News & Announcements

Maine Historical Society Awarded $852,000 National Leadership Grant to Launch The Maine Community Heritage Project in 16 Towns and Cities Throughout The State


October 24, 2007

Portland, ME – The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded Maine Historical Society (MHS) a National Leadership Grant of $852,000 over the next three years. The grant will enable MHS, in partnership with the Maine State Library, to launch the Maine Community Heritage Project in 16 towns and cities throughout the state. This is the largest programmatic grant MHS has ever received, and is the largest competitive grant awarded by this agency in Maine. It is an extremely prestigious honor: of the 213 applications submitted for this award, 43 were granted.

"The Maine Community Heritage Project will foster working partnerships among local libraries, historical societies, teachers and students–all toward the end of creating vital online presentations of community history and culture," noted Richard D'Abate, Executive Director of Maine Historical Society. "Out of this project will come a number of new models: for community partnership, for the innovative use of technology, for engaging youth and building intergenerational cooperation, and for using local history as a community development tool."

Anne–Imelda M. Radice, Director of IMLS, added, "Cultural institutions energize their communities by not just preserving culture, heritage, and knowledge, but by supporting life–long learning and engagement. National Leadership Grants harness the work of the best of these institutions. By promoting innovation and partnerships, they allow these institutions to create national models that address the challenges of the broader library and museum communities, and help strengthen their impact."

One reviewer of the proposal commented, "The Maine Community Heritage Project is an inspired, ambitious project that utilizes state and local resources and involves young people in a way that is particularly innovative. This is an excellent example of a Leadership Project that has the power to impact communities throughout Maine and, by example, the nation."

The mission of IMLS is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. To learn more about IMLS, go to www.imls.gov.

Maine Historical Society preserves the heritage and history of Maine: the stories of Maine people, the traditions of Maine communities, and the record of Maine's place in a changing world.

For more information:

Maine Historical Society
489 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
207–774–1822
www.mainehistory.org
www.mainememory.net

Maine Historical Society preserves and shares Maine's story to enrich life in contemporary Maine.