Grant Gives Libraries Role in Bridging Culture Gap
Posted by Monte Maxwell.April 15th, 2013
An award from the National Endowment for the Humanities will help the West Virginia University Libraries serve as a bridge between those who have questions about Islam and the Muslim community.
The Libraries are among 843 institutions across the nation to receive the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf, a collection of books, films, and an online database assembled to introduce the public to Muslims and the Islamic culture in the United States and around the globe. The bookshelf is part of NEH’s Bridging Cultures Initiative.
“Borrowing from the title of the grant, we want to help build bridges where there are deep misunderstandings, mistrust, and a lack of knowledge,” said Beth Toren, a reference and religious studies librarian.
The Muslim Journeys Bookshelf is the first in the NEH’s planned series of Bridging Cultures Bookshelf programs. The NEH, along with the American Library Association, awarded the WVU Libraries with twenty-five books, three documentary films, a DVD of short films, and a one-year subscription to Oxford Islamic Studies Online. The books and DVDs are currently being added to the circulating collection and will be available to be checked out by all students, faculty, and staff. Members of the public are welcome to visit the Downtown Campus Library to use the books.