A generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) will allow the University of Miami Libraries’ Special Collections division to complete the processing of and enhance access to the Pan American World Airways, Inc. Records – an extensive collection that offers an in-depth look at the growth and development of a modern aviation corporation, beginning with its founding in 1927.

The $153,809 grant is one of the largest awards given this year by the NHPRC. Duke, New York University, Purdue, Stanford, and UCLA are among the other grant recipients.

The Pan Am collection totals over 1,600 boxes of materials, including photographs, correspondence, flight plans, maps, business records, and memorabilia. Authors, researchers, and scholars have used the collection to conduct research for books, articles, theses, and screenplays, making it the most-used archive in UM Libraries’ Special Collections. Television producers even used the collection to help make the recent TV series “Pan Am.”

The Pan Am Historical Foundation funds the Dave Abrams and Gene Banning Pan Am Research Grant competition, which supports scholarly research using the Pan American World Airways, Inc. Records.

The NHPRC supports projects to facilitate the use of historical records held by archives and other repositories and to assure their long-term preservation. The NHPRC is the sole federal funding agency devoted exclusively to the documentary heritage of the United States. Established by Congress in 1934, it has awarded grants for preserving, publishing, and providing access to vital historical documents.