UAH M. Louis Salmon Library awarded NEH Grant

Drew Adan of UAH Archives examines plans for the 1960's Space City Theme Park.

Michael Mercier | UAH

The University of Alabama in Huntsville’s (UAH) M. Louis Salmon Library Special Collections and Archives has been awarded a Preservation Assistance Grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). UAH was the only Alabama institution selected to receive the award in the 2018 grant cycle, and one of 58 selected nationwide.

The $5,996 grant will allow the UAH library to purchase flat storage file cases, archival preservation materials, and environmental monitoring equipment.

"These grant funds will allow us to better preserve the materials "entrusted to us by the university and the people of Alabama’s Tennessee River Valley," said Reagan Grimsley, Head of Special Collections and Archives at the UAH M. Louis Salmon Library. "This award provides resources to house and store some of our most fragile materials, including architectural drawings from the Harvie P. Jones and Wilfred Van Valkenburgh Collections. One of the more unique collections we will be able to rehouse are rare plans for Space City, a 1960s-era theme park planned for what is today the city of Madison. The monitoring equipment will allow us to keep track of the conditions in both the archives and the library to ensure they are within the parameters outlined for such institutions," Grimsley added.

UAH Special Collections and Archives collects, organizes, preserves, and makes accessible materials of enduring value that support the research strengths of the university. In addition, Special Collections and Archives houses materials that document the history of the university with focus on the following areas: the history of aerospace, flight and space, science fiction literature, local and regional politics, oral histories, and the history and culture of Alabama’s Tennessee River Valley.

The NEH is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government founded in 1965 and dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. Originating in 2000, the preservation assistance grants help small and mid-size institutions, such as libraries, museums, and historical societies, archival repositories, town and county records offices, and colleges improve their ability to preserve and care for their humanities collections. The collections preserved by these facilities include books, journals, manuscript and archival materials, maps, moving images, sound recordings, decorative and fine arts, prints and photographs, textiles, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture, and historical objects.

The M. Louis Salmon Library Special Collections and Archives located at 4700 Holmes Ave. (Huntsville, AL 35899) is open to the public Monday—Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.