Humanities Collections and Reference Resources
Forecasted
This grant helps fund projects that make humanities collections more accessible for research, teaching, and public use through digitization and resource creation.
Funder: National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
Due Dates: July 15, 2025 (Estimated Application Due Date)
Funding Amounts: Up to $350,000 for implementation projects (3 years); up to $50,000 for planning projects (2 years)
Summary: Supports projects that enhance discovery and use of humanities collections through digitization, description, and creation of reference resources for research, teaching, and public engagement.
Key Information: Encourages open access, collaboration, and sustainable digital resource management; eligible applicants include governments, nonprofits, and higher education institutions.
Description
The Humanities Collections and Reference Resources (HCRR) program, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), supports projects that facilitate the discovery and use of humanities collections for research, teaching, and public engagement. This includes activities such as digitizing and describing collections, as well as creating reference resources that synthesize humanities information.
The program aims to advance scholarship, education, and public engagement by helping libraries, archives, museums, and historical organizations steward important collections. These collections may include books, manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings, moving images, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, art, material culture, and digital objects.
HCRR encourages open access to resources, collaboration between smaller and larger repositories, and partnerships among humanities experts, information professionals, and community stakeholders. Projects should prioritize sharing and interoperability to ensure long-term availability of digital collections and resources.
Examples of Funded Projects
- Digitizing primary sources on Appalachian economic development
- Creating encyclopedias such as the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia
- Community archiving of Native American music with institutional facilitation
