The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) has opened the application period for its Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives grant program. The program will award funds to institutions holding collections of high scholarly value that are difficult or impossible to locate through existing finding aids. Award recipients will create descriptive information for their hidden collections that will be linked to and interoperable with all other projects funded by this grant, to form a federated environment that can be built upon over time. CLIR expects to award about $4 million in grants that range from $75,000 and $500,000. Funding for the program comes from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The deadline for submission completed pre-proposals is Friday, April 23, 2010. All applicants are required to submit a pre-proposal; final proposals will only be accepted from applicants whose pre-proposals are approved by the program’s review panel.

Further information about the program and links to the online application and guidelines are available at http://www.clir.org/hiddencollections/index.html

Karen Weaver, MLS, Adjunct Faculty, Cataloging & Classification, The iSchool at Drexel University, Philadelphia PA email: [log in to unmask] / Electronic Resources Statistician, Duquesne University, Gumberg Library, Pittsburgh PA email: [log in to unmask]