The Celebrating Ohio Book Awards & Authors grant will give the library funding to purchase books written by Ohio authors.
Mount Saint Joseph University’s Archbishop Alter Library has received a grant from the State Library of Ohio. The Celebrating Ohio Book Awards & Authors grant gives the MSJ library funding to purchase books authored by people from Ohio, as well as other books that have been recognized by Ohio-based award programs. The funding allowed the library to purchase a total of 173 new books now in circulation at the library.
According to an article on Mount Saint Joseph University’s website, student Payton Frost was quoted as saying of the grant experience, “The COBAA grant experience was an excellent opportunity to learn about the grant process. The Exceptionalities Collection is an amazing collection of books that have allowed my peers and me to learn about individuals with exceptionalities and their unique experiences.”
The team that worked on securing the grant included Assistant Professor in Graduate Education Dr. Megan Dinnesen Ed.D., English Professor Dr. Elizabeth Mason Ph.D., Library Director Scott Lloyd, and librarians Ruth Monnier and Julie Flanders. After securing the grant funding, the team was able to select 173 new books to add to the library’s shelves, some of which were chosen specifically for Dr. Dinnesen’s and Dr. Mason’s classes. The books include those about the topic of exceptionalities, graphic novels, and Spanish translations.
Dr. Dinnesen teaches a Collaboration & Transition course within the School of Education and used this opportunity to add to the library’s existing Exceptionalities Collection, which are books that focus on individuals with exceptionalities. Dr. Mason teaches a course called The 20th-Century Graphic Novel and selected graphic novels to add to the library’s collection as a means of increasing the number available for students and providing more insight into the literary merit of the genre.
Cierra VanDermark, another student, was able to get a hands-on look at the grant process. She said, “I am so grateful to be included in this valuable experience working with grants that many pre-service teachers don’t encounter until they are in the field. It makes my heart so happy knowing that children and college students with and without exceptionalities can read these important books.”
The State Library of Ohio has offered the Celebrating Ohio Book Awards & Authors grant since 2016. The grant is funded via the Institute of Museum and Library Services’s Grants to States program.
For more information about Mount Saint Joseph University, visit the school’s website.