The american jazz museum will inventory, catalog, and digitize a portion of the john h. Baker film collection

The American Jazz Museum, Inc. received a $319,683 Project Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the Museum Grants for African American History and Culture program (CFDA 45.309), awarded on October 1, 2025, with completion targeted for September 30, 2027. The museum will inventory, catalog, and digitize a portion of the John H. Baker Film Collection, a historic repository containing over 2,000 film titles spanning from 1927 through the 1970s. The project will generate thematic film groupings accessible via the museum's website and digital exhibitions, expanding public discovery and access to these archival materials through enhanced catalog records.

In addition to digitization activities, the project will deliver twelve film screenings with expert presentations by jazz and film professionals, targeting older adults, high school students, and the general public. These educational programming efforts will enhance public knowledge of American jazz history while establishing sustainable infrastructure for long-term preservation and continued discoverability of the John H. Baker Film Collection. The award supports the AAHC program's dual goals of building institutional capacity at African American museums and supporting the professional development of museum staff through collections management, exhibition development, and educational programming initiatives.

This project will generate thematic groupings of selected films in the collection on the museum website and offer 12 film screenings with presentations by jazz and film experts. The project expands public access to the john h. Baker film collection via new digital exhibitions and associated catalog records on its website. The project will result in enhanced public knowledge about american jazz history through monthly film screenings and associated presentations for older adults, high school students, and the public, and establishing a sustainable infrastructure to ensure the long-term availability and continued discoverability of films in the john h. Baker film collection.