The History Center in Tompkins County - The History Center Completes Two-Year 'Building Capacity, Creating Sustainability, Growing Accessibility Grant'

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The History Center Completes Two-Year 'Building Capacity, Creating Sustainability, Growing Accessibility Grant'

THE HISTORY CENTER BLOG

The History Center blog shares research and findings about local history, excerpts from the History Center Archives, information about upcoming exhibits and other opportunities on how to get involved with The History Center in Tompkins County. To learn more or view the archival materials mentioned, visit us in downtown Ithaca, follow us on social media @TompkinsHistory, or subscribe to our monthly newsletter History Happenings.

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The History Center Completes Two-Year 'Building Capacity, Creating Sustainability, Growing Accessibility Grant'

Wed, October 05, 2022 7:32 PM | Anonymous

In 2020 The History Center along with 98 other museum partners across New York State was selected for a unique grant program 'Building Capacity, Creating Sustainability, Growing Accessibility' coordinated by the Museum Association of New York with funds from the Institute of Museum & Library Services.

The History Center used the technology and support systems provided to pursue a long-overdue review and updating of our archival systems for our oral history collections. As of 2020 our oral history files included over 150 recorded interviews, that number has since grown to 205.

Under this grant we completed over 40 transcripts for interviews, developed Archival Finding Aids for 9 distinct oral history projects, created a physical Reference Catalog for the 200+ interview collection housed in the Research Library, and began an on-going archival oral history transcript collection. This thorough listing and review of our collections also inspired the creation of our identity themed sub-collections: Asian Diaspora, Black Voices, Gender & Sexuality, Indigenous Voices, Stories of Immigration, and Women's Voices as well as the Stop & Listen to HERstory Oral History Experience unveiled as part of the Breaking Barriers: Women's Lives & Livelihoods exhibit in 2021.

Our immense thanks to the volunteers and student workers who contributed to this project: Raia Gutman, Olivia Chaudhury, Sophia Shi, Kethry Larsen, and Lily Mueller.

The work begun under this grant is now continued through the one-year 'Preserving Community Oral Histories' grant provided by the American Historical Association. These archives are available by appointment in our Research Library, contact archives@thehistorycenter.net.

Details on all our current grant projects can be found at thehistorycenter.net/grants.