National Digital Newspaper Program
Funding Opportunity Number: 20260109-PJ
Submission Limitation per Institution: One (1)
Notre Dame Limited Submissions Listing
Focus: This notice solicits applications for the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). NDNP is a partnership between NEH and the Library of Congress (LOC) to create a national digital resource of historically significant newspapers published between 1690 and 1963 from all 56 states and U.S. jurisdictions. LOC will permanently maintain this freely accessible, searchable online database (Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers). An accompanying national newspaper directory of bibliographic and holdings information on the website directs users to newspaper titles available in all types of formats. During its partnership with NEH, LOC also will digitize and contribute newspaper pages drawn from its own collections to Chronicling America.
If your application is successful, you will select newspapers—published in states or jurisdictions between 1690 and 1963—and over a period of two years, convert approximately 100,000 pages into digital files (preferably from microfilm), according to the technical guidelines outlined by LOC.
NEH welcomes applications that involve collaboration between state and jurisdictional partners, which might involve arrangements to manage the creation and delivery of digital files; regular and ongoing consultation about project management; or formal training for project staff. States and jurisdictions are encouraged to digitize titles published within their current geographic boundaries, including those from Native American Tribal nations, but cases for digitization beyond such boundaries can be made. For example, a state may digitize Native American newspapers that were published in another state, or a state may partner with a jurisdiction to digitize the newspapers from there. If you propose to digitize titles published outside of what is now your state or jurisdiction, you must provide the rationale for doing so.
NDNP supports dissemination activities that engage the wider public in exploring the digitized content, within appropriate limits. Your budget may include staff time, consultation with outside experts, and other eligible expenses related to disseminating NEH-funded products, but the primary purpose of this program is to create a national digital resource of historically significant newspapers.
Your proposed project must include an advisory board. The advisory board could include scholars, teachers, traditional knowledge keepers, librarians, and archivists at a variety of institutions, and the board should be involved in selecting the newspapers to be digitized. In addition to providing advice on content, the advisory board should help disseminate the project’s progress and Chronicling America more generally.
Required Internal Application: Upload the following information to this Google Form by the internal deadline:
- Name of the Principal Investigator (PI)
- Project Title
- Names of ND collaborators
- Project Summary: Two (2) pages (maximum) addressing the following Review Criteria outlined in the NOFO, on page 28.
- Criterion 1
- Criterion 3
- Criterion 4
Internal Interest Date: 2025-09-16
Sponsor Deadline Date: 2026-01-15
Questions? Contact Notre Dame Research Limited Submissions at limited@nd.edu.