The grants, announced by IMLS Acting Director Keith Sonderling, will support digitization efforts, climate-controlled storage, and collections management at institutions including Jackson State University, Alabama State University, Bishop State Community College, and Southern University at Shreveport.
"President Trump's commitment to support our nation's HBCUs has been lived out through these grants," Sonderling said in a statement, tying the awards to a White House executive order on HBCU excellence.
Among the largest initiatives, the HBCU Library Alliance will partner with the American Institute of Physics to address what organizers describe as the significant under-documentation of HBCU contributions to the physical sciences. The two-year project will feature an intensive summer workshop on oral history, digital collecting, and preservation for ten early and mid-career librarians at HBCUs.
At Jackson State University, the Margaret Walker Center — home to the archives of the celebrated poet and novelist — will use its grant to relocate collections to secure, environmentally controlled storage during building renovations necessitated by severe storm damage in 2023. The center will also digitize nearly 1,000 oral histories and transfer 35,000 items from a fee-based digital platform to an open-source system linked to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Alabama State University's archives department will use its funding to develop a disaster response plan, purchase emergency supplies, and train 25 staff members in collection recovery — steps recommended following a 2023 site visit by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts.
Bishop State Community College in Alabama will inventory and catalog three collections of 19th- and 20th-century African American materials, while Southern University at Shreveport will install climate control equipment to better protect its museum's art and artifacts.
