Botanic garden getting $200,000 to protect fragile documents

GLENCOE, Ill. (AP) - The Chicago Horticultural Society is getting more than $200,000 in federal grant money to protect fragile horticultural records housed at its botanic garden north of the city.

Congressman Brad Schneider - whose district includes Glencoe where the Chicago Botanic Garden is located - says the grant is coming from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Schneider says in his announcement the grant will be used to conserve, digitize and disseminate some of the nearly 4,000 rare books, journals dating as far back as the 16th century that are now housed at the botanic garden.

Botanic Garden president and CEO Jean Franczyk, says the digitized volumes will be added to the Biodiversity Heritage Library and thus be available to audiences all over the world.