Southport's Pequot Library Receives National Endowment Grant

Information from Pequot Library:

FAIRFIELD, CT — Pequot Library was awarded a $10,000 Preservation Assistance Grant Award for Smaller Institutions from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The project, “Stewarding a Collection for Generations to Come,” will have a broad benefit across the library’s Special Collections, helping the library to properly care for materials in storage, on display, and while in use by staff, students, and researchers.

Pequot Library is one of 61 awardees out of the 114 eligible applications that were considered. “We are honored to be recognized by the NEH with this preservation assistance grant award,” says Executive Director Stephanie J. Coakley. “Pequot Library last benefited from a NEH grant about 20 years ago, and this generous support to help us continue to care for the collections is greatly appreciated.”

“We’re thrilled to acknowledge the support awarded by the NEH,” says Special Collections Librarian Cecily Dyer. “The funds allow us to continue with our mission of stewarding Pequot Library’s rare and unique collections for generations to come and making these materials
accessible to scholars and the public.”

Pequot Library’s Special Collections have been a core component of the library’s mission from its founding in 1889. With strengths in early Americana and natural history, the Special Collections comprise approximately 26,000 published works and archival collections, including artifacts, manuscripts, and photographs. The NEH grant will support the purchase of environmental monitoring equipment and archival storage supplies to help preserve these collections, as recommended by a collection-level conservation needs assessment report developed for the library by the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) in 2021. The grant will also support a full-day training workshop at Pequot Library led by a specialist from NEDCC.

ABOUT THE NEH:
Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities
supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the
humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional
information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: www.neh.gov. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this press release do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

ABOUT PEQUOT LIBRARY:
Pequot Library’s annual programs and library services for adults and children serve more than
45,000 participants a year. As a public association library 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization,
Pequot Library relies on the generosity of donors, corporate and community partners, fundraising
events, and Friends of Pequot Library memberships. Follow Pequot Library on Facebook,
Instagram, and Twitter.