Rep. Grijalva Celebrates New Federal Grants and Programming Awarded to Southern Arizona Libraries
Tucson, AZ — Today, Congresswoman Adelita S. Grijalva celebrated new grant funding and programming for Arizona libraries that will strengthen digital preservation, support scientific research, expand educational programming, and connect rural communities with new cultural and learning opportunities. Together, these investments highlight the vital role libraries play in preserving knowledge and serving as community hubs for people across Southern Arizona.
The three projects include:
The Copper Queen Library in Bisbee was selected to join the first Smithsonian Rural Library Cohort, beginning in September. The 12-month program will provide virtual Smithsonian Associates content at no charge, support community programming, and give participating libraries access to a professional learning community, resources, and ongoing support from Smithsonian experts.
The University of Arizona Libraries received $299,454 through the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program to expand its Digital POWRR training program. The project will provide new training opportunities for library, archive, and cultural heritage professionals in digital preservation.
The University of Arizona also received $199,450 through the National Leadership Grants program for a project focused on preserving data connected to scientific collections, including rocks, fossils, biological specimens, and water samples.
“Libraries are at the heart of strong communities, and these investments demonstrate the many ways they help Arizonans learn, preserve our history, support research, and connect with the wider world,” said Rep. Grijalva. “From expanding digital preservation at the University of Arizona to bringing brand new Smithsonian programming to rural communities like Bisbee, these programs will give libraries the resources they need to continue serving Southern Arizona for years to come.”
“We are honored to be selected for the inaugural Smithsonian Rural Library Cohort,” said Jason Macoviak, Copper Queen Library Manager. “This opportunity recognizes the important role rural libraries play in strengthening their communities and will help the Copper Queen Library build new connections, share ideas, and expand opportunities for the residents of Bisbee and the surrounding area. We look forward to learning from and collaborating with fellow rural libraries across the country as we continue to serve our community in innovative and meaningful ways.”
Additional information on the University of Arizona grants is below:
Program: Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
Award Amount: $299,454
Description: Building on the success of the Digital POWRR (Preserving Digital Objects With Restricted Resources) cohort-based training model, the University of Arizona Libraries will expand digital preservation training in collaboration with an experienced network of educators, practitioners, and advisors, many of whom have previously contributed to Digital POWRR training initiatives. While awareness of digital preservation risks has grown, accessible pathways for moving from assessment to action remain limited. This project addresses that gap by expanding a proven face-to-face program into two complementary formats: an immersive five-day Digital POWRR Academy and a pilot Digital Preservation Summer Institute. The project will reach current and emerging digital preservation practitioners working in libraries, archives, and other cultural heritage organizations, particularly those serving in hybrid or non-traditional roles.
Program: National Leadership Grants - Libraries
Award Amount: $199,450
Description: The College of Information Science of the University of Arizona will develop a plan to support the curation of data and metadata related to physical samples such as rocks, fossils, biological specimens, and water samples, etc. The project will develop guidelines, training modules, and data management software to enable this work. It will conduct multiple needs analysis activities, including surveys of research data services librarians and sample user/curators, follow-up focus groups, and hands-on curation case studies with project partners. The project seeks to build community through multiple workshops with data curation librarians, sample users, and infrastructure developers. The effort will assess how data curation librarians can advance open science and data reuse for in natural science fields that rely on physical samples.
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