WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley announced today that the Institute of Museum and Library Services has awarded a $119,788 matching grant to the Dubuque County Historical Society through the Museums for America grant program for the Mathias Ham House.
"These funds will help the Dubuque County Historical Society make sure that these treasures will live on for future generations to continue to enjoy," Grassley said.
According to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Dubuque County Historical Society will use the funds to help provide for the planning, inventory, security, packing and orderly move of the collection in 2010, as well as ongoing inventory, cataloging and management of the collection. A digitized sampling of frequently handled or extremely fragile artifacts will be posted online and this pilot digitization will be evaluated by the Dubuque County Historical Society to assess the feasibility of a more comprehensive digitization in the future.
The Museums for America grant program supports projects and ongoing activities that build museums' capacity to serve their communities by advancing the institution's mission and strategic goals. Projects include research, planning, new programs and activities that support the efforts of museums to upgrade and integrate new technologies.