April 28, 2021

NDSU Libraries Government Information Librarian Susanne Caro, along with Jen Kirk of Utah State University Libraries, and Ben Chiewphasa of Notre Dame, were awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Public Humanities Project grant. The team was awarded $16,421 for the project "Sharing Stories of Community Resilience to Disasters: Designing a New Model for Collaborative Traveling Exhibits." The grant will support the group's exploration of how the experience of traveling exhibits could change if the host institutions were able to be more involved in the content of the exhibit. Could the participation of multiple hosts coming together allow a larger story to be told through a digital platform? In the next year, the team will work with librarians, historians, and other specialists to develop a modular physical exhibit about natural disasters along with a website to explore the narratives of the host sites in four different states.

Project Director Susanne Caro states, "I’m hoping this model of incorporating local stories will change the long-term design of traveling exhibits to present a wider range of experiences."

This project is the only Public Humanities Projects Planning Grant awarded in North Dakota for this awards cycle. Learn more about the NEH grants here. You can also view a full list of the 2021 regional awards and offers, including two other locations in North Dakota that received NEH grants for summer stipends (page 28).