Grant explores ‘Muslim Journeys’ through books,
videos
With
the goal of familiarizing residents with the people, places, history, faith,
and cultures of Muslims in the United States and around the world, Sun Prairie
Public Library is participating in a grant project called the Muslim Journeys
Bookshelf.
Sun Prairie Public Library is one of 840 libraries and state
humanities councils across the nation selected to participate in the Bridging
Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys. Through the grant, the library has
received:
·
a collection of 25
books that highlight the pluralism of cultural forms and traditions within the
Muslim World;
·
three documentary
films, with public performance rights;
·
a one-year
subscription to Oxford Islamic Studies Online, which gives libraries access to
primary source documents and current works of scholarship; and
·
bonus resources to
support programs for public audiences including thematic essays, discussion
questions, podcasts, and proprietary film and Internet content.
The books and films comprising the Bookshelf
were selected with the
advice of librarians and cultural programming experts, as well as distinguished scholars in the fields of anthropology, world
history, religious studies, interfaith dialogue, the history of art and
architecture, world literature, Middle East studies, Southeast Asian studies,
African studies, and Islamic studies.
This grant presents an exciting
opportunity for residents to learn more about the history, faith, and cultures
of Muslims in the United States and around the world. This is an amazing program that can foster
greater cultural and religious understanding.
The library will use the Muslim
Journeys Bookshelf materials to conduct programs during 2013, and the books and
videos also will be available for the personal use of local residents.
The 15 participating libraries are: Alicia Ashman
Branch (Madison), Baraboo, Brodhead, DeForest, Fitchburg, Marshfield, Monroe,
Pinney Branch (Madison), Portage, Sequoya Branch (Madison), Stoughton, Sun
Prairie, Verona, Waunakee, and Wisconsin Dells.
Bridging
Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys is a project of the National Endowment for
the Humanities, conducted in cooperation with the American Library Association.
Major support for the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf was provided by a grant from
Carnegie Corporation of New York. Additional support for the arts and media
components was provided by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. Local
support is provided by the South Central Library System, which wrote and
submitted the grant application.
