The University of North Texas Libraries’ Dean’s Innovation Grant, provides funding to research and projects within the UNT Libraries that promote scholarship and contribute to the gathering of knowledge that helps improve our libraries, our university, and the community.

Dean’s Innovation Grant 2023 Awardees

The Soundbox: A Music Engagement Lab

David Huff; Kristin Wolski; Sabino Fernandez; Justin Lemons; Steven Sellers

Project Description: The Soundbox was designed as a public space within the Music Library where UNT community members can engage with various types of music technology to learn and create. The overall goal was to utilize Music Library space for public use in a way that increases engagement. The project was also meant to gather data about services that students may need or want access to.

Creating Greater Accessibility to Special Collections Materials for Patrons with Vision Disabilities

Meagan May

Project Description: This project aimed to create greater accessibility to archival and rare materials in UNT Special Collections for patrons with reduced or low vision disabilities through the purchase of Freedom Scientific’s TOPAZ XL HD desktop video magnifier and the creation of an accessibility station for the Judge Sarah T. Hughes Reading Room. This desktop magnifier, along with its accompanying GEM software, will allow patrons to magnify, adjust, enhance, capture, and save documents, photographs, artifacts, manuscripts, and other materials to meet a variety of vision accessibility needs.

Holistic Collection Assessment

Karen Harker, Sephra Byrne, Allyson Rodriguez, Stacey Wolf, Julie Leuzinger, Sian Brannon

Project Description: The UNT Libraries has been making efforts to address the vestiges of systemic oppression of socially and politically minoritized populations. In order to ensure that our materials represent specific groups well, we embarked on a journey with the primary objective being a methodology to assess any targeted collection for representation of any identity group. To this end, we conducted a survey and a focus group, and we consulted with an advisory group consisting of representatives from the library, student affairs, and the professorate. The funds requested were used to hold the focus group and to fund a temporary student assistant who analyzed data and collected lists for the final methodology.

Creating an Inclusive Environment for Student-Parents

Madison Brents, Emily Akers

Project Description: College students who are also parenting young children often face additional challenges on their path to academic success. These challenges can include a scarcity of finances, childcare, and time, but it also oftentimes includes facing an unwelcoming environment created by stigmas associated with parenting while in college. These feelings can become amplified in an academic library, a space viewed as traditionally quiet and designed with the traditional student in mind. Feeling unwelcome in such an environment while accompanied by a lively child can hinder student-parents’ ability to utilize the academic library and its resources.

Despite these additional challenges, student parents are not often targeted with support and resources. UNT Libraries attempted to begin addressing this issue through two initiatives: circulating toys and books for young children and hosting designated study hours for student-parents.

The Music Library Picture Show: Creating a “Third Place” for Denton Students

Meghan Sprabary; Kristin Wolski

Project Description: The aim of the Music Library Picture Show demonstration project was to learn about how event programming affects student attitudes about the library and to position the library as a viable “third place” for UNT students and visiting high school students. To achieve this, the team hosted five musical film screening events. With these events, our goal was to provide a space for students to decrease anxiety and to learn about their perceptions of the Music Library.

Making Our Library Spaces More Accessible: Accessible Furniture for Sycamore Library

Jen Rowe, Mary Ann Venner, Robbie Sittel

Project Description: Feedback from library users and staff, collected via a survey of students with disabilities and a separate survey of library employees, highlighted a need for more accessible furniture in library spaces. This project was undertaken, to improve the accessibility of the learning spaces at Sycamore Library by adding some new furniture items.