, libraries and archives are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity.
DHP Survey
A survey was developed to help identify the Hudson Valley region's historical records keepers and determine which DHP
services would best serve their needs.
Knowing what exists in our Hudson Valley will help us plan ways we can offer support, advice, and continuing education to historical societies, archives, museums, and libraries. The results of this survey will also help us connect places and people doing similar work with historical materials. Survey Form available here. Please return completed form to DHP/GHHN, 2199 Saw Mill River Road, Elmsford, NY 10523.
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