CWU’s NEH Grant to Help Preserve Community History

Central Washington University has received a $12,000 National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage (NEH) Grant to fund three community workshops to preserve and document local history in central Washington.

“This project aims to preserve family and community historical items from within Ellensburg, the agricultural community of Toppenish that has a rich Native American legacy, and the community of Roslyn with its history of European immigration,” said CWU university archivist and professor Julia Stringfellow.

The public is encouraged to attend the free upcoming digitization workshops:

June 16 – CWU Brooks Library, Ellensburg, 9 a.m. - Noon
July 7 – Yakama Nation Library, Toppenish, 9 a.m. - Noon
July 14 – Roslyn Public Library, Roslyn, 9 a.m. - Noon

This is an opportunity for all community members to learn about preserving their family’s histories and archive how that history aligns with the community cultural heritage. The workshops are free to the public but an RSVP is required by sending an email to archive@cwu.edu.

The project accepts photographic images, journals, personal papers, and other documents for digitization. Along with digititization services, participants will receive preservation kits that include archival supplies and advice from CWU Archives staff.

Each attendee will receive a flash drive of their scanned digital content, and with donor permission, CWU Archieves will retain a copy to preserve in their repository as part of Washington’s local history.

The NEH grant was awarded to CWU’s James E. Brooks Library Archives and Special Collections, who will plan and implement the workshops. The goals of the events are to establish an annual digitization day to build community relationships, develop community cultural awareness, and educate on preservation.

For more information, contact Julia Stringfellow at archive@cwu.edu, 509-963-1717.

Media contact: Dawn Alford, Department of Public Affairs, 509-963-1484, Dawn.Alford@cwu.edu.