Beginning in 2009, the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere has used funds from the Rothman Endowment to sponsor a grant competition among University of Florida faculty and graduate students to expand the existing University of Florida library collections in areas in and related to the humanities that are currently underserved. Resources may include print, digital, or audio-visual media that enhance scholarly research and teaching in the humanities as well as affiliated disciplines. Requests that address the needs of broader constituencies of the University beyond the immediate applicants are judged especially favorably.
The Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere (CHPS), with the support of the Robert and Margaret Rothman Endowment for the Humanities, offers a Library Enhancement Grant to faculty members and graduate students at the University of Florida (UF). The Grant provides up to $4,000 for the acquisition of library resources—including print, digital, and audio-visual media—in a field of study in or related to the humanities, which is currently not well-served by UF’s collections. These resources are intended to enhance scholarly research and teaching in the humanities and allied fields. Priority will be given to requests that serve broad constituencies.
Deadline: Friday, October 11, 2024
Guidelines and To Apply
A. Description
The Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere (CHPS), with the support of the Robert and Margaret Rothman Endowment for the Humanities, offers a Library Enhancement Grant to faculty members and graduate students at the University of Florida (UF). The Grant provides up to $4,000 for the acquisition of library resources – including print, digital, and audio-visual media – in a field of study in or related to the humanities, which is currently not well-served by UF’s collections. These resources are intended to enhance scholarly research and teaching in the humanities and allied fields. Priority will be given to requests that serve broad constituencies.B. Eligibility
UF faculty and graduate students are eligible to apply. Courtesy faculty and postdoctoral fellows are not eligible. Librarians with faculty status may be co-applicants but not lead applicants. Graduate student applicants should work with a faculty member to shape the application and will be required to submit a letter of support from a faculty member with the application. CHPS uses a definition of the humanities adapted from the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 as the basis for determining the eligibility of proposed projects.C. Permitted Acquisitions
Grant funds may be used for costs incurred in the purchase and processing of materials, but not for salary. Grant funds may not be used for the purchase of textbooks or for subscriptions.D. Library Consultations
Applicants are advised to consult or collaborate with their subject specialist librarian to develop the grant proposal and acquisition list. At a minimum, applicants should ascertain before applying whether the requested items are already owned by UF libraries and, if so, provide justifications in the proposal narrative for purchasing additional copies. In the case of digital acquisitions, applicants should also begin by contacting their subject specialist librarian to see if the proposed plan is feasible from the perspective of UF Smathers Libraries.APPLICATION
Please provide the following information in the submission portal: https://forms.humanities.ufl.edu/library-enhancement/- Applicant Information:
- Name of Applicant, Department/School and College, Rank, and Email
- If applicable, Name of Co-applicant(s), UF Department/School and College, Rank, and Email
- Name and Email of Applicant’s Chair or Director
- Project Title
- Amount Requested
- Abstract (max. 100 words, written for a general audience)
- Answer the following questions (200 words max, each):
- What is the specific project or field(s) the resources will support?
- How do the acquisitions complement or extend existing library collections?
- Which potential constituencies will benefit from the purchases?
- Upload an ACQUISITIONS LIST
- Include a representative detailed and ranked list (in order of priority) of at least 50% of the desired acquisitions and an estimate of the total cost. The final list will be solicited from the applicant(s) if the grant is awarded. This list should consist of a bibliography, filmography, or detailed description of the items to be digitized, with an estimate of the cost of each work. Because the prices and shipping costs of library materials may differ from the prices available to the public, a ranked list will enable acquisition librarians to prioritize the most crucial materials.
- GRADUATE STUDENT APPLICANTS ONLY – Upload a statement of support
- Applications made by graduate students require a statement supporting the need for the acquisitions by a faculty member. Attach a PDF of an email.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
The CHPS advisory board will review all applications with the following criteria:- The significance for enhancement of library holdings in the humanities.
- The likelihood of the acquisitions to enhance holdings in one or more disciplines.
- The anticipated use of the enhanced holdings.
PROPOSAL ASSISTANCE
Applicants are advised to write in clear, intelligible prose for the Center’s advisory board, which is comprised of faculty members from across the humanities. We invite applicants to write to the CHPS Director Jaime Ahlberg (jlahlberg@ufl.edu) in advance with queries about the fellowship, proposal writing, or to review a draft proposal. All drafts must be submitted at least one week prior to the grant deadline. For examples of previously funded projects, visit our website: https://humanities.ufl.edu/award-recipients/library-enhancement/Download the PDF Guidelines Apply Now
Winners
2025-2026
Collection Enhancement in Manuscript Studies
Expanding and Strengthening Smathers’ Oscar Wilde Collection
Interest in Oscar Wilde among UF students has grown notably in recent years, highlighting the need to expand the university’s library holdings in Wilde and Wilde Studies. This enhancement seeks to complete UF’s set of The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde (Oxford University Press) and acquire recent monographs and critical collections recommended by leading presses and the Oscar Wilde Society. These acquisitions will support ongoing research and dissertation projects in Victorian Studies, a long-standing strength of UF’s English Department, as well as related fields such as philosophy, aesthetics, queer studies, and modernism. The expanded collection will fill critical gaps, especially in up-to-date scholarship, and offer richer resources for faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates alike. Wilde’s continued appeal—particularly to undergraduates drawn to his wit, identity, and cultural relevance—makes these materials a valuable investment in student engagement and the future of humanities education at UF.
Global Ecopoetics and Virtual Environments
Ecopoetics is an increasingly vital field that explores the intersection of literature and environmental concerns. This enhancement seeks to expand UF’s library collections with ecopoetic works from diverse languages and cultures—especially those taught in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures—as well as resources that integrate poetry, artificial intelligence, and immersive pedagogy. These acquisitions will support SHINE (Sciences Humanities Intelligence Nurturing Emotions), an interdisciplinary initiative that uses AI to enhance climate change education. By filling gaps in multilingual ecopoetry and emerging literary technologies, this collection will benefit students and faculty across the humanities, environmental sciences, and education, while supporting innovative teaching, undergraduate research, and courses like Italian Environmental Humanities.
2023-2024
Bilingual Children’s Books: Bridging Cultural Gaps with Literature
With a growing number of immigrants in the United States, bilingual children’s literature has become a key intercultural mediator. These books provide audiences with a knowledge of languages as well as cultural practices and traditions associated with languages. Additionally, these books can contribute to understanding how humans impact the natural and cultural world, and shape each other. Unfortunately, in the UF Education Library, only about 1% of the children’s books are bilingual books. Hence, this Library Enhancement Grant will facilitate the study and use of bilingual children’s books by expanding the holdings of the Education Library
Bilingual Children’s Books: Bridging Cultural Gaps with Literature
With a growing number of immigrants in the United States, bilingual children’s literature has become a key intercultural mediator. These books provide audiences with a knowledge of languages as well as cultural practices and traditions associated with languages. Additionally, these books can contribute to understanding how humans impact the natural and cultural world, and shape each other. Unfortunately, in the UF Education Library, only about 1% of the children’s books are bilingual books. Hence, this Library Enhancement Grant will facilitate the study and use of bilingual children’s books by expanding the holdings of the Education Library
Developing a Diverse, Inclusive, and Ethical Artificial Intelligence Library Collection in the Humanities
The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Academic Initiative Center was recently established at UF. Its goals are to position the university as a leader in AI research and development, and ensure every student develops a basic competency in AI regardless of their field of study. Recent AI faculty hires and the creation of new curricula outside of the traditional STEM fields of study translate to a critical need for AI-related library materials in the areas of humanities to support this initiative. Additionally, in the process of developing a diverse and inclusive collection, it is vital to recognize the existing gender gap and implicit biases in the field of AI and counter this by including sources specifically addressing ethics and fairness, women, the LGBTQ+ community, and other underrepresented groups, as well as privacy concerns.
Developing a Diverse, Inclusive, and Ethical Artificial Intelligence Library Collection in the Humanities
The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Academic Initiative Center was recently established at UF. Its goals are to position the university as a leader in AI research and development, and ensure every student develops a basic competency in AI regardless of their field of study. Recent AI faculty hires and the creation of new curricula outside of the traditional STEM fields of study translate to a critical need for AI-related library materials in the areas of humanities to support this initiative. Additionally, in the process of developing a diverse and inclusive collection, it is vital to recognize the existing gender gap and implicit biases in the field of AI and counter this by including sources specifically addressing ethics and fairness, women, the LGBTQ+ community, and other underrepresented groups, as well as privacy concerns. View Past Recipients
Environmental Humanities and Climate Catastrophe: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Crisis in the 21st Century
The contemporary Environmental Humanities (EH) take as a founding premise that we live in a time of accelerating planetary transformation: ecological instability, multispecies extinction, forced migration, and social and political unrest fostered by climate change. EH marshals the disciplines of literature, philosophy, history, communications, anthropology, and sociology to understand and propose constructive responses to these dangers. EH embraces diverse ways of knowing from humanities traditions of the Global North and South, values Indigenous voices, and addresses multispecies welfare. It brings to the foreground the imperative need for environmental consciousness, equity, and justice. This proposal seeks to extend and enhance collections of the Smathers Libraries in this field.
Environmental Humanities and Climate Catastrophe: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Crisis in the 21st Century
The contemporary Environmental Humanities (EH) take as a founding premise that we live in a time of accelerating planetary transformation: ecological instability, multispecies extinction, forced migration, and social and political unrest fostered by climate change. EH marshals the disciplines of literature, philosophy, history, communications, anthropology, and sociology to understand and propose constructive responses to these dangers. EH embraces diverse ways of knowing from humanities traditions of the Global North and South, values Indigenous voices, and addresses multispecies welfare. It brings to the foreground the imperative need for environmental consciousness, equity, and justice. This proposal seeks to extend and enhance collections of the Smathers Libraries in this field.
Strengthening Library Holdings in Asian Studies
Over the past several years, Asian Studies has been growing at the University of Florida. New junior faculty in Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (LLC) and History bring teaching and research strengths that expand learning opportunities for students. This grant would provide funding for library acquisition of secondary scholarship in Asian studies in English published in the past decade. These titles represent the newest and most innovative research across conventional regional, temporal, and disciplinary divides. Their acquisition will invigorate our existing holdings of rare materials, graphic novels, and the visual arts, and introduce students from diverse backgrounds to the discipline.
Strengthening Library Holdings in Asian Studies
Over the past several years, Asian Studies has been growing at the University of Florida. New junior faculty in Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (LLC) and History bring teaching and research strengths that expand learning opportunities for students. This grant would provide funding for library acquisition of secondary scholarship in Asian studies in English published in the past decade. These titles represent the newest and most innovative research across conventional regional, temporal, and disciplinary divides. Their acquisition will invigorate our existing holdings of rare materials, graphic novels, and the visual arts, and introduce students from diverse backgrounds to the discipline.