Lyon County Historical Society receives grant

Lyon County Historical Society was among the 47 recipients of Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Small Grants.
Small grants ($10,000 and less) are awarded quarterly to assist nonprofits, educational organizations, government units and federally recognized tribes to preserve and share Minnesota history. Grants totaling $388,244 were awarded in 21 counties.
Each project on the list will preserve and enhance Minnesota’s cultural and historical resources. All grants are competitive and awarded according to program guidelines and criteria, as well as professional standards.  This cycle of awards was approved by the MNHS Executive Council on March 2, 2020.
Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants are made possible by the Legacy Amendment›s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on Nov. 4, 2008. The Legacy Amendment supports efforts to preserve Minnesota land, water and legacy, including Minnesota history and cultural heritage.
The Lyon County Historical Society received a grant in the amount of $9,500 for CollectiveAccess Data Conversion.  The purpose of this grant is to conduct a data transfer from the current system used, PastPerfect to CollectiveAccess to improve collections care and management through an updated collections management system. 
The grant includes setup on the public site, data conversion, training, and data cleanup. 
CollectiveAccess is an online, open source based collections management software available through the Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums. ​Organizations using the CollectiveAccess system have to opportunity to share as much or as little of their collection on-line as they wish.
The benefit of sharing the collection online is that it becomes more accessible to researchers and the public.  To see the public site and search through the collections that are already being shared, visit MNCollections.org.