SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 — The U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission have awarded the UTSA Libraries and the Institute of Texan Cultures nearly $150,000 in grant funding in support of virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The grants will increase technology access for students, will help in the development of a digital literacy toolkit and will create a virtual, interactive museum exhibit.
More specifically:
“Providing access to educational resources is central to the mission of libraries, and the grant funds have helped meet the urgent technology needs of students,” said Dean Hendrix, dean of libraries at UTSA. “The funds will help provide crucial digital tools and skills needed for success in college coursework, which will carry forward into the workplace, ultimately enriching students’ personal lives.”
The TSLAC Special Projects funds will help UTSA Libraries build an online toolkit with training modules focused on digital literacy. It will cover subjects such as online identity, digital communications skills, privacy, security awareness, e-safety and identification of reliable information on the web.
“Rapid development of technologies and social media platforms—as well as exponential growth of AI in everyday life—creates an ever-changing information environment that requires adaptability and critical thinking,” Hendrix said. “After piloting the toolkit with UTSA freshmen, the libraries will release it as an open access resource for the community at large.”
At the ITC, the sharecropper cabin, an early 1900s two-room house built on a cotton plantation near Navasota, stands as a reminder of a major chapter in Texas history. The grant-funded project will create an immersive, virtual tour of the cabin with interactive views of household artifacts plus photos and oral history files from people who have experienced life in it.
“We want to create a digital space for users to navigate this exhibit virtually,” said Veronica Rodriguez, interim head curator at the ITC. “We envision an interactive program that would let users click through items in the house and reveal photo galleries, videos and audio recordings that narrate information related to them. This would preserve aspects of our state’s rich cultural heritage and make it available for all to experience.”
These projects were a part of the 44 made possible this year by grants from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act.
“Communities in every corner of Texas will benefit from the resources that have been made available through this list of forward-thinking grant proposals,” said TSLAC Director and Librarian Mark Smith.
TSLAC awards competitive grants annually. The agency has awarded approximately $1.23 million in competitive grants between September 1, 2019, and August 31, 2020.
Both the TexTreasures grant program and the Special Projects grant program seek to expand library services to users across the state, including those populations with special needs.
“We have given the green light to some truly powerful proposals designed to offer Texans the tools necessary to meet the ever-changing needs of the future,” said Michael C. Waters, TSLAC commissioner chairman.
The TSLAC CARES grant award was part of the $2.6 million Texas received from the Institute for Museum and Library Services as part of the CARES Act.
“These funds will help allow Texans to safely utilize local library services and resources,” U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said in a statement. “I applaud area leaders in San Antonio for their work to obtain these grants and for putting the safety of Texans first as we continue to persevere through the COVID-19 pandemic.”
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
Join the PEACE Center and Wellbeing Services for Denim Day, a day of learning about the importance of consent and why we wear denim on the last Wednesday of the month each April during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Stop by our Denim Day display to take a photo in front of our Denim Wall, spin the "Is It Consent?" Wheel, and get a Concha or goodie.
Student Union Window Lounge, Main CampusLearn to use Zotero®, a citation manager that can help you store and organize citations you find during your research. Zotero can generate bibliographies in various styles, insert in-text citations and allow you to share sources with collaborators.
Virtual EventThis event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
