Author Archives: Fred Previts

2020 OHRAB Regrants Application Deadline Extended to April 30

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Due to COVID-19, the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board has extended its grant application deadline to April 30.  The grants are for archival institutions to preserve and/or provide access to Ohio’s historical records and are between $500 and $5,000.  The grants are funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), an arm of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). 

More information on the grants, including the application packet, is available here.

Projects eligible for funding in 2020 include:

·         Assessment and Strategic Planning: hiring consultants to identify needs and priorities for improving the organization, description, preservation and access to collections.

·         Access, Arrangement and Description: identifying, organizing, and improving access to historical records.

·         Preservation: purchasing archival file folders, archival boxes, dehumidifiers, humidifiers, hygrothermographs, or HEPA vacuum cleaners.

·         Website Development: Adding collections to online catalog, developing virtual archives, or creating an on-line database. Websites designed to support access to researchers (e.g., online catalogs, finding aids, and digitized collections, rather than curated web exhibits) will receive preference in funding.

Please Note: all projects should produce some type of online content, such as a finding aid, report or digital images.  

Questions?  Please contact:

Ron Davidson

Special Collections Librarian

Sandusky Library

419.625.3834 

[email protected]

2020 OHRAB Regrants Opportunity

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The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board announces the availability of grants between $500 and $5,000 to archival institutions to fund projects to preserve and/or provide access to Ohio’s historical records.  The grants are funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), an arm of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). 

Grant applications are due March 28, 2020.  More information on the grants, including the application packet, is available here.

Projects eligible for funding in 2020 include:

  • Assessment and Strategic Planning: hiring consultants to identify needs and priorities for improving the organization, description, preservation and access to collections.
  • Access, Arrangement and Description: identifying, organizing, and improving access to historical records.
  • Preservation: purchasing archival file folders, archival boxes, dehumidifiers, humidifiers, hygrothermographs, or HEPA vacuum cleaners.
  • Website Development: Adding collections to online catalog, developing virtual archives, or creating an on-line database. Websites designed to support access to researchers (e.g., online catalogs, finding aids, and digitized collections, rather than curated web exhibits) will receive preference in funding.

Please Note: all projects should produce some type of online content, such as a finding aid, report or digital images.  

Questions?  Please contact:

Ron Davidson

Special Collections Librarian

Sandusky Library

419.625.3834 

[email protected]

New Social Media Training Now Available!

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The Ohio Electronic Records Committee (OhioERC) is proud to announce the release of its first interactive, online training module!  The module, Social Media: The Records Management Challenge, delves into topics such as:

  • Government use of social media – through both public and personal accounts
  • Capture, management and disposition factors of records created on social media
  • Citizen interaction with government through social media

This free training is geared toward governments that have social media accounts as well as elected officials and public employees who may find themselves balancing a personal social media presence with their public roles.

The training registration can be found at http://go.osu.edu/ohioerc-socialmedia. After registering, you will be taken to BuckeyeLearn to access the training.  The training will take approximately 30 to 45 minutes.  Upon completion of the training, you will be able to print a certificate of completion from BuckeyeLearn.

Grant funding from the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB), through the National Historical Publication and Records Commission (NHPRC), has provided for up to 2000 unique registrations.  Since the number is limited, act fast to take this online training!

Please share this exciting opportunity with others that you feel would benefit from the training.

Professional Development Scholarships

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The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB) is pleased to announce a new development opportunity for students, volunteers and records professionals.

OHRAB, in conjunction with the National Historical Publications and Records Commission has allocated $1,200 annually in scholarship aid to support continuing archival education for graduate students and individuals who care for the historic record. The Board will award up to four $300 scholarships to assist individuals in attending a professional development opportunity of their choosing. More information, including the application form, is available here.

2019 OHRAB Achievement Award Recipients

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The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board is pleased to announce that the winners of the 2019 OHRAB Achievement Award are the City of Westlake Council Office and the Lakewood Historical Society.

In 2010, the Clerk of Council of the City of Westlake, Denise Rosenbaum, began to scan the city’s meeting minutes and legislation dating back over one hundred years.  She painstakingly indexed the city’s records and made them accessible through the city’s website.  Once the council’s records were completed in 2017, the Clerk collaborated with the Western Reserve Historical Society and the Cleveland Public Library to scan the nineteenth-century records of Dover Township, from which Westlake originated, also making them available on the city’s website. The Clerk rehoused the city’s records in custom-made archival boxes and stored them in a climate-controlled library in the Council office where they open to the public.  OHRAB honors the Clerk of Council of the City of Westlake, Denise Rosenbaum, for her dedication to preserving the history and records of the City of Westlake and making them available to its citizens and future generations.

In 2019, the Lakewood Historical Society opened the Haber Family Center for History.  Since 1952, the archival collections of the historical society were stored in a stone house built in 1834.  In the 1970s, a basement was added to this building and the society’s collections were moved there.  Over time, the basement began to flood due to problems with the sewer drain system.  After a flood in 2014, the Society’s Board of Directors began searching for an improved storage facility. This building, the Haber Family Center for History, gives the Society, for the first time in its history, a secure, controlled environment to store its archival collections while giving its patrons an accessible area to conduct research.  OHRAB applauds the Lakewood Historical Society for the creation of the Haber Family Center for History, where the Society’s archival collections are now preserved and accessible to all.

Nominations Open for 2019 Archival Achievement Award

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The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board Achievement Award recognizes significant accomplishments in preserving and improving access to historical records, in any format, by an Ohio archival institution.

All Ohio institutions responsible for archival records that provide public access to at least a portion of their collections are eligible. Eligible accomplishments include recent special projects or on-going programs that:

  • build significant collections
  • implement successful preservation strategies
  • enhance access to archives
  • develop effective digitization programs

Preference will be given to projects or programs that can be adapted for use by other institutions.

Because the award recognizes institutional achievements, individuals are not eligible. Departments employing members of OHRAB are not eligible, but other departments in their institutions are eligible.

Send nominations via email or U.S. mail to:

Tina Ratcliff

County Records & Information Manager
Montgomery County Records Center & Archives
117 South Main Street

P.O. Box 972
Dayton, OH 45422
937.225.6366 

[email protected]

Deadline October 1, 2019

More information can be found on our Achievement Awards page…

Ohio Archives Grant Opportunity

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The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB) is pleased to announce a second grant opportunity for this year.  The grants are for $500 up to $5,000 for projects to preserve and/or provide access to Ohio’s historical records.  The grants are funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), an arm of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).  Projects eligible for funding include:

  • Assessment and Strategic Planning: hiring consultants to identify needs and priorities for improving the organization, description, preservation and access to collections.
  • Access, Arrangement and Description: identifying, organizing, and improving access to historical records.
  • Preservation: purchasing archival file folders, archival boxes, dehumidifiers, humidifiers, hygrothermographs, or HEPA vacuum cleaners.
  • Website Development: Adding collections to online catalog, developing virtual archives, or creating an on-line database. Websites designed to support access to researchers (e.g., online catalogs, finding aids, and digitized collections, rather than curated web exhibits) will receive preference in funding.

Please Note: all projects should produce some type of online content, such as a finding aid, report or digital images.  

Grant applications are due June 14, 2019 and projects must be completed by December 31, 2019.  More information on the grants, including the application packet, is available here.

Questions?  Please contact:

Ron Davidson
Special Collections Librarian
Sandusky Library
419.625.3834
[email protected]

2019 Grant Opportunity for Ohio Repositories

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The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board announces the availability of grants between $500 and $5,000 to archival institutions to fund projects to preserve and/or provide access to Ohio’s historical records.  The grants are funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), an arm of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).  Projects eligible for funding in 2019 include:

  • Assessment and Strategic Planning: hiring consultants to identify needs and priorities for improving the organization, description, preservation and access to collections.
  • Access, Arrangement and Description: identifying, organizing, and improving access to historical records.
  • Preservation: purchasing archival file folders, archival boxes, dehumidifiers, humidifiers, hygrothermographs, or HEPA vacuum cleaners.
  • Website Development: Adding collections to online catalog, developing virtual archives, or creating an on-line database. Websites designed to support access to researchers (e.g., online catalogs, finding aids, and digitized collections, rather than curated web exhibits) will receive preference in funding.

Please Note: all projects should produce some type of online content, such as a finding aid, report or digital images.  

Grant applications are due February 28, 2019.  More information on the grants, including the application packet, is available here.

**PLEASE NOTE: OHRAB is awaiting formal notification from the NHPRC on the funding for the regrants.  While it is necessary for OHRAB to announce this grant opportunity and begin to receive your proposals, all awards are contingent on OHRAB receiving the funds from the NHPRC.

2018 OHRAB Achievement Award Recipients

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OHRAB is pleased to announce that the recipients of the 2018 OHRAB Achievement Award are the Licking County Records Center and Archives and the Warren County Records Center and Archives.

The Licking County Records Center and Archives is recognized for its commitment to expanding access to Ohio’s public records.  In particular the Licking County Records Center and Archives was cited for its cataloging project and its outreach initiatives, such as hosting a community scanning day and improving the reference area at its new facility.

The Warren County Records Center and Archives is recognized for its work furthering the digital accessibility and the archival preservation of Ohio’s public records.  By processing, indexing and digitizing records such as wills, estates, and commissioner journal indexes, the Warren County Records Center and Archives increased access to its records while preserving the original documents.

OHRAB congratulates both these two institutions for their work as leaders in improving the preservation and access of public records in Ohio!

Nominations open for 2018 OHRAB Achievement Award

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The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board Achievement Award recognizes significant accomplishments in preserving and improving access to historical records, in any format, by an Ohio archival institution.

All Ohio institutions responsible for archival records that provide public access to at least a portion of their collections are eligible. Eligible accomplishments include recent special projects or on-going programs that:

  • build significant collections
  • implement successful preservation strategies
  • enhance access to archives
  • develop effective digitization programs

Preference will be given to projects or programs that can be adapted for use by other institutions.

Because the award recognizes institutional achievements, individuals are not eligible. Departments employing members of OHRAB are not eligible, but other departments in their institutions are eligible.

Deadline October 1, 2018

More information can be found on our Achievement Awards page…