The Community Heritage Grants (CHG) for 2019 have recently been announced with more than $382,940 awarded to 61 organisations and community groups across Australia.

The CHG program, which is managed by the National Library of Australia (NLA), provides grants of up to $15,000 to community organisations such as libraries, archives, museums, Indigenous and multicultural groups, genealogical and historical societies from inner cities to the most remote parts of Australia.

The grants are provided to assist with the preservation of locally owned, but nationally significant collections of materials that are publicly accessible including artefacts, letters, diaries, maps, photographs, and audio visual material.

Of the 61 successful recipients in 2019, 20 are from NSW; see the list below.

Grants have been allocated for a wide range of projects including the purchase of archival materials for rehousing, preservation needs assessment, conservation treatment and workshops on preventive conservation and object handling.

It is gratifying to see that of the 20 successful grant applicants from NSW organisation, 8 have received grants for significance assessment of their collections. Significance assessment is an essential tool in collections management, underpinning decisions in resource allocation. It assists the collecting organisation to:

• Establish priority themes for the collection
• Consider how this relates to the mission/purpose/strategic plan
• Consider which items or aspects of the collection relate to specific themes
• Propose a thematic plan for display and the priorities
• Identify strengths, weaknesses and gaps in the collection
• Assist in helping to identify future collecting activities

For more on significance assessment, read Significance 2.0.

New South Wales