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TO: Mayor John Laesch
FROM: Eric Pry, Museum Director
DATE: August 20, 2026
SUBJECT:
Requesting approval to accept a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for $25,000.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this memo is to recommend accepting funding from the IMLS in the amount of $25,000 to be used for the employment of a museum intern to assist with the collection rehousing project. Funding for this position is granted from September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2028 and will increase the digital access of the collection to the public, researchers, historians, scholars, and students.
BACKGROUND:
The G.A.R. Military Museum is undertaking a massive collection rehousing project with the goals of improving the collection storage conditions and access to the items and archives held within. The IMLS grant allows for funding to hire a temporary "Museum Intern" for two years to assist with the cataloguing, rehousing, and digitization of at least 900 records within the museum's collection. The collection rehousing project is a massive undertaking that is expected to be completed by 2029 with a goal of 100% of the collection catalogued, inventoried, re-housed in the recently purchased collection storage equipment funded by IMLS, and nearly have nearly all archival records available through an online catalogue such as the Illinois Digital Archives and/or the Internet Archives.
The G.A.R. Military Museum's collection was inherited from a volunteer group in 1999. Nearly all records have not been digitized due to the time needed for each record to be safely and properly scanned and catalogued. Numerous records were "batch catalogued" leading to issues where disparate records are grouped under the same collection catalogue number. Other examples include large lots (100+ records) grouped together presenting difficulties when portions of that lot are included in exhibitions or loaned to other institutions. The grant will allow for significant improvement in...
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