Georgia Southern University’s Zach S. Henderson Library has been selected as one of 842 libraries and state humanities councils in the United States to be awarded the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf.

“We are excited to be one of 44 libraries in the state of Georgia to receive this award,” Bede Mitchell, dean of the Zach S. Henderson Library, said in the news release.  “Bridging Cultures engages the power of the humanities to promote understanding and mutual respect for people with diverse histories, cultures and perspectives within our country and abroad.”

The Muslim Journeys Bookshelf, consisting of 25 books, three films and access for one year to Oxford Islamic Studies Online, will be used to provide students with more information regarding Muslim beliefs, practices and cultural heritage, according to a news release from GSU.

The Carnegie Corporation of New York along with support from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art supported this program and allowed it to be distributed across the country.

Receiving the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf has opened up public programming grant opportunities for GSU.

Jim Leach, chairman of the Bridging Cultures initiative, said in the news release, “Libraries are centers of learning that offer a welcome space where members of the public can learn about the history we share and express different points of view in an ethos of openness and mutual respect.”