Library and Archives Canada announces launch of 2019 funding cycle for Documentary Heritage Communities Program

Library and Archives Canada has announced the launch of the 2019 funding cycle for the Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP). This is the fifth round of what was originally envisioned as a five year program, so could potentially be the final year.

The DHCP provides financial assistance to the Canadian documentary heritage community for activities that:

• increase access to, and awareness of, Canada’s local documentary heritage institutions and their holdings; and
• increase the capacity of local documentary heritage institutions to better sustain and preserve Canada's documentary heritage.

The deadline for submitting completed application packages is January 8, 2019.

This program is a great opportunity for archives, museums, historical societies and other cultural institutions to digitize their collections, develop search engines and virtual exhibits, and other activities that preserve and promote their valuable resources.

There are a number of significant changes this year:

• The upper limit of funding for a small project has increased to $24,999. Many of the projects Andornot helps with would fall into this range.
• Organizations which receive up to half their funding from government sources are now eligible.

Types of projects which would be considered for funding include:

• Conversion and digitization for access purposes; 
• Conservation and preservation treatment; 
• The development (research, design and production) of virtual and physical exhibitions, including travelling exhibits; 
• Conversion and digitization for preservation purposes; 
• Increased digital preservation capacity (excluding digital infrastructure related to day-to-day activities); 
• Training and workshops that improve competencies and build capacity; and 
• Development of standards, performance and other measurement activities. 
• Collection, cataloguing and access based management; and 
• Commemorative projects.

Lists of the grants and recipients in the previous four rounds of funding are available here and may help you as you think about your own application.

Further program details, requirements and application procedures are available at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/services/documentary-heritage-communities-program/Pages/dhcp-portal.aspx

How can Andornot help?

Many Andornot clients have obtained DHCP grants in previous rounds, and Andornot has worked on many other projects which would qualify for this grant. Some examples are detailed in these blog posts:

• Manitoba Law Library Launches New Catalogue, including Collection of Historic Judgments
• Galt Museum and Archives Launches New Collections Search
• Anglican Church of Canada Archives launches a new search portal to provide better access to a wider selection of records of national significance.
• Explore Heritage Resources with a Map Interface
• Société historique de Saint-Boniface Upgrades Archives Search Interface
• Bulkley Valley Museum Collection Now Online

We have extensive experience with digitizing documents, books and audio and video materials, and developing systems to manage those collections and make them searchable or presented in virtual exhibits.

Contact us to discuss collections you have and ideas for proposals. We'll do our best to help you obtain funding from the DHCP program!

Also also check out a few other grants that are open this fall in this blog post: "Grants with Fall 2018 Application Deadlines"