03 October 2025 The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board

The Ohio Preservation Kits Project is a collaborative initiative between the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB) and the Ohio Preservation Council (OPC), designed to empower small cultural heritage organizations, such as historical societies,... Each kit includes a curated selection of basic conservation tools, product samples, educational materials, and references to support everyday preservation needs, such as: Funding for the kits was provided by National Historical Publications and Records Commission as well as a donation from the Ohio Preservation Council. 40 preservation kits will be distributed on a needs-based, first-come, first-served basis. Organizations not selected in the initial round will be added to a waitlist for a potential future distribution. Each kit also includes information about the generous partnering organizations that helped fund and support this initiative.

Recipients of the kits will be invited to attend an educational webinar, where a preservation expert will walk through the kit contents, demonstrate proper use of included tools, and share best practices for collections... The mission of Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board is to serve the people of Ohio by advocating, nurturing, and advising programs that identify, preserve, and provide access to their documentary heritage, which enriches the... The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB) is proud to announce that the recipient of the 2025 OHRAB Achievement Award is the Williams County Public Library Local History and Genealogy Center. The Williams County Public Library Local History and Genealogy Center is home to thousands of local history and genealogical resources. In the 1960s, the citizens of Bryan, Ohio, led by local historian Paul Van Gundy, collected hundreds of history books and photographs. By the early 2000s, the collection had outgrown its small space within the Bryan Public Library.

The community came together to support the purchase of a historic bank building next door to the Williams County Public Library. The new building became the Local History and Genealogy Center department under the Williams County Public Library in 2009. Through generous donations, the collection has since expanded to include microfilm, maps, artifacts, and an extensive photographic archive. Recently, the Local History and Genealogy Center has focused its efforts on digitization. The goal of this effort is to preserve the collection and to make it more accessible. The Center formed important partnerships to achieve this goal.

First, working with Newspapers.com, the Center digitized all of its historic newspapers of Williams County. Seventeen different titles and a total of 690,052 pages were uploaded to Newspapers.com. The newspapers can be viewed for free at any Williams County Public Library branch. The Center next formed a partnership with Ohio Memory, a statewide digital library program coordinated by the Ohio History Connection. The Center has scanned thousands of historic photographs in preparation for uploading the images to Ohio Memory. So far, the Center has uploaded over 900 digital images with new material being uploaded weekly.

The Center’s goal is to add its full photographic collection to Ohio Memory as well as maps, yearbooks, and newspapers. The digital collection can be viewed for free at: https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p16007coll76. Jared Schnee, Local History and Genealogy Center Manager, says, “It is important to preserve this history so it can remain accessible to patrons across the globe. We are extremely grateful to have such a supporting community that maintains an interest in history.” The Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board (OHSPAB), appointed by the Governor, plays a pivotal role in preserving Ohio's rich historical and cultural heritage. By advising the State Historic Preservation Office, the board helps to ensure that historically significant properties are recommended for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.

Comprised of experts in fields such as history, architecture, and archaeology, the board meets quarterly to review nominations and guide state and national preservation efforts. Through this work, OHSPAB helps protect and promote Ohio's invaluable historical sites, ensuring they are recognized and preserved. Tip: On smaller screens, swipe left or scroll → to view the full table. Click here to download the current meeting agenda. Paul has over 32 years of experience with the Ohio Department of Transportation, where he led the Cultural Resource Management program from 1997 to 2011, ensuring compliance with Section 106 and NEPA. Since 2012, he has worked as a consultant in cultural resource management and historic preservation.

Paul has served on the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board since 2010 and is also a board member of the Great Circle Alliance. Tim Anderson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at Ohio University where he has taught courses in cultural and historical geography since 1996. His research focuses on the documentation and analysis of regional cultural landscapes in Ohio produced during the state’s earliest settlement period, the assessment of regional cultural landscapes in the United States, and the production... He has a long-standing interest in material culture, especially folk architecture. He received a Fulbright Fellowship in 2014 for research on Danube Swabian landscapes and communities in western Romania and co-editor of Settling Ohio: First Peoples and Beyond (Ohio University Press, 2023). 2025 Preservation Kits for Ohio Cultural Heritage Institutions

Supporting Preservation in Ohio’s Cultural Heritage The Ohio Preservation Kits project is a collaborative initiative between Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB) and Ohio Preservation Council (OPC), designed to empower small cultural heritage organizations, such as historical societies, community archives,... Each kit includes a curated selection of basic conservation tools, product samples, educational materials, and references to support everyday preservation needs, such as: Funding for the kits was provided by National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) as well as a donation from the Ohio Preservation Council. We also extend a thank you to Gaylord for donating some materials for the boxes. The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board announces the availability of grants between $500 and $5,000 to archival institutions to fund projects to preserve and/or provide access to Ohio’s historical records.

The grants are funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), an arm of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Grant applications are due March 31, 2023. More information on the grants, including the application packet, is available here. Projects eligible for funding in 2023 include: Please Note: all projects should produce some type of online content, such as a finding aid, report or digital images. Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to submit draft grant applications for feedback.

Draft applications must be received byFebruary 24 and must include all of the components of the application. Comments and recommendations on the drafts should not be construed as guaranteeing a grant award.

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