Community Heritage Grants

helping community groups preserve and manage their

collections

Elizabeth Watt CHG Coordinator

Community Heritage Grants

Aim to preserve and provide access to nationally significant Australian cultural heritage material held by community groups across Australia by providing grants of up to $10,000 per project

• Started 1994

• 506 projects• $2 million

• Current Partners

– National Library of Australia

– Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts

– National Film and Sound Archive

– National Archives of Australia

– National Museum of Australia

Who can apply for a CHG ?• Archives• Art galleries• Community groups• Genealogical societies• Historical societies• Indigenous groups• Migrant community groups• Museums• Professional associations• Public libraries• Religious groups• Schools

Projects funded • Significance assessments • Preservation surveys• Implementing recommendations of preservation

surveys

– archival storage– environmental control and monitoring equipment– Conservation activities including cleaning, repairing or rebinding

of individual collection items– Reformatting (including digitisation) of original material for

preservation and access purposes

• Preservation and collection management training projects

Keys to a successful CHG application

• Read the Guidelines !– Make sure your project and organisation are eligible– Submit on time – 2007 CHG opens early March & closes mid June– Check CHG website http://www.nla.gov.au/chg/ for

past successful organisations and projects – Talk to the coordinator– Include a compelling significance statement of your

collection (emphasise national themes) – Submit a sound feasible budget

2006 applications

• 114 Museums and historical societies

• 40 successful

• 16 libraries

• 2 successful

• Calling more libraries to apply!

Significance of Significance • Describe how your collection:

• Is unique• Has created great impact over a period and or within a particular

cultural area of Australia • Has influenced the course of Australian history• Has nationally prominent people represented in it• Is representative of a type, but has no direct equal• Has research value• Is well used• Came to reside in your organisation - Who owned the material

before it came to your organisation and how was it used? Provenance

• And finally….• What is the condition of the material? Is it complete or intact?

2006 competition

• CHG program is national

• 239 applications

• 148 short listed

• 80 awarded grants = $400,000

• Cash plus visit to Canberra for 3 day intensive preservation and collection management workshop

CHG 2006 Awardees 8-10 November

Digitising with CHG

• Preservation survey first• Digitisation recommended by survey• Preserve the original items and the digital

copies • Capture, delivery, naming, description and

management plan • Impact of the dig. process on the original

materials• Copyright• Web accessible

CHG Digitisation projects 1994 - 2006

No. of Digitisation Projects

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006

Year

No. o

f Dig

itisa

tion

Proj

ects

No of digitisation projects

1994 1

1995 2

1996 1

1997 4

1998 3

1999 1

2000 0

2001 2

2002 5

2003 7

2004 5

2005 6

2006 4 TOTAL 41 of 506

1994 - 1996

• 1994– Northern Territory University aboriginal community

language material 1995

– Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation Djomi Museum’s photographic collection

– University of Qld Hume family photograph collection1996

– Lytentye Apurte Community Photographic collection held by Santa Teresa

– Ngaayatjara Council Warburton Mission photographic collection

1997-1998

• 1997– Newcastle Region Library various collections– Footscray Historical Society/ Maribyrnong Library

Historical Society’s collection– Ngarinyin Aboriginal Corporation Heritage

photograph collection

• 1998– Pijantjatara Council - $7000 – Photographs – Brennan and Geraghty’s Store Museum – Document

and photographs – http://amol.org.au/midnightgrocer/

1999-2000

• 1999– Ngaayatjarra Yankunytjatjara Pijantjatara Women’s

Council Photographic collection

• 2000– None

• 2001– Mackay City Library South Sea Islander records– Fremantle City Library Local history photographic

collection

2002

• 2002 – Australian Music Centre Music Centre

collection– Community Radio Federation Sound

collection– Jewish Holocaust Centre Video recordings– Koorie Heritage Trust Oral histories– SKA TV Community television collection

2003

– Albury City Libraries Oral history collection– Museum of the Riverina Photographic collection– CAAMA TV productions and radio broadcasts– Kanamkek Yile Ngala Museum AV collection– CO-AS- IT Italian Historical Society Archival

collection– Churches of Christ Federal Aborigines Board

Photographs– Jarndu Yawuru Aboriginal Corporation Oral history

collection

2004

– Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery Archival storage and digitisation

– Furneaux Historical Research Association film collection

– Renown Kindergarten Photographs– Churches of Christ Federal Aborigines Board

Photographs– City of Albany Historical photographs

2005

• Ausdance Photographs• Melbourne’s Living Museum of the West Audio

and AV collection• North Bondi Surf Life Saving Society

Photographs• Multicultural Sudanese Centre Photographs• Moonta Branch of the SA National Trust

Photographs• Central Highlands Regional Library Oral

histories

2006

– SDN Children’s Services Photographs– Australian Lebanese Historical Society

Photographs– Maritime Museum of Tasmania Photographs– Broome Historical Society Photographs

Flying Fruit Fly Circus – photo Travis Drever

AlbanyCity Library

• 1500 historic photos scanned and catalogued in house

• Large images scanned and manipulated by Image Quest

• Originals housed in archival storage in cool dark store room

• 300 most significant images on CD arranged by themes

• Pictures available on- line• http://history.albany.wa.gov.au/

North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club

• 8,000 images

• 300 DPI res tif files

• Digital Masters Australia

• Captioning images in progress-volunteers

• http://www.digitalmasters.com.au/surf_life_saving/north_bondi_slsc/surf_life_saving_images.html

Albury City Library

• Preservation survey • 70 reel to reel oral history tapes copied to CD

format (jointly funded CHG, Albury Council) by Dex Audio

• Oral histories catalogued, indexed and transcribed – help from volunteers

• Master CD and original tapes stored separately in cool dry conditions

• Access improved• Took longer as tape in poor condition

Community Heritage Grants

helping community groups preserve and manage their

collections

http://www.nla.gov.au/chg/

Elizabeth Watt CHG Coordinator

the endany questions

?