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From: "Jenifer Burlis-Freilich"
<jbfreilich@statearchivists.org><br>
To: <archival_leaders@aall.archivists.org><br>
Subject: [AALL] NHPRC Funding Zeroed Out for Fy 2008- Take Action now to
save NHPRC<br>
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 18:03:42 -0500<br><br>
</font><font size=5><b>NHPRC Funding Zeroed Out for FY 2008; <br>
Take Action Now to Save NHPRC!<br>
</font><font size=3> <br>
Dear Colleague:<br>
<br>
</b>The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)
-- the grant-making arm of the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) -- is targeted in the President's proposed FY 2008
budget for <i>zero</i> funding for grants and <i>zero</i> funding for
staff to administer the agency and its programs. For FY 2008, our
organizations and the National Coalition for History support <b>full
funding for national grants at $10 million plus $2 million for staffing
and administration.</b> <br><br>
<b>The newly created House and Senate Financial Services and General
Government appropriations subcommittees have jurisdiction over the NARA
appropriation, including NHPRC. These subcommittees currently are
drafting appropriations bills for the programs under their
jurisdiction. </b>This spring is a critical time to make your voice
heard on this appropriation.<br><br>
</font><font size=2><b>ACTION NEEDED!</b></font><font size=3> <b>If
you support restored funding for the NHPRC grants program, please contact
your Congressional representatives now, especially if they are members of
the House and Senate subcommittees on Financial Services and General
Government: <br>
</b></font><font size=2>
<a href="http://appropriations.house.gov/Subcommittees/sub_fsdc.shtml">
http://appropriations.house.gov/Subcommittees/sub_fsdc.shtml</a><br>
<a href="http://appropriations.senate.gov/financialservices.cfm" eudora="autourl">
http://appropriations.senate.gov/financialservices.cfm</a><br><br>
</font><font size=3>To contact your Members of Congress, go to the
National History Coalition at
<a href="http://historycoalition.org/">http://historycoalition.org</a>
and click on "Humanities Advocacy Network." <b>The
website allows you to send a pre-written electronic letter or to edit the
letter to include your own story and express your own views. You
can also fax a letter to your Member of Congress or contact him/her
through the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. To find your
representative's website, go to
<a href="http://www.house.gov/">http://www.house.gov</a>; to find your
senator's website, go to
<a href="http://www.senate.gov/">http://www.senate.gov</a>. </b>For
suggestions on writing letters, including details about the impact that
NHPRC grants have had in specific states, visit the SaveArchives wiki at
<a href="http://savearchives.pbwiki.com/">
http://savearchives.pbwiki.com</a></font>
<font face="arial" size=3 color="#0000FF">.<br><br>
</font><font size=3><b>FUNDING HISTORY:</b> The NHPRC grants
program is authorized at $10 million through FY 2009. This small but
effective program last received its fully authorized $10 million in FY
2004. In FY 2007, Congress appropriated $5.5 million for NHPRC grants and
$2 million for administrative costs, despite the Administration's
continued efforts to eliminate the program. Unfortunately, cuts of
this magnitude -- and the uncertainty created by the annual threat of
extinction -- endanger the agency's programmatic integrity. <br><br>
<b>We believe that NHPRC needs at least $10 million in FY 2008 if the
agency is to meet its congressional mandate to provide leadership in
preserving our nation's documentary heritage and to make that heritage
accessible through publication. In addition, $2 million is required
to maintain the expert staffing to administer this program. <br>
</b>Loss of funding for NHPRC's grants projects will have a domino
effect, causing funding from other sources to be withdrawn or
reduced. NHPRC's grants are the linchpins for the funding structure
of most projects; without them, the structure will collapse.<br><br>
<b>BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION:</b> NHPRC, the grant-making
affiliate of the National Archives and Records Administration, was
created within the National Archives in 1934, given its own staff in
1951, authorized to make grants in 1964, and reorganized in 1975 as the
National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Its 15
members represent the three branches of the federal government and six
professional associations of archivists, historians, documentary editors,
and records officers.<br><br>
During the past 40+ years, the Commission has awarded $163 million to
more than 4,200 state and local government archives, colleges and
universities, and other institutions to preserve and provide access to
important records that document American history. As characterized
by former Archivist of the United States John Carlin, NHPRC is
"history's venture capitalist." Through federal outright
and matching grants, it successfully leverages private sector
contributions to projects such as the publishing of papers associated
with nationally significant individuals and institutions. <br><br>
NHPRC currently is helping to fund dozens of papers projects, including
those of founders Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Adams, and Madison;
projects documenting the ratification of the Constitution and the First
Federal Congress; the correspondence between Elizabeth Cady Stanton and
Susan B. Anthony; the Papers of Eleanor Roosevelt; the Frederick Douglass
Papers; and the Papers of General George C. Marshall. It has funded
hundreds of projects designed to preserve historical records of enduring
value, as well as cooperative state, regional, and national projects that
address common archival issues, such as the complex problem of preserving
electronic historical records.<br><br>
NHPRC works to accomplish its mandate by setting strategic priorities;
using modest federal grants to stimulate state, local, institutional, and
private contributions; and providing expert staff assistance to grantees
to address these priorities. It is the only grant-making organization --
public or private -- whose mission is to provide national leadership in
the effort to promote the preservation and accessibility of historical
records and to publish the papers of significant figures and themes in
American history.<br><br>
If Congress allows the NHPRC to be zeroed out of the federal budget, this
important program, which has played an essential federal leadership role
and has an outstanding success record of using a small amount of federal
funds to leverage other contributions, would come to an end. This
would be devastating to such projects as development of new archival
programs; promotion of the preservation and use of historical records;
regional and national coordination in addressing major archival issues;
editing and publication of the papers of nationally significant
individuals and institutions; and a wide range of other activities
relating to America's documentary heritage.<br><br>
For more information about the National Historical Publications and
Records Commission, visit the agency's website at:
<a href="http://www.archives.gov/nhprc/">
http://www.archives.gov/nhprc/<br><br>
</a></font><font size=2><b>We hope that we can count on your help in our
cooperative effort to ensure funding for
NHPRC.</b></font><font size=3> If you have any questions or
suggestions, please contact any of us at the email addresses or phone
numbers below.<br>
</font><font size=2>Elizabeth Adkins</font><font size=3>, President,
Society of American Archivists (312-922-0140;
<a href="mailto:president@archivists.org">president@archivists.org</a>
)<br>
</font><font size=2>Karl Niederer, President, Council of State Archivists
(609-984-3299;
<a href="mailto:pres@statearchivists.org">pres@statearchivists.org</a>
)<br>
Mary Beth Herkert, President, National Association of Government Archives
& Records Administrators<br>
(503-378-5196;
<a href="mailto:mary.e.herkert@state.or.us">
mary.e.herkert@state..or.us</a>)<br>
</font><font face="arial" size=2> <br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
______________<br>
Janet M. Carleton - <carleton@ohio.edu> - 740/597-2527
<br>
Digital Initiatives Coordinator / Women's Studies Bibliographer<br>
Alden 235A, Ohio University Libraries, Athens,
Ohio<br>
<<a href="http://www.library.ohiou.edu/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.library.ohiou.edu/</a>></font></body>
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