In the recently enacted Fiscal Year 2008 omnibus appropriations bill, Congress ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to restore the network of EPA libraries that had been closed or consolidated by the Administration since 2006. Congress included $3,000,000 in funding for EPA to reopen the libraries. EPA was also directed to submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations by late-March regarding actions it will take to “restore publicly available libraries to provide environmental information and data to each EPA region.”
The Library of Congress recently announced that twenty-one states, working in four multi-state demonstration projects, are joining the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) in an initiative to catalyze collaborative efforts to preserve important state government information in digital form.
The History Channel has begun accepting applications for its annual “Save Our History” grant program. Under the program, museums, historic sites, historical societies, preservation organizations, libraries and archives partner with local school or youth groups to help preserve the history of their communities. The History Channel awards grants of up to $10,000 for individual projects. The grant application and information on how to apply are available at the Save Our History website and are due by June 6, 2008.
The Library of Congress and the Foundation Center recently announced the release of a new Web-based fundraising guide to help the preservation community save millions of at-risk artifacts. The guide, titled “Foundation Grants for Preservation in Libraries, Archives and Museums,” is available for free download at the Library of Congress website.
The Public Interest Declassification Board has released its first report to the President providing recommendations for improving the Federal government’s declassification system. The Board examined 15 issues and made 49 separate recommendations to improve the current declassification system.
