National Library of Jamaica has been awarded just under J$3 million through the 2009 Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP).

The money will be used for the conservation of the Enos Nuttall Manuscripts – documents dating back to the late 19th and early 20th century, and records significant milestones in Jamaica’s history.

The AFCP, created by United States (US) Congress in 2001, aims to assist less developed countries in preserving museum collections, ancient and historic sites, and traditional forms of expression, and was developed to demonstrate the United States’ deep respect for other cultures. The fund is administered by the US Embassy through the US State Department.

In a competitive environment, organisations from 90 countries responded to the calls for proposals under the 2009 AFCP, and Jamaica is one of 58 countries whose project proposal won a selection.

This year’s grant of J$2,981,500 (US$33,500) to the National Library will save historically important documents which once belonged to the esteemed Enos Nuttall who served as bishop. His collection consists of 38 boxes of letters written by governors of Jamaica, clergy and laymen that have been identified as a source of important perspectives during the period immediately following the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865 up to and including the World War I. The manuscripts also provide information on the formation and development of several institutions, including schools, mental institutions, prisons and the poor relief services.

In order to carry out the all important work of bringing back the documents to a condition in which they will become useful reference materials for students, historian and authors, the National Library of Jamaica will recruit a conservator from the US to treat and repair the critically important documents.

The sum of money being given to the National Library also has an educational component as the conservator will conduct a formal training seminar in techniques of paper conservation which will include participants from university libraries and the Jamaica Archives. Library staff will also understudy the conservator to ensure knowledge transfer where possible. The material conserved will be digitised and made available from the library’s webpage.