NEH grant to preserve English religious history collection

Emory's Preservation Office and Pitts Theology Library are participating with 11 other southeastern universities on a microfilming project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The $500,000 awarded to Emory for its share of the project will enable Pitts Theology Library to reformat approximately 4,300 volumes in its 19th century English religious history collection.

The grant will ensure that these materials will be preserved and accessible to scholars on microfilm, which can last up to 500 years. The project began in July and will be completed in June 1997.

According to Patrick Graham, director of Pitts Theology Library, Emory has an extensive collection of valuable materials from the 19th century, including manuscripts, broadsides, pamphlets and portions of the personal libraries of two leading English Catholics of the period, John Henry Cardinal Newman and Henry Edward Cardinal Manning.

Scholarly support for the preservation of the Newman and Manning works was a major factor in obtaining the grant, said Graham. The value of this "pocket of strength" at Pitts also was a major reason that the Southeastern Library Network Inc. (SOLINET) included Pitts in its proposal to NEH. SOLINET serves as an intermediary between libraries and government funding agencies, calling on southeastern libraries to submit descriptions and proposals of their prospective projects. SOLINET then sifts through the various proposals, finds those that have the most promise, and seeks funding from government agencies.

Pitts Library, the second largest theology library in North America, has particularly strong holdings that relate to Manning, since Emory acquired approximately one-third of his personal library. Manning and Newman were important figures in the Oxford Movement, a major religious movement in 19th century England. "These holdings make Emory a sought-after research resource in the United States," Graham said. "Some of these materials aren't even held by the largest British libraries."

Pitts Library has other important holdings on aspects of 19th century English religious history, including additional materials on the Oxford Movement and nonconformist religious organizations.

In total, the 11 participating universities will reformat 18,250 volumes from this time period. Currently, Emory has been reformatting materials at a rate of 205 per month. "This will benefit students, faculty and researchers alike," said Graham.

-- Elaine Justice