Boston Public Library Fund Inc

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY - NATIONAL DIGITAL NEWSPAPER PROGRAM CYCLE 3 [IF AWARDED A THIRD NDNP GRANT, BPL PROPOSES TO MAINTAIN A FOCUS ON CONTRIBUTING PRE-1830 NEWSPAPERS TO THE "CHRONICLING AMERICA" PLATFORM, IN ANTICIPATION OF INCREASED PUBLIC INTEREST IN REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY AND EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY AS THE NATION APPROACHES THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. MASSACHUSETTS? CONTAIN SOME OF THE MOST ESSENTIAL REVOLUTIONARY AND EARLY AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS YET TO BE DIGITIZED AND SHARED WITH LOC AND CHRONICLING AMERICA. BY FILLING THIS GAP, BPL WILL PROVIDE RESEARCHERS, EDUCATORS, AND THE PUBLIC WITH INVALUABLE TOOLS TO EXPLORE THE RICH HISTORY OF JOURNALISM AND ITS ROLE IN SHAPING SOCIETAL DISCOURSE DURING THE NATION'S FORMATIVE YEARS.]

COMMUNITY HISTORY & DIGITIZATION [BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY?S COMMUNITY HISTORY & DIGITIZATION PROJECT WILL IDENTIFY, DIGITIZE, PRESERVE, AND CONTEXTUALIZE COMMUNITY-BASED ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS FOR INCLUSION IN THE BOSTON RESEARCH CENTER. THESE COMMUNITY ARCHIVES WOULD THEN BE MADE ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC VIA PILOT PROGRAMS, EXHIBITS, AND WORKSHOPS ALIGNED WITH COMMUNITY-IDENTIFIED PRIORITIES. AS ONE OF THE MOST TRUSTED PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS IN THE CITY OF BOSTON WITH EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMMING, THE LIBRARY?S ROLE IN THIS PROJECT IS TO CONVENE A SERIES OF PUBLIC MEETINGS AND EVENTS AT SELECT BRANCH LIBRARIES THROUGH WHICH COMMUNITY INPUT COULD BE SOLICITED AND ACTED UPON, AND TO DEVELOP PROGRAMMING AND SUPPORTING MATERIALS FOR ONGOING COMMUNITY USE IN CONJUNCTION WITH BOSTON RESEARCH CENTER?S CONTENT PLATFORM. THIS PROPOSAL SEEKS FUNDING FOR STAFF POSITIONS AND FOR ACTIVITIES RELATED TO IN-PERSON DIGITAL HUMANITIES WORK THAT CAN BE RESUMED AS THE CITY OF BOSTON BEGINS REOPENING IN JANUARY 2022.] [PURPOSE: TO EXAMINE, CONTEXTUALIZE, AND DIGITIZE MULTIPLE COMMUNITY ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS AT THE BOSTON RESEARCH CENTER. THESE DOCUMENTS WILL THEN BE MADE PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE VIA PILOT PROGRAMS, EXHIBITS, AND WORKSHOPS. ADDITIONALLY, BPL WILL WORK WITH THE GREATER BOSTON COMMUNITY IN EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE MEMORIES OF ITS MOST VULNERABLE CITIZENS DURING THE PANDEMIC.  ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: THIS PROJECT WILL DISTRIBUTE ORAL HISTORY BACKPACKS TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS, CONTAINING FORM TEMPLATES, INTERVIEW GUIDES, AND AUDIO RECORDING EQUIPMENT TO ALLOW PRESERVATION OF HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE AMONG BOSTON RESIDENTS. IT WILL ALSO SUPPORT COMMUNITY ARCHIVING ACTIVITIES AT SEVERAL SITES AROUND BOSTON. THE HARRIET TUBMAN HOUSE, A COMMUNITY GATHERING SPACE IN THE SOUTH END, WILL COLLECT INTERVIEWS AND ARCHIVAL MATERIALS THAT SHOWCASE THE HISTORY AND LOCAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HOUSE. THE NEIGHBORHOOD PUBLIC ART AND CITY EQUITY PROJECT WILL CATALOGUE AND ARCHIVE THE PUBLIC ART IN BOSTON, AS WELL AS GIVE IT CONTEXT WITH ARTIST INTERVIEWS, MAPS, AND PERTINENT ARCHIVAL RECORDS. THE EAST BOSTON MEMOIR PROJECT AIMS TO CAPTURE PARTICIPANT?S MEMOIRS AND ORAL HISTORIES OVER A 16-WEEK COURSE. THE CHINATOWN COLLECTIONS INVENTORY AIMS TO PRESERVE HISTORICAL MEMORIES OF THE CHINATOWN NEIGHBORHOOD IN AN ARCHIVE. THE TECH GOES HOME PROJECT WILL COLLECT INDIVIDUAL HISTORIES FROM THOSE SUFFERING FROM DIGITAL INEQUALITY IN BOSTON. THE PUBLIC WORKSHOPS PROGRAM WILL CONTINUE WORKSHOPS AND ARCHIVING PUT ON PAUSE BY THE PANDEMIC.  EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THE OUTCOME OF ALL OF THE AFOREMENTIONED PROJECTS WILL BE THE COLLECTION AND ARCHIVAL OF ORAL HISTORIES FROM MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES IN THE BOSTON AREA. THESE HISTORIES WILL THEN BE DISSEMINATED TO THE WIDER PUBLIC.  INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: THE PROJECT WILL BE FULLY OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND AVAILABLE TO THE ENTIRE BOSTON COMMUNITY. BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY WILL DEPLOY THE ABOVE ACTIVITIES IN THE BOSTON NEIGHBORHOODS OF SOUTH END, ROXBURY, CHINATOWN, AND EAST BOSTON. BPL BRANCH LIBRARIES IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS WILL BE UTILIZED AS COMMUNITY SPACES FOR THE EXECUTION OF THE ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED ABOVE.   SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: THIS PROJECT DOES NOT INTEND TO ISSUE ANY SUBAWARDS. ]

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY - NATIONAL DIGITAL NEWSPAPER PROGRAM [THIS SECOND CYCLE OF THE NATIONAL DIGITAL NEWSPAPER PROGRAM GRANT PROJECT WILL ALLOW BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY TO CONTRIBUTE AN ADDITIONAL 100,000 PAGES OF DIGITAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN MASSACHUSETTS BETWEEN 1690 AND 1963 TO THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS' CHRONICLING AMERICA DATABASE.]

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY ? NATIONAL DIGITAL NEWSPAPER PROGRAM [BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY WILL DIGITIZE A MINIMUM OF 100,000 PAGES OF NEWSPAPER MICROFILM PUBLISHED IN MASSACHUSETTS BETWEEN 1690 AND 1963 FOR INCLUSION IN THE NATIONAL DIGITAL NEWSPAPER PROGRAM.]

THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY WILL EXPAND ITS ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (ESL) PROGRAMMING TO ALL OF ITS 26 LIBRARY LOCATIONS ACROSS THE CITY. THE PROJECT WILL RESPOND TO THE RISING DEMAND FOR ESL PROGRAMS, WHICH HAS BEEN HEIGHTENED BY THE PANDEMIC AND ULTIMATELY HELPS INDIVIDUALS PARTICIPATE MORE FULLY IN THE WORKFORCE AND ECONOMY. THE LIBRARIES WILL OFFER BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE, AND ADVANCED ENGLISH-LANGUAGE CLASSES, AS WELL AS TEST PREPARATION CLASSES FOR GENERAL EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (GED) AND TEST OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (TOEFL) EXAMS. THE LIBRARIES ALSO WILL PROVIDE SMALL GROUP TUTORING AND VOLUNTEER-LED CONVERSATION GROUPS. THE LIBRARY FUND WILL HIRE AN ADDITIONAL LITERACY INSTRUCTOR AND VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR TO MANAGE AND IMPLEMENT THE EXPANDED PROGRAMMING. THE LIBRARY FUND ALSO WILL IMPLEMENT A ROBUST MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGN IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES TO PROMOTE THE NEW PROGRAMS.