in short: News | Grants | Events | Ideas | Webinars | Jobs

Do you need a transcription pedal? Do you need OCR on something? Do you need a scanner? What about a super speedy scanner? We have equipment and software you can use, and we'd love to have you use it in a COVID-safe way! Email me for details and we can make arrangements.

For several years, a pilot project has been chugging along to put all finding aids of New York State in one place. This year, they've revamped the project and built a new, more extensible, sturdier platform.

Do you have finding aids to help researchers explore your collection? Add them to EmpireADC for more visibility! Send me an email if you're interested in more information.

The timeline for our Technology and Digitization Grants will change in 2021, reflecting our available RBDB funding from the state. Please keep an eye out in February for the application, which will be due in late April, dependent on available funds.

Does your region have a tall tale or literary connection? Apply for funds to pay for historic markers honoring folklore. The deadline is in March, so now's the time to do your research and make your case!

The Pomeroy Foundation will also sometimes offer special interest matching grants for small historical societies to celebrate and preserve their community's history.

Financial assistance up to $1,000 for archival workers in need due to COVID-19. Awards are kept private. Rolling deadline through June 2021.

Deadline of February 15 (or September 15)

Grants of up to $1,000 from the Foundation of Advancement in Conservation toward a conservation project with lots of publicity and outreach. "Sites may be historic houses, museums, or any organization that has a need for basic collections care, conservation consultation or simple preventive conservation such as re-housing collections. The site should have minimal conservation facilities or expertise on staff."

You Design it; We Make It! from The Corning Museum of Glass

Glassmakers will do a live demo of their work, creating a piece inspired by a drawing submitted by a member of the public. The Hot Glass Team will be on hand to answer questions during the demo.

[Hey, if you have an event coming up - drop me a line and I'll add it here]

This awesome local project from The History Center in Tompkins County is ready to grow beyond Ithaca! Tessellate Studio's David Furber built a software platform with retired Map & Geospatial Librarian Bob Kibbee that meshes the history of buildings and places with census records and more.

Recently, Auburn's Seymour Library District and the Cayuga County Historian's Office began collaborating on an Auburn installation. Reach out to Project Coordinator Eve Snyder to find out how to bring HistoryForge to your town or county!

In the Nov/Dec issue of Archival Outlook, a university archivist in Georgia talked about her successful game-based introduction to special collections for students. Archives lend themselves to detective work, and the game helps patrons learn about the materials. Historical societies and museums could plan this as a public outreach program or fundraising event, like the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and Morrill Hall in Lincoln, NE have done. You could try it with small groups wearing masks or just spend these months doing the planning.

The Field Services Alliance put together a list of ideas for you based on what museums and historical societies around the country are trying. Could you host COVID testing? Could you host a blood drive or a food donation site? Could you plan a pop-up exhibit or a new garden for the spring?

Wed., Jan. 13, 10am

A free webinar with a lawyer and HR specialist to provide guidance on NY's new labor law Section 196-b, which requires employers with 1-4 employees to offer unpaid sick leave.

https://zoom.us/j/715709544 | Meeting ID: 715 709 544 | Passcode: SCRLC

Come chat with other archivists to find out what colleagues are up to!

Planning a Successful Giving Day: How to Get Started with Fundraising (LILRC)

Tues. Jan. 19, 1:00pm - free as a SCRLC member

Wed., Jan. 27, 2021 - 12:00 p.m. - free for the public

Professor Deborah Willis of NYU will discuss the subject of her well-reviewed 2021 book in this program from the National Archives Museum. On the eve of Black History Month, you might soak up new ideas for how your own institution could explore and present this topic.

Thurs., Jan. 28, 2021 - 12:00 p.m. - free for the public

Professor Pamela Riney-Kehrberg will talk about rural life for farm children. While her research is based in the Midwest, there may be plenty of overlap with lived experiences of the Southern Tier region.

"The Presence and Persistence of Stories" will be virtual between March 8 and March 27. The Early Bird discount for registration ($45-$125) closes February 10, 2021.