AUBURN — Maine State Archivist David Cheever has announced that the Woman's Literary Union of Androscoggin County will receive $625 to preserve and provide better access to its historical collections as part of the Historical Records Collections Grant Program. The program is administered by the Maine Historical Records Advisory Board, with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The grant program is coordinated in Maine by the State Archives.

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Pictured is the future Research Room at the Horatio G. Foss Mansion in Auburn. Following the process of working with a professional conservationist and creating a Finding Aid, which the grant has enabled the Woman's Literary Union to do, researchers will be able to browse the historical documents in WLU's collection by appointment.

Denise Scammon, an arts and humanities student at the University of Southern Maine's Lewiston-Auburn College, and historian at WLU, wrote the grant as part of her independent study course with USM professor Eve Raimon. “I think that it is important to document the history of the Woman's Literary Union and preserve the stories of its members as a valuable resource for the community. The organization's historical collections provide a window into Lewiston-Auburn's past through the documented legacy of WLU's achievements and leadership,” said Scammon.

Recent studies underscore that cultural resources are important in decisions to locate businesses or to choose a community in which to retire. These grants help sustain the basic infrastructure of this key element of society.

“Grants such as this support community efforts to protect the stories of our birth, property rights, government and how we lived our lives,” said Cheever. “People need to document their birth or naturalization to obtain a passport or to get medical care; others research their property boundaries; some seek long-lost relatives or to understand the history of the old mill down the road. Without these precious records, most questions like this would remain unanswered.”

A recent report to the Maine Legislature indicates that many of Maine's historical collections (photographs, paintings, natural history collections and letters) are in danger of being lost to fire, theft, mold or misuse.

“Just a quick examination of WLU's historical collections shows that its members have a long history of civic engagement in the Lewiston-Auburn community," said Scammon. "From WLU's 1898 campaign to add kindergarten to the public school systems in Lewiston and Auburn, to its campaign in 1905 to add domestic science and manual training to the public school curriculum, to its promotion of better wages for teachers in the 1950s, much of the organization's civic activities centered on education.”

Small grants have stimulated local citizens and organizations to commit more of their resources to these projects.

Learn more about the Woman's Literary Union at www.womansliteraryunion.org or find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/womansliteraryunion.