By Khalida Sarwari
The Institute of Museum and Library Services has awarded a $615,175 library grant to the University of California at Santa Cruz to digitize its Grateful Dead archive.
The grant will allow the university’s library to make materials from its Grateful Dead archive available on a Web site titled “The Virtual Terrapin Station.”
According to university librarian Virginia Steel, the grant is a first for the UCSC library.
“The grant gives us the opportunity to create a new model for Web-based archives that will include traditional materials from our Grateful Dead archive – along with materials contributed by scholars and Deadheads around the world,” Steel said.
In 2008, the band donated to the university an extensive archive documenting their creative activity and influence in contemporary music history, including materials related to their devoted fans and the group’s musical business ventures.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is a source of federal funds intended to “advance the ability of museums and libraries to preserve culture, heritage, and knowledge while enhancing learning.”
UC Santa Cruz was chosen as one of 51 schools to receive a grant this year totaling nearly $18 million.