One of CCHE’s goals is to fund projects that preserve, document, interpret, or enhance understanding of threads of California’s story that are absent or underrepresented in existing historical parks, monuments, museums, and other facilities.

CCHE makes funding available in the form of capital assets grants. Its funding source is from the California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Projection Fund, commonly known as Proposition 40 funds. Approximately $122 million will be available for California projects.

CCHE is currently reviewing projects of special significance to public libraries. They are:

• Installation and mounting of a mural at the new Santa Monica Public Library. The 2,000-square-foot mural created by Stanton Macdonald-Wright as a Public Works of Art Project in the mid-1930’s depicts the evolution of the creative arts and sciences as well as Macdonald-Wright’s passion for Asian culture and the motion picture industry, and the
   
• Creation of a 2,000-square-foot California Agricultural Worker’s History Center that will be housed in the new Watsonville City Library to preserve the history, lives, and contributions of agricultural workers in Pajaro Valley and throughout California.

During its first cycle of funding, CCHE received grant application requests from $25,000-$5 million. As a result of that cycle, the CCHE Board has reserved 33 projects for further consideration, pending staff review and CEQA compliance.

For further information on CCHE, please feel free to visit their website at http://www.library.ca.gov/cche or call (916) 651-8223.