Washington Digital Heritage grants provide funds to libraries for digital projects that promote the creation and sharing of digital content documenting Washington's history. Grant funds can be used to cover many of the costs associated with starting and managing a digital project, including purchasing equipment and software, paying for additional staff, and necessary training. Grants are open to public, academic, tribal and special libraries. See the individual grant cycle tabs for more information about the projects and expenses covered under these grants. The funding amount, grant period, and grant requirements may change from year to year.
Washington Digital Heritage (WDH) grant cycles support public, tribal, special, and academic libraries in carrying out a variety of digital initiatives focused on archival and special collections of cultural or historical significance.
The Washington State Library (WSL) seeks proposals that: 1) Develop institutional capacity to carry out and sustain digital initiatives, and: 2) Support regional and/or statewide approaches to digitization and the use of digital cultural heritage collections.
This WDH grant cycle works to fulfill WSL’s Library Services and Technology Act Plan goal, 2018-2022: Connect Washingtonians to their history, employing digital initiatives and other preservation strategies to tell the stories of local communities and to celebrate our common heritage.
Proposals may include or involve:
- Digitization/reformatting of archival and special collections.
- Metadata creation, remediation/cleanup, and/or re-cataloging.
- Development of local standards, practices and/or policies related to digitization, metadata creation, digital preservation, etc.
- Creation of born-digital multimedia content (e.g., oral histories, digital exhibits).
- Integration of primary sources or archival collections into educational settings by way of lesson plans/curricula, and/or Open Educational Resources (OERs).
Project outputs should be openly accessible to the public. Exceptions may be made for tribal libraries working with culturally sensitive materials. Collaboration and formal partnerships are encouraged, but not required. Proposals using existing standards and best practices, and supporting a regional approach to the preservation and dissemination of digital collections will receive priority consideration for grant awards. Examples of this might include contributing records to a Digital Public Library of America service hub, or developing workflows, tools, or best practices useful to other libraries in the region. Learn more about the Orbis Cascade Alliance digital collections work for the Northwest here: https://www.orbiscascade.org/programs/ulc/digital-collections/ or about the work of WSL and State Library of Oregon here: https://www.northwestdigitalheritage.org/.
WSL supports libraries throughout the state in building local capacity to develop and sustain digital cultural heritage initiatives. The collaborative digitization program, Washington Rural Heritage (WRH), http://www.washingtonruralheritage.org, provides a statewide digital platform for smaller institutions. An existing or prospective WRH partner may use this grant opportunity to develop WRH collections. However, institutions are also welcome to undertake projects existing outside the WRH program and are free to use their own local systems, repositories, or platforms to manage and share project outputs.
WSL staff are available to provide consulting, training, and support of awardees throughout this grant cycle. Please note that WSL also offers separate Professional Development Grants to support professional training and continuing education (e.g., for advanced digitization topics): https://washstatelib.libguides.com/2021_PD_Virtual_Conf/General_Info.
Clockwise from top left: Posters of scanned images from Whitman County Heritage, April 17, 2018; Digitizing oversize material with a Cruse Scanner, March 16, 2012; Scanner training at the Reardan Memorial Library, November 14, 2023; Photographing artifacts at the Lummi Island Library, July 8, 2009.
Washington Digital Heritage grants are funded through the Institute of Museum and Library Services.