The Foundations of Discovery - A Report on the Assessment of the Impacts of the Cataloging Hidden Collections Program, 2008-2019 - September 2019

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob

The Foundations of Discovery presents an assessment of the impacts of the Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives program from 2008 to 2019. Council on Library and Information Resources analyzes final and interim project reports across 128 funded projects, supplemented by an online employee survey. It evaluates individual project outputs, progress toward cataloging and processing goals, hiring and policy development participation, communication, research and outreach activities, new initiatives, and lasting program effects, including tables and appendices on funded projects and geographic distribution.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages38

Reading Time1 h 36 min

AccessFree to download

Program Summary

Methods and Challenges

Assessment of Individual Projects

Overview

Project Outputs

Goal Attainment

Other Outcomes

Assessment of the Overall Program

Conclusions and Questions for Further Investigation

Appendix

Appendix 1: Funded Projects, 2008–2014

Appendix 2: Geographic Distribution of Unique Organizations

About the Author

The Foundations of Discovery A Report on the Assessment of the Impacts of the Cataloging Hidden Collections Program, 2008–2019 September 2019 Joy M. Banks Copyright © 2019 by Council on Library and Information Resources. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Published by: Council on Library and Information Resources 2221 South Clark Street Arlington, VA 22202 [https://www.clir.org](https://www.clir.org) Contents Program Summary ..................................................... 1 Methods and Challenges ................................................ 1 Assessment of Individual Projects ........................................ 4 Overview .......................................................... 4 Project Outputs..................................................... 8 Reported Descriptive Outputs ..................................... 8 Reported Number of Items Exposed ............................... 9 Goal Attainment ................................................ 11 Other Outcomes ................................................... 14 Hiring ......................................................... 14 Policies and Procedures .......................................... 16 Communication Tools ........................................... 18 Research and Outreach .......................................... 18 New Initiatives ................................................. 20 Lasting Impact .................................................... 22 Assessment of the Overall Program ...................................... 23 Conclusions and Questions for Further Investigation....................... 26 Appendix 1: Funded Projects, 2008–2014 ................................. 29 Appendix 2: Geographic Distribution of Unique Organizations ............. 34 About the Author ..................................................... 35 Tables Table 1. Grant cycles by number of projects and funds awarded ............. 4 Table 2. States in each US geographic region that received the highest proportion of funding for that region ............................. 6 Table 3. Unique institutions by organizational type ........................ 8 Table 4. Descriptive outputs by grant cycle ............................... 9 Table 5. Number of items made newly accessible by type and program cycle 10 Table 6. Success of attaining project cataloging and processing goals, by grant cycle........................................... 11 Table 7. Number of projects reporting hiring activities, by grant cycle ....... 14 Table 8. Number of projects reporting participation in development of policies and procedure, by grant cycle ........................... 16 Table 9. Number of projects reporting participation in innovative communication models, by grant cycle .......................... 18 Table 10. Number of projects reporting participation in research and outreach activities, by grant cycle ............................... 19 Table 11. Number and types of presentations and publications reported by recipients, by grant cycle .................................... 19 Table 12. Numbers of projects reporting participation in collection-building activities and general improvements, by grant cycle ............... 20 Figures Figure 1. Geographic distribution of unique organizations ................... 5 Figure 2. Distribution of awards and funds compared with estimated number of US libraries and museums by US region ........................ 6 Program Summary I n 2008, with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Council on Library and Information Resources launched aregranting program to address a pervasive and growing problem: the inaccessibility of special collections and archival materials due to increased accession rates and outdated practices for cataloging and processing. CLIR announced the first gro

FAQs

What program does this report assess and what timeframe does it cover?

It assesses the Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives program, covering 2008–2019 and the period of competitions and funded activities through the program’s final annual competition in 2014.

How did the report evaluate the program’s impact?

The report uses a comprehensive analysis of project reports from all 128 funded projects, drawing mainly on final reports and adding interim reports when needed, plus an online survey of current employees at recipient institutions.

What outcomes does the report track beyond cataloging and processing?

It evaluates project outputs and goal attainment, and also covers other outcomes such as hiring, policies and procedures, communication tools, research and outreach, new initiatives, and lasting impact.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob