ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

NEH Programs in the Humanities

Hidden among the redwoods and Douglas fir in the coastal hills near Los Gatos, California, the Presentation Center run by the Sisters of the Presentation of the Child was the scene of the second NEH/ACRL workshop on humanities programming, February 23-25. With clear weather, the temperature a balmy 60°, birds chirping, flowers blooming, and the lazy atmosphere of a placid hacienda, the center provided an ideal retreat for librarians and humanists to meet, compare notes, and learn the fundamentals of writing grant proposals for programs to bring library materials in the humanities to people in their community.

A National Endowment for the Humanities grant of $64,549 allowed for the two workshops, the first of which was held in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, on November 30-December 2, 1981. Twenty-six teams of one librarian and one faculty humanist from each institution attended the Los Gatos workshop, and twenty-five teams met in Shrewsbury. Because of the limits on attendance, this represented only about 45% of all those who applied.

Many in the group that attended the California workshop had already begun to plan humanities programs. Sonoma State University was considering a program targeted for the Indochinese population in their area. Georgia Southern College had been studying a program on noted Georgians. Other institutions were focusing on senior citizens, Native Americans, local artists and authors, and other special interest groups or resources in their community.

Peggy O’Donnell (beneath crucifix) acts as facilitator for one of the NEH librarian-humanist study groups at the NEH workshop.

ACRL’s program assistant for the NEH workshops, Barbara Macikas, opened the program by explaining the Association’s interest in encouraging humanities programming. Then Peggy O’Donnell, Chicago library consultant and conference director, introduced program moderators Thomas C. Phelps and Abbie Cutter, representatives from the NEH Division of Public Programs. Phelps explained that the purpose of the NEH grant program was basically to promote a continued public awareness of the humanities in the out-of-school, adult public by making library resources available to them with added interpretation and insight provided by local faculty humanists.

Abbie Cutter went into some detail about specific grant ideas and the application process itself. “Every successful program should have four elements,” she explained. “First, there must be a well-defined idea or theme to be conveyed to a well-defined public audience. Second, both librarians and scholars should be involved equally in the program’s design and implementation. Third, every element of the program should be consistent with the overall theme and target audience. Finally, the program should demonstrate an excellent use of local library resources.”

Applications for an NEH grant usually take about five months to process. The first stage is to contact the NEH Washington staff prior to submitting a proposal so that they can offer suggestions for changes in focus or in specific program elements that might have a greater chance for approval. Completed proposals are then sent to a selected panel of independent evaluators including scholars, professionals, and other individuals with a wide range of expertise. Applications are also reviewed by subject area specialists who look closely at a program’s content and its use of humanities resources. The recommendations of panels and reviewers are considered by the National Council on the Humanities, a 26-member board appointed by the President to advise the chair of NEH on policy and programming. The council then recommends the award, rejection, modification, or deferral of each grant proposal that has been through the review process and allocates funds accordingly.

In order to give workshop participants an idea of what designing a successful program is like, everyone split into five groups which were given case studies to contemplate. Each case study described a mythical library, its humanities resources, and its community setting. The groups then prepared brief reports that summarized possible audiences for programming, the library’s usable resources, themes or topics suitable for programming, and one concept for a program series that incorporated the library’s humanities holdings.

Providing the teams with some nuts-and-bolts experience with humanities programs in the field, speaker Gregory Stevens described the Capital District Humanities Program which he directs at SUNY-Albany. Stevens’ program, which is funded by NEH, is a collaborative effort involving education and cultural organizations and community groups in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area of east central New York. Included in the Spring 1982 CDHP prospectus are programs on old houses of the Upper Hudson Valley, an appreciation of the Black playwright, and an excursion to classical Rome.

Capital District Humanities Program director Gregory Stevens (left) discusses humanities programming with librarian Jack Middendorf Wayne State College.

Comments about the NEH/ACRL California workshop were very favorable. Melissa Cain, English librarian at the University of Illinois, Urbana, said that the workshop provided a “humanization of the NEH which makes creating and writing grant proposals much easier.” Richard Van Wye, director of library services at Mayville State College, North Dakota, appreciated the “information exchange among librarians and humanists during informal meetings after the sessions. Already we’ve found some new ideas for our college’s programs,’’ he said.

ACRL has re-submitted its proposal to NEH for two additional workshops in 1982-83. If funds are available the workshops will be held in locations in the Southeast and the Midwest. C&RL News will report on the status of the NEH/ACRL program as details become available. ■■

Abbie Cutter and Thomas Phelps, from the NEH Washington Office.