By Dan E. Way

CHAPEL HILL -- A $50,000 start-up grant has been awarded to UNC for a project titled "Main Street, Carolina: Uncovering and Reclaiming the History of Downtown," directed by Natalia Smith.

The project involves the development of an open-source framework for accessing the UNC Library's collection of original Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, indexed to a wide range of primary source material.

The money is part of $29 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities for 184 high-quality humanities projects nationwide, including professional development opportunities for educators at all levels, advancement of humanities disciplines through the use of technology, and collaboration between U.S. and U.K. scholars related to the development of digital humanities projects.

Additionally, the endowment awarded grants for media, library, and museum programming for public audiences at local, national, and historic sites, programming offered by state humanities councils, as well as Challenge Grants that support humanities activities that examine American history.