GWL is pleased to announce that the Library has been awarded a major grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The £410,000 grant will fund the creation of the first ever Women’s Archive in Scotland.
This award will enable two important developments: the construction of a dedicated archive space within our new premises at the Mitchell Library, and the recruitment of a full-time Archivist for three years to work with the collection, train volunteers in archive and conservation skills, and run a series of national events related to the collection.
Feedback from HLF indicted that not only was our application successful but it was also deemed to be of the highest standards and one of the best planned project proposals that they had received. We would like to thank all those who supported our application with letters of endorsement.
The award has attracted some positive press coverage, including a piece on BBC’s Reporting Scotland TV news programme on 23 June, coverage on BBC Radio Scotland and the BBC website, and an article in the Times newspaper.
We are delighted that this award marks the first monies secured for our relocation to the Mitchell Library, and we are very excited about the project. We still have much to do – another £700,000 has to be raised for the complete refit of our new home. We are therefore looking at a relocation date of mid-2010 at the Mitchell Library and in the meantime will be submitting further applications to a range of grant-making bodies, and launching a ‘Champions’ private fundraising initiative.
How You Can Help
Every little contribution helps! You can help the Library raise the remaining funds we need for the move by becoming a Friend of GWL, or you can make a donation online via the Charity Choice website.
