Free OhioERC Workshop-Registration Now Open

Posted on by

NOTE: REGISTRATION IS FULL AS OF AUGUST 24, 2017

Registration is now open for the Ohio Electronic Record Committee’s 2017 Fall Workshop, To Scan or Not to Scan: That is the Question! This workshop is free to attend, plus a travel stipend for mileage is being sponsored by OHRAB and the NHPRC.

There will be 2 identical sessions on October 6, 9:00-11:30 and 1:00-3:30, for you to choose from. Seating is limited to 50 per session, so register early. https://goo.gl/forms/uhE4KCl8jbX7P1r12

This workshop will investigate the pros and cons of scanning various types of records, as well as demonstrate a new feasibility tool developed by the OhioERC for evaluating records for digitization. Following the presentation, we’ll have 4 session rotations to take a fun, hands-on, small group, deeper dive into uncovering the hidden costs and variables before, during, and after digitizing, as well as utilizing the feasibility tool and touring the Delaware County Records Center and Archives reformatting operations.

This training has been certified for:
• 2 hours toward NAGARA’s Local Government Archives and Records Administrator’s certificate in the core competency of Reformatting
• 1 credit toward the Ohio Recorders Association professional development
• 2.5 certification maintenance credits for CRMs and CRAs through the Institute of Certified Records Managers

Please see this flyer for more details, the agenda, location, and travel stipend information. Questions can be directed to [email protected].

Don’t keep this to yourself! Please pass this on to anyone that you feel would benefit from this workshop.

Advocacy Alert!

Posted on by

The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB) urgently seeks your help in contacting Congress to support the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).  The President’s FY2018 budget, released May 23, included no funding for the NHPRC, eliminating the commission.  The process has now moved to Congress where House Appropriations Committee subcommittees will be drafting their spending bills by the end of June.

 

Since 1976, the NHPRC has awarded $1.5 million in grant funding to 50 projects across Ohio to establish archival programs, preserve documents and digitize and make accessible records (a list of projects funded by the NHPRC is available at https://www.archives.gov/nhprc/projects).   The NHPRC also funds OHRAB and its activities.  This includes an annual regrant program that preserves and provides access to Ohio’s historical records.  Since 2011, 73 projects have been funded under this program.  In addition, funding from the NHPRC provided electronic records management training to hundreds of Ohioans, helping to ensure that tomorrow’s records will also be preserved.

 

What can you do?  Please contact your representative and share how the NHPRC has benefited your district or Ohio.  You can find your representative here: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/.

 

The National Humanities Alliance has created a legislative action center that allows you to email Congress about NHPRC funding (http://p2a.co/kLlz8Vr). The website includes a pre-written letter that you can personalize or send as is. The system uses your zip code to identify your House member and Senators automatically.

 

Legislators are interested to know what programs are important to their constituents. Please let them know how valuable NHPRC and OHRAB have been to your institution and to the public you serve.

Ohio History Fund Grant Application Now Available

Posted on by

Since March 2013, the History Fund grant program of the Ohio History Connection has made $522,000 in grants to 53 organizations across Ohio. The History Fund invites you to join this distinguished group! Apply for History Fund grant at www.ohiohistory.org/historyfund.

The application deadline is September 1, 2017 (by 11:59 pm).

The History Fund application for the 2017-2018 grant cycle mirrors application forms from previous years, but contains a few tweaks in response to comments from last year’s applicants.  Example: see the website for a sample application you can print for reference.

We’ve also added a new resource: “Do This, Don’t Do That / History Fund Grant Application.”  This short list is not a substitute for reviewing the History Fund’s Application Instructions, but will help you steer clear of obstacles that have bedeviled applicants in the past.

If listening and seeing is a way you learn, check out our History Fund Help webinars at www.ohiohistory.org/historyfund. There’s two webinars.  The “History Fund Help” webinar is an introduction to the grant program and a detailed overview of the grant application.  The second webinar, “Digitization Nuts and Bolts,” will help you compile a strong application for digitization project (it’s more than buying a scanner). We originally hosted both webinars in 2016, and the information still applies in 2017.  Please note that 2017’s application deadline is September 1 (NOT September 7, 2016 as in the webinars).

The Ohio History Connection will announce grant recipients at the annual advocacy event Statehood Day, scheduled February 28, 2018.  Between the application deadline of September 1, 2017 and February 2018, History Fund grant projects undergo a rigorous review involving subject area experts at the Ohio History Connection and a panel of outside experts, who make the final grant recommendations.  Local History Services contacts applicants regarding the final status of the applications in February, in advance of the public announcement at Statehood Day.

This spring, the History Fund presented grant-writing workshops at the Region 1, 5, and 10 meetings, as well as at the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor, the Ashtabula Foundation (Region 4), and for Museums and Historic Sites of Greater Cincinnati (Region 8).  At each, we emphasized that if would be applicants have questions they should call or write.  We’re here to help!

For more information, contact Andy Verhoff, Ohio History Fund grant coordinator, 614.297.2341 or [email protected], or visit the History Fund’s website.  Good luck!

8 Ohio Archives Grants Awarded for 2017

Posted on by

The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board awarded Ohio Archives Grants to eight institutions:

  • City of Alliance, Alliance, OH: Preservation and Digitization of Alliance City Documents ($3,955)
  • The Dawes Arboretum, Newark, OH: The Dawes Arboretum Journal Scanning Project ($860)
  • Historical Society of Mt. Pleasant,Ohio, Inc., Mt. Pleasant, OH: Conservation of Historic Ledgers ($846)
  • New Straitsville History Group, New Straitsville, OH: Digitization and Preservation of Large Format Photographs, Documents and Coal Mining Maps ($3,795)
  • Shawnee State University, Portsmouth, OH: Preservation, Organization and Storage of Historic Portsmouth, OH Newspapers ($4,000)
  • Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, Mount Saint Joseph, OH: Digitizing and Sharing Rare Cincinnati-based Historical Resources ($1,912.37)
  • Wilmington College Peace Resource Center, Wilmington, OH: Peace Resource Center Preservation Project ($4,031)
  • Worthington Historical Society, Worthington, OH: Providing Digitial Access to Historic Images, Documents and Ephemera on Worthington Memory ($600)

The Ohio Archives Grants are funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), an arm of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) through their State and National Archival Partnership (SNAP) Grants program.

Please visit our Ohio Archives Grant Program for more information.

Advocacy Alert!

Posted on by

OHRAB seeks your help in contacting Congress to support the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).  A division of the National Archives, the NHPRC’s mission is to provide opportunities for the American people to discover and use records that increase understanding of our democracy, history and culture.  This includes opportunities right here in Ohio.  Since 1976, $1.5 million in grant funding has been awarded to 50 projects across the state to establish archival programs, preserve documents and digitize and make accessible records.

The NHPRC also funds OHRAB and its activities.  This includes an annual regrant program that preserves and provides access to Ohio’s historical records.  Since 2011, 73 projects have been funded under this program.  In addition, funding from the NHPRC provided electronic records management training to hundreds of Ohioans, helping to ensure that tomorrow’s records will also be preserved.

What can you do?  If your representative is on the House Appropriations Committee (David Joyce R-14th District, Marcy Kaptur D-9th District and Tim Ryan D-13th District) please share a story about how the NHPRC has benefited your district or Ohio and ask that he or she support the NHPRC’s budget of $6 million.  If your representative is not on the committee, please ask that they contact members of the committee to express support for the NHPRC.  You can find your representative here: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/.  

Sample Script:

Dear [Member of Congress]

I am [emailing/calling/writing/contacting you] on behalf of the [name of organization] to express support for the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.  I led a project for the [name of organization] which received a grant from the NHPRC to [briefly describe project.]  This project has had an important impact on the community and public, specifically [briefly describe impact.]  

Thank you for your consideration.

Governor Kasich Appoints 1 New Board Member

Posted on by

The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB) welcomes one new member appointed by Governor Kasich: Tina Ratcliff, County Records and Information Manager, Montgomery County

She will begin her tenure at the May meeting of OHRAB, and will serve until at least the end of March 2020, when she will be eligible for reappointment. Board members may serve a total of three 3-year terms on the Board.

Governor Kasich Appoints 2 New Board Members

Posted on by

The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB) welcomes two new members appointed by Governor Kasich:

  • Cindy Hofner, Clerk of Courts for Wood County
  • Russ Pollitt, Genealogy Subject Specialist for the Columbus Metropolitan Library

They will begin their tenure at the May meeting of OHRAB, and will serve until at least the end of March 2019, when they will be eligible for reappointment. Board members may serve a total of three 3-year terms on the Board.

2017 Ohio Archives Grant Program

Posted on by

OHRAB 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) through their State Board Programming Grants. Projects eligible for funding in 2017 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.

Grant applications are due February 28, 2017.  More information on the grants, including the application packet, is available here.