The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded a $40,000 grant to ACU Special Collections and Archives as part of its Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections program.
The grant will enable the archive to evaluate and plan for optimizing the physical storage conditions and preservation environment for its holdings of more than 30,000 rare books and nearly 500 manuscript collections related to the Stone-Campbell religious movement (also known as the American Restoration movement), as well as records pertaining to the Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) denomination and the nondenominational Churches of Christ and Christian Churches.
“This grant will allow us to take a major step forward in providing optimal storage conditions for the priceless records of our past,” said Mac Ice, director of Special Collections and Archives. “We are partnering with an expert architect and preservation consultant who understands the value of our collections, the unique climate of West Texas, and industry best-practices.”
This year NEH grants totaling $29 million will be awarded in more than a dozen categories to 215 cultural heritage institutions. The grant to ACU is one of 18 Sustaining Cultural Heritage Grants awarded nationwide, and the only one granted to a Texas institution. “To have NEH recognize the value of our collections, and help us sustain them, is significant. And while we are proud, we can’t rest yet, the work is only beginning,” Ice said.