FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR MOA

Museum Awarded Grant for Digital Archive
The Museum of Anthropology has been awarded a $149,000 Museums for America grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to complete a digital archive of the artifacts in its collections.  The grant is the largest awarded by IMLS through this program to a North Carolina museum this year.

According to Dr. Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Director of IMLS, “Museums for America will help strengthen museum service in communities across the United States. These awards will support hundreds of hands-on educational programs, the digitization of thousands of objects in museum collections, and exciting ventures using new technology. Museums will use these funds to advance community partnerships; spur cultural tourism; and support classroom teachers with educational curriculum, training and much more.”
The museum will continue work started under a previous IMLS award to install new collections database software, train staff in its use, and update more than 27,000 archaeological and ethnographic object records.  The grant also provides funds to support the Registrar position through the end of July 2008.

The project will ultimately produce a complete Web-based, public-access version of the museum catalog for use by universities, scholars, schoolchildren and the general public.

Wake Forest students will assist with inventory, basic condition assessment and digital photography of objects in the museum’s collections to create the digital archive.

In addition to thousands of adult visitors, more than 8,500 schoolchildren come to the museum or are visited in their schools by a staff member each year and have the opportunity to view objects from the collections.  The project will greatly expand the museum's education and collections care missions and will provide outreach to underserved secondary schools, through teacher workshops to introduce the Web-based catalog and Web-based lesson plans.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Its mission is to grow and sustain a “Nation of Learners” because life-long learning is essential to a democratic society and individual success. Through its grant making, convenings, research and publications, the Institute empowers museums and libraries nationwide to provide leadership and services to enhance learning in families and communities, sustain cultural heritage, build twenty-first-century skills, and increase civic participation.