Last month, seven state archives or their parent organizations were awarded grants from the National Endowment for Humanities as part of the Rediscovering Our Revolutionary Tradition, Public Humanities, and National Digital Newspaper Program grant programs. The funds awarded through these grant programs will support preservation of, and access to, unique and invaluable records of the history of our nation. CoSA President Allen Ramsey, who will serve as the Project Director for Preserving Connecticut’s Revolutionary Archive, confirmed the value of archives and archivists to this work: "Many of these records have survived for 250 years because generations of clerks, families, archivists, and librarians took care of them. This grant lets us carry that work forward, and share it with everyone."

Congratulations to the following organizations:

• The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, parent organization for the Alaska State Archives, to hire a project archivist to rehouse, reformat, and enhance the description of records documenting Alaska’s transition from U.S. territory to statehood in 1959. Read more.
• The Connecticut State Library, parent organization for the Connecticut State Archives, for a statewide consortium to preserve, describe, and digitally connect archival materials and artifacts documenting Connecticut’s role in the American Revolutionary era. 
• The Idaho State Historical Society, parent organization for the Idaho State Archives, for implementation of an immersive, multimedia orientation gallery introducing visitors to A City Behind Walls, a permanent exhibition about the history of the Old Idaho Penitentiary. 
• The Massachusetts Archives for a grant to support the conservation, rehousing, and high resolution digitization of colonial and Revolutionary War-era bound records housed in the Massachusetts Archives.
• The Minnesota Historical Society, parent organization for the Minnesota State Archives, for digitization of 100,000 pages of historic Minnesota newspapers as part of the state’s participation in the National Digital Newspaper Program.
• The South Dakota State Historical Society, parent organization for the South Dakota State Archives, for digitizing two collections of Dakota Territory and South Dakota legal records, including records from the First and Second District Court (1864-1934) and Supreme Court case files (1871–1911), .
• The Library of Virginia for the conservation treatment of approximately 1,700 items and digitization of nearly 5,000 pages from 13 historically significant collections of manuscripts, print materials, and works of art that document Revolutionary-era life and early government in Virginia, as well as for digitization of 100,000 pages of historic Virginia newspapers as part of the state’s participation in the National Digital Newspaper Program.