$10,000 Grant Will Help the Library Recover from the Coronavirus Pandemic
We're delighted to announce that we have received a competitive $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association!
As one of only 200 libraries nationwide to be selected, we are honored at being chosen for funding from the American Library Association’s American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grants for Libraries, an emergency relief program to assist libraries that have been adversely affected by the pandemic. 
With funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the Michael Schwartz Library will will be able to regain momentum and build upon our work in anchoring ourselves in the community as a strong humanities institution through our Cleveland Memory Project.
“We are very excited to be chosen for this amazing opportunity,” said Performing Arts & Humanities Librarian, Mandi Goodsett. “This grant will allow our library to better serve our patrons and implement important humanities projects that the pandemic has made challenging.”
The 200 grant-winning libraries, selected through a competitive, peer-reviewed application process, include public libraries, academic/college libraries, K-12 libraries, and tribal, special and prison libraries. The recipients represent 45 states and Puerto Rico and serve communities ranging in size from 642 residents in Weir, Kansas, to the city of Los Angeles.
Award recipients were chosen with an emphasis on reaching historically underserved and/or rural communities. We will use the grant funds to hire a graduate student to process, digitize, and promote two collections from our Special Collections:
PRAYING GROUNDS: AFRICAN AMERICAN FAITH COMMUNITIES
Praying Grounds: African American Faith Communities contains oral histories, audiovisual materials, ephemera, and research materials compiled by Dr. Regennia Williams, professor emerita from CSU’s History Department. The project details the history of African American religious communities in northeast Ohio and includes oral histories of community members who have since passed away. These materials reflect important aspects of the African American community in Cleveland and the surrounding region.
THE BUCK HARRIS COLLECTION
The other collection is the Buck Harris Collection, which contains cassette recordings of Clevelander Buck Harris’s "Gay 90's" radio show, as well as VHS tapes of interviews, sexual education materials, and ephemera related to his work in the LGBT community of Cleveland. Buck Harris was a pioneer in the gay community of Cleveland and beyond, and his interviews capture an important piece of Cleveland history.
“Libraries have faced significant hardships throughout the pandemic —from budget cuts to staff furloughs to building closures — especially in our communities of the greatest need,” said ALA President Patty Wong. “This crucial support from NEH will enable our beloved institutions, and the dedicated people who run them, to rebuild and emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever.”
American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grants for Libraries is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Contact:
Mandi Goodsett, M.S., M.Ed
Performing Arts & Humanities Librarian,
OER & Copyright Advisor
Michael Schwartz Library, RT 110D
Cleveland State University
a.goodsett@csuohio.edu
216-802-3362