City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: FEBRUARY 22, 2017
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Grant Application for up to $18,000 to the American Council of Learned Societies for the Creation of a Website Focused on Archaeology and Historic Store Ledgers.
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ISSUE: Consideration of approval for the Office of Historic Alexandria (OHA) to apply for a Digital Extension grant for up to $18,000.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council authorize the City Manager to:
1) Approve the application to American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) for a grant of up to $18,000;
2) Approve the acceptance of funds from ACLS for up to $18,000, if the grant is approved; and
3) Authorize the City Manager to execute the necessary documents that may be required.
BACKGROUND: Alexandria Archaeology (AA), a division of the Office of Historic Alexandria (OHA), will partner with the lead applicant, University of Wisconsin, Madison (UWM), and the Smithsonian Institution to undertake the grant activities. The AA component of the grant seeks up to $18,000 from ACLS to support a digital humanities project that will bring merchant William Ramsay's store ledger to life, through transcriptions, customer biographies, and archaeological artifacts recently discovered on Alexandria's waterfront representative of the time period and type. The grant will fund 3 semester-long internships and the purchase of photography equipment.
The goals of the overall project are to:
1) Complete the transcription of the first William Ramsay ledger book and transfer it into searchable, online database (UWM and Smithsonian);
2) Catalogue and photograph artifacts from an 18th-century privy to illustrate goods sold from Ramsay's store (AA);
3) Research and write biographies of some of Alexandria's earliest resident...
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