Moving Image Archive News - A clearinghouse of information on film archiving and related endeavors

National Film Preservation Foundation

The National Film Preservation Foundation invites proposals for its 2011 Summer Grants which provide $1,000 to $15,000 in cash and/or in-kind laboratory services for film preservation. The awards target the preservation of films that made in the United States or by Americans abroad that are not preserved by commercial interests. Nonprofit and public archives, including those in the federal, state, and local government, may participate. Films originally created for television or video are not eligible.

Application guidelines are on the NFPF website. Register by e-mailing the NFPF at grants@filmpreservation.org; register by June 24 2011, apply by July 29 2011.

NEH Humanities Collections Grants

The Division of Preservation and Access of the National Endowment for the Humanities is accepting applications for grants in its Humanities Collections and Reference Resources program. The grants support projects to preserve and create intellectual access to such collections as books, journals, manuscript and archival materials, maps, still and moving images, sound recordings, art, and objects of material culture. Awards also support the creation of reference materials, online resources, and research tools of major importance to the humanities. Maximum awards are $350,000 for up to three years.

Eligible activities include arranging and describing archival and manuscript collections; cataloging collections of moving images; providing conservation treatment for collections; digitizing collections; preserving and improving access to born-digital sources; and developing databases, virtual collections, and digital tools to facilitate use of humanities resources.

The program encourages applications that address the preservation and access needs of humanities collections of sound recordings and moving images. Applicants may request funds to establish intellectual and physical control of such materials as well as to digitize them.

Guidelines, with sample proposal narratives, are online. The deadline for electronic applications through Grants.gov is July 20 2011 for projects beginning May 2012.

Prospective applicants can obtain more information at 202-606-8570 or preservation@neh.gov.

The Division is also accepting applications for grants in “Education & Training” (deadling June 30 2011). Details of these grants, and other funding opportunities in Preservation and Access, are online.

The deadline for the Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) Project Grant is March 31 2011. It provides up to $1,500 per grant for small or stand-alone projects or pilots, or for larger projects or components of them in the field of visual resources and image management. Collaborative projects and those proposed by groups, whether or not affiliated with an organization or institution, are favored. Among categories to be considered for funding: image metadata, image cataloguing, data standards, digital archives, digitization projects (educational institutions, libraries, museums), visual literacy, pedagogy and technology, intellectual property rights.

Proposals accepted throughout the year; reviewed and funded twice a year, in April and November. The deadline for April review is March 31. The deadline for November review is October 31.

Guidelines and application form online.

The Division of Preservation and Access of the National Endowment for the Humanities is accepting applications for grants in its Research and Development program.

The grants support projects that address major challenges in preserving or providing access to humanities collections and resources – finding better ways to preserve materials of critical importance to the nation’s cultural heritage, and developing advanced modes of searching, discovering, and using such materials, including materials generated by such recent technologies as born-digital.

Other emphasized areas include recorded sound and moving-image collections and preventive conservation: how to protect and slow the deterioration of humanities collections.

Maximum awards are $350,000 for up to three years. The application deadline is May 19, 2011 for projects beginning January 2012. All applications to NEH must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov; for details, see the newly revised 2011 guidelines, which include descriptions of the many eligible activities, as well as sample proposal narratives.

Among other NEH grants that may be of interest to moving-image archivists are Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions (May 3 2011 deadline) and Humanities Collections and Reference Resources grants (July 20 2011 deadline). Details on these and other funding opportunities in Preservation and Access are online.