Austin peay state university in clarksville, tennessee will establish a dedicated center for archives research & education, built on the distributed archives model, which fosters one-on-one…

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded Austin Peay State University $199,998 on September 1, 2026, under the National Leadership Grants program (CFDA 45.312) to establish a dedicated Center for Archives Research & Education in Clarksville, Tennessee.

The Center will operate on a distributed archives model, fostering one-on-one partnerships between institutional archives and community organizations to expand and strengthen regional collections. The center will integrate materials, resources, and space to support long-term preservation of culturally and historically significant items while increasing community engagement through educational programs and workshops. Working closely with community partners, the center aims to promote sustainable stewardship of the university's archives and special collections, ensuring these resources are preserved, better understood, and made accessible to wider audiences.

The award runs through August 31, 2028. Austin Peay State University, a state-controlled institution of higher learning and subsidiary of the Board of Regents Tennessee, is the prime recipient. The National Leadership Grants program supports projects addressing critical needs of the museum and library fields with potential to advance practice through models, tools, research findings, services, practices, and alliances that can be widely used, adapted, scaled, or replicated.

Austin peay state university in clarksville, tennessee will establish a dedicated center for archives research & education, built on the distributed archives model, which fosters one-on-one partnerships between institutional archives and community organizations. The center will expand and strengthen regional collections through a locally focused approach to stewardship. By integrating materials, resources, and space, IT will support the long-term preservation of culturally and historically significant items while increasing community engagement through educational programs and workshops. With an emphasis on preservation, accessibility, and collaboration, the center aims to promote sustainable stewardship of the university's archives and special collections. By working closely with community partners, the center will help ensure that these unique resources are preserved, better understood, and made accessible to a wider audience.