Czech museum receives two major grants

Two grants totaling $322,351 have been received by the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (NCSML) in Cedar Rapids, IA. A grant of $175,000 has been awarded from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for preserving and accessing the library and artifact humanities collections after the 2008 flood. The funds will provide support to move the collections to the new museum and library; purchase and install new storage furniture and environmental and light monitoring equipment; create an integrated pest management system, and update and restore documentation and cataloging.

A second grant, from the Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS), totaling $147,351, will support the oral history project currently underway at the NCSML. “Specifically, this grant will continue our ground-breaking work in capturing the personal stories and family sagas of Czech and Slovak immigrants who came to America,” said President/CEO Gail Naughton.

The IMLS grant will support the second phase of a four-phase project capturing individual stories of immigrants who came to the United States during the critical Cold War period. In addition, oral histories will document immigrants who arrived after the Velvet Revolution of 1989. Work will concentrate in New York, Chicago, Washington, DC, Florida and the San Francisco Bay Area.

“These two grants center on the heart of the museum and library – its collections. The funds will allow the NCSML to intensify its mission delivery through stronger programs and services into 2013 and beyond. The support from NEH and from IMLS comes at the ideal time as we focus on the future with increasing excitement and confidence,” Naughton said.

National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library celebrates Czech, Slovak and American life. It is a museum that encourages self-discovery and asks what it means to be free. Through extraordinary exhibitions and experiences and storytelling of freedom, identity, family, community, human rights and dignity, it connects yesterday with today and tomorrow.