Humanities Collections and Reference Resources
Division of Preservation and Access
Grant Snapshot
Maximum award amount
Implementation projects: $350,000
Funding Opportunity for
Expected output
Period of performance
Application available
Optional draft due
Deadline
Expected notification date
Project start date
HCRR advances scholarship, education, and public engagement in the humanities by helping libraries, archives, museums, and historical organizations across the country steward important collections of books and manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings and moving images, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, art and material culture, and digital objects. The program strengthens efforts to make the content of such materials accessible through digitization and description. Awards also support the creation of reference resources that facilitate the use of cultural materials, from works that provide basic information quickly to tools that synthesize and codify knowledge of a subject for in-depth investigation.
The HCRR program encourages open access, collaboration, and sustainable strategies for managing digital collections and resources. To the extent that the condition of the materials, intellectual property rights, and privacy and cultural considerations allow, you should make the resources you develop publicly available. NEH encourages collaboration between smaller and larger repositories, as well as between humanities experts, information professionals, and community stakeholders to expand participation in cultural heritage and promote engagement with primary sources. You should prioritize methods that allow for sharing and the interoperability of information and resources to ensure their long-term availability.
Read the Notice of Funding Opportunity and study the application package and supplementary materials.
Application Materials and Program Resources
Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Notice of Funding Opportunity 2024 (PDF)
Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Grants.gov application package
List of recently funded projects in this program
Sample Application Narratives
Planning Project: Barnum Museum, Planning to Digitize the Collections
Planning Project: Bryn Mawr College, History of Women's Education Open Access Portal Project
Planning Project: Philadelphia Museum of Art, Building a Duchamp Research Portal
Implementation Project: University of Nebraska, Genoa Indian School Digital Reconciliation Project
Implementation Project: Barnum Museum, Digitizing the P.T. Barnum Collections
Implementation Project: Museum of the City of New York, Digitizing the Museum's Ephemera Collections
Implementation Project: Rutgers University-Camden, Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia
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