Xavier University of Louisiana (Xavier University Library Resource Center)

Xavier University of Louisiana, University Archives and Special Collections will hire a full-time archivist to coordinate the preservation, digitization, cataloging, and dissemination of the Charles F. Heartman collection of manuscript materials, a collection of 4,000 items dating from 1724 to 1897. The collection represents some of the archives' most valuable primary sources on the legal, economic, and social conditions of both enslaved and free blacks. The grant will also fund the purchase of digital asset management equipment and software to allow these items to be discoverable and viewable online with free virtual access. Project activities will help to preserve the physical condition of the collection and provide access to these documents for both research and teaching purposes for the Xavier University community and the general public.