American Philosophical Society

THE PHILADELPHIA AREA CENTER FOR THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE

ENDOWING A CENTER FOR NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES

AMPLIFYING ACCESS TO MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS: SAVING LEGACY DATA IN HISTORICAL CARD CATALOGS

REVOLUTIONARY CITY: DIGITIZING THE HIDDEN STORIES OF PHILADELPHIA, 1774-1783 ['REVOLUTIONARY CITY: DIGITIZING THE HIDDEN STORIES OF PHILADELPHIA, 1774-1783' WILL ALLOW THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY AND THE LIBRARY COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA TO CONTINUE TO EMPLOY CONTINGENT EARLY CAREER SCHOLARS AND PERMANENT STAFF TO DIGITIZE MANUSCRIPT, PAMPHLET, NEWSPAPER, AND BROADSIDE COLLECTIONS RELATED TO REVOLUTIONARY PHILADELPHIA FROM THEIR COLLECTIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL POPULATE THE REVOLUTIONARY CITY PORTAL WITH DIGITIZED IMAGES AND ENHANCED METADATA FOR APPROXIMATELY 36,000 PAGES OF ORIGINAL MATERIAL IN THEIR COLLECTIONS. AS THE UNITED STATES APPROACHES ITS SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL (250TH) ANNIVERSARY IN 2026, AMERICANS WILL BE LOOKING ONLINE FOR MATERIALS TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THE NATION'S FOUNDING PRINCIPLES, HISTORY, AND DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES. THE SHARED DIGITAL REPOSITORY WILL OFFER SCHOLARS, TEACHERS, STUDENTS AND THE INTERESTED PUBLIC THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN DIVERSE STORIES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION'CURRENTLY SEPARATED, OBSCURED, AND INACCESSIBLE IN THE ARCHI] [PURPOSE:  THIS PROJECT WILL ALLOW THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY TO RETAIN POSITIONS FOR EARLY CAREER SCHOLARS AND PUBLIC HISTORIANS, AND IT WILL ALLOW THEM TO DIGITIZE MANUSCRIPTS AND TEXTUAL ARCHIVES RELATED TO PHILADELPHIA DURING THE REVOLUTION.  ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED:  THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY WILL EMPLOY THREE FULL-TIME DIGITIZATION SPECIALISTS AND SIX PERMANENT STAFF. THESE SPECIALISTS AND STAFF MEMBERS WILL AID IN THE DIGITIZATION OF MANUSCRIPTS, PAMPHLETS, NEWSPAPERS, AND BROADSIDES RELATED TO REVOLUTIONARY PHILADELPHIA, IN TOTAL 36,000 ITEMS. THE RESULTING REPOSITORY WILL BE AVAILABLE AND USEFUL TO SCHOLARS, TEACHERS, STUDENTS, AND THE PUBLIC. FURTHER, THIS REPOSITORY WILL HELP POPULATE THE WEBSITE, REVOLUTIONARY CITY: A PORTAL TO THE NATION'S FOUNDING.     THIS PROJECT ALSO ALLOWS THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY TO CREATE CONTEXTUAL ESSAYS ABOUT A DIVERSE RANGE OF EXPERIENCES WITHIN REVOLUTIONARY PHILADELPHIA, AND A MONTHLY BLOG ON THE PROJECT.   EXPECTED OUTCOMES: 36,000 PIECES OF PRINT MATERIALS AND COLLECTIONS WILL BE DIGITIZED AND APPROPRIATELY CATALOGUED FOR PUBLIC ACCESS AND INCLUSION IN THE REVOLUTIONARY CITY: A PORTAL TO THE NATION'S FOUNDING REPOSITORY. THEY WILL RETAIN THREE FULL-TIME DIGITIZATION SPECIALISTS AND SIX PERMANENT STAFF MEMBERS. LASTLY, THEY WILL CRAFT ESSAYS CONTEXTUALIZING THE MATERIALS WITHIN THE DIVERSE COMMUNITY OF REVOLUTIONARY PHILADELPHIA AND WRITE A BLOG ABOUT THE PROJECT AND ITS PROGRESS.   INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: THIS WILL BENEFIT SCHOLARS, TEACHERS, AND THE PUBLIC BY MAKING ACCESSIBLE MYRIAD PRINT RESOURCES ON REVOLUTIONARY PHILADELPHIA. BY BEING AVAILABLE BOTH THROUGH THE MUSEUM AND REVOLUTIONARY CITY PROJECT, THESE MATERIALS WILL REACH BOTH AN IMMEDIATE AND GLOBAL AUDIENCE INTERESTED IN PHILADELPHIA AND ITS INHABITANTS DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.  SUBRECIPIENT BENEFICIARIES:  THIS PROJECT DOES NOT INTEND TO ISSUE SUBAWARDS. ]

A NEW DIGITAL GUIDE TO NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS COLLECTIONS AT THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

CHALLENGE GRANT FOR "ENDOWMENT FOR LIBRARY TECHNOLOGY"

THESE TRUTHS: THE DECLARATIONS OF INDEPENDENCE [THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY (APS) REQUESTS $200,000 TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT, INSTALLATION, AND PUBLIC INTERPRETATION OF THESE TRUTHS: THE DECLARATIONS OF INDEPENDENCE, AN EXHIBITION SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 2026-JANUARY 2027, AS WELL AS AN ACCOMPANYING CATALOGUE AND PUBLIC CONFERENCE. GROUNDED IN SCHOLARLY RESEARCH, AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF LEADING SCHOLARS AND PUBLIC HISTORY COLLABORATORS, THESE TRUTHS EXPLORES EVENTS THAT LED UP TO JULY 1776, WHAT THE DECLARATION MEANT FOR MULTIPLE AUDIENCES AT THE TIME IT WAS RATIFIED AND DISSEMINATED, AND WHY IT REMAINED A NATIONAL SYMBOL THROUGHOUT THE 19TH CENTURY. MANY IMPORTANT AND RARELY SEEN VERSIONS OF THE DECLARATION, ALL DRAWN FROM THE APS COLLECTIONS, WILL BE ON DISPLAY TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME, INCLUDING A HAND-WRITTEN DRAFT BY THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE CHAIR HE SAT IN WHILE DOING SO. TOGETHER THESE MATERIALS AND OTHER ARTIFACTS ALLOW VISITORS TO UNDERSTAND THE HISTORY AND LEGACY OF THE DOCUMENT PROCLAIMING THE NATION?S FOUNDING.]

APS INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE MANUSCRIPT INTERFACE

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN'S AMERICAN ENLIGHTENMENT: DOCUMENTING EARLY AMERICAN SCIENCE AT THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

AMERICA?S FORGOTTEN FOUNDERS: THE REVOLUTIONARY CITY OF PHILADELPHIA [APS REQUESTS $190,000 FOR ?AMERICA?S FORGOTTEN FOUNDERS: THE REVOLUTIONARY CITY OF PHILADELPHIA,? TWO RESIDENTIAL, SITE-BASED WORKSHOPS SCHEDULED FOR SUMMER 2026. THIS PROGRAM IS DESIGNED FOR 5TH-12TH GRADE TEACHERS OF MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY, AND WILL ALLOW PARTICIPANTS TO ENGAGE WITH A RANGE OF THE CITY?S LEADING HISTORICAL INSTITUTIONS. EACH COHORT WILL MEET WITH HISTORIANS, ARCHIVISTS, CURATORS, AND EDUCATION SPECIALISTS TO EXAMINE THE HISTORY OF THE U.S. FOUNDING IN THE CITY WHERE IT ALL BEGAN, PHILADELPHIA, AND RECONSIDER WHAT CONSTITUTES A ?FOUNDING? DOCUMENT AND WHO COUNTS AS ?FOUNDER.? THESE WORKSHOPS OF UP TO 36 PARTICIPANTS EACH WILL BE HELD FROM JULY 20-24,2026 AND FROM AUGUST 3-7, 2026, ON THE BLOCK THAT THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WAS ADOPTED AND ALLOW PARTICIPANTS TO CONNECT PRIMARY SOURCE MATERIALS(AVAILABLE ONLINE THROUGH APS? THE REVOLUTIONARY CITY: A PORTAL TO THE NATION?S FOUNDING)TO THE STREETS, HOMES, AND LANDMARKS WHERE THEY WERE CREATED.]

CATALOGING AND CONTEXTUALIZING THE WORLD'S LARGEST KNOWN COLLECTION OF PRINTED WORKS BY CHARLES DARWIN

NEH FPIRI POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP AT THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA AND LIBRARY COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA, PROPOSES REVOLUTIONARY CITY: A PORTAL TO THE NATION?S FOUNDING?A PILOT PROJECT THAT BRINGS TOGETHER EDUCATORS, ARCHIVISTS, AND DIGITAL HUMANISTS TO DESIGN AN ONLINE PORTAL THAT WILL CONNECT COLLECTIONS RELATED TO THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. THE PROPOSAL IS PRESENTED IN THE SPIRIT OF THE UPCOMING UNITED STATES SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL IN 2026. THE PORTAL WILL SERVE AS A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR SCHOLARS, TEACHERS, STUDENTS, AND THE PUBLIC TO LEARN ABOUT THE DIVERSE STORIES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE RESIDENTS OF AMERICA?S REVOLUTIONARY CITY.