The Endangered Archives Programme at the British Library is now
accepting grant applications for the next round of
funding. Detailed information on the timetable, criteria,
eligibility and procedures for applying for a grant is available on the
Programme’s website. Applications will be accepted in English or in French. The deadline for receipt of preliminary
grant applications is 2 November 2012.
Since it was
established eight years ago, the Programme has so far funded 190 projects
worldwide with grants totalling £4.9 million. The Programme is funded by
The Programme’s
objectives are achieved principally by awarding grants to applicants to locate
relevant endangered archival collections, where possible to arrange their
transfer to a suitable local archival home, and to deposit copies with local
institutions and the British Library. Pilot projects are particularly welcomed,
to investigate the survival of archival collections on a particular subject, in
a discrete region, or in a specific format, and the feasibility of their
recovery.
To be considered
for funding under the Programme, the archival material should relate to a
‘pre-modern' period of a society's history. There is no prescriptive definition
of this, but it may typically mean, for instance, any period before
industrialisation. The relevant time period will therefore vary according to the
society.
For the purposes of
the Programme, the term ‘archival
material’ is interpreted widely to include rare printed books, newspapers
and periodicals, audio and audio-visual materials, photographs and manuscripts.
The Programme is
keen to enhance local capabilities to manage and preserve archival collections
in the future and it is essential that all projects include local archival
partners in the country where the project is based. Professional training for
local staff is one of the criteria for grant application assessment, whether it
is in the area of archival collection management or technical training in
digitisation.
The Programme is
administered by the British Library and applications are considered in an annual
competition by an international panel of historians and
archivists.
For further
details of application procedures and documentation as well as EAP projects and
collections, please visit the Programme’s
website: http://eap.bl.uk/