WKCTC Receives National Preservation Assistance Grant

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PADUCAH, KY (12/17/2018) West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) has received a $6,000 Preservation Assistance Grant for Smaller Institutions from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), college officials announced today.

The NEH announced on December 12 the awarding of $14.8 million for 253 Humanities Projects nationwide. WKCTC received one of 58 preservation assistance grants awarded.

Starting in January 2019, WKCTC will the grant funds to continue a preservation assessment of the college's archives by archivist Leigh Ann Paxton, which began in January 2018. Paxton will finalize the relocation of campus historical materials from Carson Hall to Matheson Library, purchase preservation supplies, and oversee staff participation, professional development, and training workshops on the fundamentals of preservation.

The campus and community learned about the progress of the "SAVE" project during a "Meet the Archivist" event at WKCTC library in November. Amy Sullivan, director of library services at WKCTC's Matheson Library, said "SAVE" stands for "Store, Access, Value, and Engage."

"We're extremely honored to have received this grant in order to help us address our immediate preservation needs, which include properly storing and caring for the collection. We hope to move further with the project next semester, making a plan for digitizing materials, beginning a website and library catalog presence, and making materials of enduring historical value accessible to the public," Sullivan said, adding that the archival project also aims to invite alumni from West Kentucky Industrial College, West Kentucky Technical College, Paducah Junior College, Paducah Community College, and West Kentucky Community and Technical College, as well as current students, faculty, and staff, researchers, historians, and interested individuals across the region to connect and/or reconnect with the college.

For more information on the NEH grants announced December 12th including a full list of grants by geographic location, visit the National Endowment for the Humanities website at https://www.neh.gov/news/neh-announces-148-million-253-humanities-projects-nationwide . For more information about WKCTC's special collections, contact Amy Sullivan at amy.sullivan@kctcs.edu or 270-534-3171.