(KENT, OH – March 25, 2021) Kent State University Libraries proudly announces that Library Director Mary Hricko, Ph.D., of the Kent State Geauga Campus and the Twinsburg Academic Center, recently received a Celebrating Ohio Book Awards & Authors (COBAA) Grant for $1002. The grant, which is sponsored by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services and awarded by the State Library of Ohio, provides federal funding to expand collection development of books about Ohio and written by Ohio authors.

To celebrate Constitution Day, Kent State University Libraries is offering a virtual screening of the documentary And She Could Be Next. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion that will include the filmmakers, Grace Lee, Marjan Safinia and Jyoti Sarda, as well as Kent State faculty members Denise Harrison, Joycelyn Harrison, Ph.D. and Janine Tiffe, Ph.D. This film provides a great opportunity to not only explore our democracy, but also to underscore the importance of voting. 

Curbside Pickup is Kent State University Libraries’ contactless service that allows users to check out materials from its collection. The service, which began as a result of the campus closure during the pandemic, has remained a popular convenience.

On Ohio Statehood Day, February 26, Kent State University Libraries was awarded a $13,646 grant from the Ohio History Fund to partially cover the digitization costs of their Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Collection. The grant will provide funding to create free, online access to high-resolution, digitized copies of these sought-after resources. Aside from the United States Library of Congress, Kent State is the holding institution for the largest and most complete set of Ohio Sanborn maps. These large-scale street plans were produced by the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company from 1867 to 1970.