On May 1, National University’s Learning Resource Center (LRC) received a $5000 grant from the Illinois State Library’s “Back to Books” grant program. The grant is designated specifically for book purchases and collection development.

Reference librarian Russ Iwami and circulation assistant Ian Richter wrote the grant proposal for National University, proposing collection development on the topic of “Expanding the role of spiritual therapies as a healthcare option.”

“Spiritual therapies are performed for health benefit, and may include meditation, therapeutic touch and yoga,” says Russ Iwami.

Russ says that the LRC will be choosing books primarily based on recommendations from topic experts on National University’s faculty. The resources must be purchased by September 30, 2013, thus the LRC will be adding the new books soon. “We will also be producing a bibliography that we will post electronically in order to promote the collection.”

There are directives for the grant, according to circulation assistant Ian Richter. “The books that we purchase cannot be placed on reserve or in archives, and must be books that can be checked out,” he says. “We must also make the books available to the public via our library networks and interlibrary loan systems.”

The new books will ultimately be cataloged into the LRC’s existing system but will be on display initially.  The LRC is planning to place collection stickers on the outside of each book to make the acquisitions identifiable on the shelves.

“This will add to the more than 18,000 volumes we have now,” says Russ Iwami. National University’s LRC is one of the largest health science libraries in the region.