[Nhcoll-l] Fwd: URGENT—Respond Now to IMLS Museum Grant Guidelines!

Mon Jun 4 18:16:29 EDT 2012

Please read the email below - many natural history museums have benefited  
from environmental improvement grants from IMLS - these will indeed be  
threatened by the proposed programming change at the funding agency. 

Catharine  Hawks

____________________________________
 From: info at conservation-us.org
To: cahawks at aol.com
Sent: 6/4/2012  3:01:29 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: URGENT—Respond Now to IMLS Museum  Grant Guidelines!

 (http://www.conservation-us.org/dsp_emailhandler.cfm?eid=41614&uid=1187) 
URGENT--Respond Now to IMLS Museum Grant  Guidelines!      _Be An  
Advocate_ (http://www.conservation-us.org/dsp_emailhandler.cfm?eid=41615&uid=1187)   
Monday,  June 4, 2012

Dear Catharine, 
URGENT MESSAGE! 
If you have not yet done so, please respond now to the request from  IMLS 
posted below.  The AIC Board of Directors agree that that the  proposed new 
grant guidelines pose a real threat to conservation funding  and the 
long-term care of collections.  It is imperative that IMLS  hear from the 
conservation community—from individual conservation  professionals as well as from AIC 
as a whole.  
AIC is submitting a response on behalf of the organization.  Some points 
taken from it include: 
·         By merging Museums  for America (MFA) and Conservation Project 
Support (CPS), there will no  longer be a funding source dedicated to 
conservation.    
·         Although multiple  applications will be permitted by IMLS, 
multiple submissions from  institutions will ultimately compete against each 
other.   Exhibition or education proposals, for instance, would be pitted against 
 conservation proposals. 
·         If museums focus  their grant writing efforts on the support of 
exhibitions, education,  and community outreach, the grants will provide 
important support for  annual programming budgets, yet these funds will do 
little to support  museum missions to preserve and make their permanent 
collections  accessible in a more lasting way. 
·         One January 15  deadline for all proposals puts a great burden on 
museum staff members,  particularly for those working in smaller 
institutions. 
While AIC applauds IMLS for considering changes to improve its grant  
services, combining the CPS and MFA programs and instituting a single  
application deadline will have unintended consequences that will result  in museums 
placing less emphasis on conservation of collections.   AIC urges IMLS to 
consider leaving CPS as a separate program or  combining it with collections 
stewardship. 
How have the collections for which you are responsible benefited from  IMLS 
conservation support in the past? 
What impact on collections care do you envision with the  implementation of 
the draft guidelines being presented by IMLS? 
Speak up!  Now! 
Thank you, 
Meg Craft, AIC Board President 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 9, 2012 
IMLS Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Kevin  O'Connell, _koconnell at imls.gov_ (mailto:koconnell at imls.gov) 
Mamie  Bittner, _mbittner at imls.gov_ (mailto:mbittner at imls.gov)  
Draft Museum Grant Guidelines Available for Public  Comment 
Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library  Services (IMLS) is 
seeking public comments on the draft guidelines for  the FY 2013 Museums for 
America and National Leadership Grants for  Museums programs. The guidelines 
for these programs have been revised to  align with the _IMLS  Strategic Plan_ 
(http://www.conservation-us.org/dsp_emailhandler.cfm?eid=41616&uid=1187) .  
We are seeking comments to assess how well  these guidelines accomplish the 
following goals: 
    *   Make federal dollars more accessible by reducing complexity  
    *   Increase clarity and readability  
    *   Make it easier to see where a project idea fits best  
    *   Make it easier to articulate the impact of project ideas  
    *   Allow grantees greater ability to pursue comprehensive collections  
care projects by _combining  the purposes of the current Conservation 
Project Support and Museums  for America programs_ 
(http://www.conservation-us.org/dsp_emailhandler.cfm?eid=41617&uid=1187)   
    *   Allow grantees greater ability to pursue professional development  
activities by _combining  the purposes and funding for the current 21st 
Century Museum  Professionals and National Leadership Grants for Museums 
programs_ (http://www.conservation-us.org/dsp_emailhandler.cfm?eid=41618&uid=1187)  

    *   Provide greater ability for museums and organizations that serve  
museums to pursue National Leadership Grants that have broad impact  for 
their communities and create models that can be adapted by others  
    *   Make it possible for IMLS to continue to support the full range of  
museums, large and small, and representing every museum discipline and  
every geographic area 
To see the guidelines use these links:
_Museums  for America_ 
(http://www.conservation-us.org/dsp_emailhandler.cfm?eid=41619&uid=1187) 
_National  Leadership Grants for Museums_ 
(http://www.conservation-us.org/dsp_emailhandler.cfm?eid=41620&uid=1187)  
The comment period will end on Friday, July 6, 2012.  Please  send comments 
to _comments at imls.gov_ (mailto:comments at imls.gov) . Final guidelines  will 
be posted no later than October 15, 2012.      _www.conservation-us.org_ 
(http://www.conservation-us.org/dsp_emailhandler.cfm?eid=41621&uid=1187)  

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