The NCSU Libraries' Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) was recently awarded a $49,992 NC ECHO Digitization Grant to create a resource-based research and educational Web site entitled "'Green ?N? Growing': The History of Home Demonstration and 4-H Youth Development in North Carolina." The goal of the 2005-2006 project is to enable teaching, learning, and research by providing access to primary resource materials.

The project will digitize 5,000 unique images, pamphlets, flyers, and other textual documents dating from 1910 to 1970, and it will create Web-based search tools such as EAD finding aids and metadata searchable through Luna Imaging's Insight software. These will be presented in a framework that facilitates both research and educational use at NCSU and throughout the world. While appropriate for use at the college level, these resources can also be accessed by teachers and students at the K-12 grade levels.

Housed in the SCRC?s University Archives, the original materials provide valuable information on the history of women, race relations, education, agriculture, and rural life. The 4-H and Home Demonstration Extension programs have been significant aspects of North Carolina history. Both programs commenced in the early 1900s as part of the agricultural extension movement to transmit new information about "scientific" farming and homemaking practices to the people at large. By the 1950s, North Carolina had more 4-Hers than any other state in the country. North Carolina's 4-H and home demonstration programs generated such nationally-known luminaries as L. R. Harrill and Jane McKimmon.

"'Green 'N' Growing'" will draw upon the NCSU Libraries? expertise in developing content for online history resources. The grant is being awarded through the State Library of North Carolina as part of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). LSTA is managed by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), an agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners by helping libraries and museums serve their communities.

More information on LSTA grants awarded in North Carolina, including a complete list of recipients for the 2005-2006 period, is available on the State Library of North Carolina Web site. Information on the federal grant program for museums and libraries is available on the IMLS web site.