South Dakota Humanities Council Records

Identity elements

Reference code

MA 017

Level of description

Records

Title

South Dakota Humanities Council Records

Date(s)

  • 1970-2017 (Creation)

Extent

48.0 linear feet [48 records boxes]
101 black-and-white photographs. 659 black-and-white negatives, 197 color photographs, 166 color negatives, 2386 color slides
45 Films, 20 video cassettes, 4 filmstrips
37 audio reels, 16 audiocassettes
1 CD-R

Name of creator

Administrative history

The South Dakota Humanities Council (SDHC), was founded in 1972 in response to an act of Congress. It is the only cultural organization whose sole mission is to deliver humanities programming to the people of South Dakota. Through literature, history, and other humanities subjects, the Council promotes increased cultural awareness and greater appreciation of the state's rich cultural heritage while also emphasizing the importance of understanding the universal human experience. This programming vision forms the core mission of SDHC. The agency supports and promotes public programming while providing grant funding to South Dakota non-profit and educational organizations for programs in traditional humanities disciplines. For 35 years, the SDHC has provided a host of opportunities. Financial Grant Support is available for community organizations through Discussion Grants, Media Grants and Research Grants.

The Council is operated by a staff of five full-time professionals. The Council maintains a board of 18 South Dakotans who set policy, provide guidance and determine programming goals and missions. The board is composed of citizens with varied backgrounds who serve as volunteer board members. There are four members of the Council board that are appointed by the Governor of South Dakota.

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

This collection is composed of correspondence, publications, minutes and materials related to meetings, general office files, financial records, material related to the South Dakota Humanities Foundation, projects and research, grant proposals submitted to the council, and material related to the Big Read, South Dakota Festival of Books, Speakers Bureau, the Reading Series, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Also included are photographic prints, negatives, slides, films, audio reels, audio cassettes, video cassettes, and filmstrips.

The material related to proposals consists of the most interesting material in this collection. Included in these files are applications submitted by potential grantees, award and rejection letters, correspondence with the grantee and council staff, program evaluation forms, financial material related to the grant, media and publication produced by the grantee, and publicity about the grant/program. Some files also contain final products produced by the grantee, such as films, videos, publications, and audio material. Materials in these sub-series are arranged by grant proposal number.

The financial records are composed of vouchers, accounting ledger sheets, reports, and receipts and disbursements. Material is these sub-series are arranged by account number.

System of arrangement

This collection is arranged series:

  • Big Read
  • Correspondence
  • Financial Records
  • General Records
  • Grant #1
  • Grant Letters
  • Grants and Other Projects
  • Market News
  • Meetings
  • Films
  • National Endowment for the Humanities
  • Projects and Research
  • Proposals
  • Publications
  • Reading Series
  • South Dakota Festival of Books
  • South Dakota Humanities Foundation
  • Speakers Bureau

Conditions of access and use elements

Conditions governing access

This collection is open to researchers without restrictions. The materials in the Archives do not circulate and may be used in-house only.
Researchers conducting extensive research are asked to make an advance appointment to access archival material. Please call or e-mail prior to visiting the collection and indicate as much detail as possible about a particular topic and intended use.

Physical access

This collection is stored off-site. Requests to view this material must be made at least 24 hours in advance.

Technical access

Conditions governing reproduction

South Dakota State University supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted as a result of their fragile condition or by contractual agreements with donors.

Languages of the material

  • English

Scripts of the material

    Language and script notes

    Finding aids

    Acquisition and appraisal elements

    Custodial history

    Immediate source of acquisition

    Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

    Accruals

    Related materials elements

    Existence and location of originals

    Existence and location of copies

    Related archival materials

    Silver anniversary anthology: twenty-five years of the South Dakota Humanities Council 1972-1997, Thomas J. Gasque, The Council, 1997. ARCHIVES: PS548.S8 S54 1997

    South Dakota Humanities Council website: http://sdhumanities.org/

    Notes element

    General note

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    Specialized notes

    Alternative identifier(s)

    ID

    MA017

    ID

    MA 17

    Description control element

    Rules or conventions

    Sources used

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    Accession area