Antiquarian Society Gets $60k
WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 – The American Antiquarian Society in Worcester has been awarded a $60,000 grant to help conserve its collection of more than two million 18 th and 19 th century newspapers.
The grant is part of a $14.9 million effort to preserve the nation’s history and culture under Save America’s Treasures, a public-private partnership between the National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
“We’re terrifically happy about this grant,” said John Keenum, vice president for development of the Antiquarian Society. “Our collection is the premier collection in the world. This grant allows us to survey the whole collection and see what newspapers need special care.”
Mr. Keenum said the grant would be used to help pay for internal laboratory services and for the society’s efforts to make all of its newspapers available digitally.
“[Using the digital service], scholars and readers would be able to text-search for anything they want,” Mr. Keenum said. “And readers won’t have to handle the actual newspapers if they wish.”
To be considered for a grant, the applicant must have demonstrated that its project is of national significance and has an urgent preservation need. In 2005, Save America’s Treasures received 337 grant applications. The Worcester society was one of 61 to receive money.
“Historic preservation and conservation have such an important place in America,” Laura Bush, honorary chair of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, said in a press release. “Through these Save America’s Treasures grants, and together with our Preserve America initiative, President Bush and I want to help every American -especially children -learn about our nation’s heritage history and culture.”
According to its Web site, the American Antiquarian Society is the third oldest historical society in the United States, founded in 1812 by Revolutionary War printer and patriot Isaiah Thomas. The society’s collection contains 20 miles of shelves that hold more than three million items, including books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, periodicals, sheet music and graphic materials from 1640 to 1876.
