A good grant proposal such as the one outlined below clearly identifies a goal and the means to achieve it. There are four main types of activities that can be featured in a preservation proposal: production, through which a group of research materials will be preserved; research, where the final project product is to be of value to the larger preservation community; education and training, which involves education/training provided by or to the applicant; capital support, whereby a library is able to upgrade the quality of its storage facilities. In preparation for the proposal, the library/archive collection must be thoroughly examined for significance and surveyed for the particular type of preservation envisioned. Title duplications should be checked, patterns of use verified, preservation strategies developed, and costs and time requirements stated. The proposal must establish a production schedule and describe evaluation and accountability systems.
A preservation proposal is a collaborative effort, involving some or all of the following: curator/director responsible for the collection, preservation administrator, preservation/conservation specialist, subject specialist (especially where language skills are needed), public service staff, and cataloguing staff. This team determines the type of information needed for the proposal, assigns responsibilities, establishes a timetable, and decides on a single final editor for the proposal document, usually the principal investigator. The principal investigator is either the preservation administrator or the curator (sometimes joint investigators are used). The team must meet regularly during development of the proposal to monitor progress and check the main thrust of the proposal.
Funding agencies sometimes provide an application form
for the applicant to fill in, but most private foundations
rely on the applicant to produce a persuasive argument
for funding. The following outline ensures that most
of the information likely to be needed is provided in
a consistent way.
Click on the link below to view a summary of the proposal.
•Summary of the proposal
