Update: This service is active and available as of Oct. 1, 2024. For more information, visit the Interlibrary Loan and Delivery Services guide.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State University Libraries has received a $30,000 grant from the Hamer Foundation to expand access and investigate ways to ship materials to Penn State students with military affiliation studying remotely at United States military bases.
Provided through a competitive proposal process, the grant aims to remove the University Libraries’ Interlibrary Loan (ILL) department’s delivery challenges to active-duty, military-affiliated students. Military bases do not permit direct shipment of materials via commercial shipping companies, such as FedEx and UPS, which the University Libraries uses for most remote shipment of requested materials.
“The University Libraries is profoundly grateful for the dedication made by our U.S. military servicemembers, and we want to have a bigger positive impact on their Penn State experience,” said Faye A. Chadwell, dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications. “It’s very important to us to find a solution to ensure that our military-connected students can access the library materials they need to flourish in their studies. It’s also an essential way we can demonstrate our support for their academic success. To achieve this goal, there are logistical hurdles for us to navigate and overcome, so having the Hamer Foundation’s support is very appreciated and meaningful. It will help us expedite a successful outcome during a time and achieve a greater level of service delivery to students who have committed to serving us and our nation.”
With the support of the Hamer Foundation grant, the Libraries’ ILL department will continue its collaboration with Penn State World Campus and Office of Veterans Affairs and Services to enhance the University Libraries’ academic support for military-connected users. In recent years, the University Libraries has encountered additional obstacles to serving military-connected student library users, such as increased shipping costs and reduced University budgets. The grant-funded investigation aims to minimize impacts of those challenges, in addition to working with Penn State collaborators to provide communication and outreach about this program and other services to military students.
“Penn State World Campus students who are stationed at military bases across the United States can now receive materials like books from University Libraries,” said Karen Pollack, associate vice provost for online programs. “We are grateful to the Hamer Foundation for this funding because it makes the numerous resources available through University Libraries more accessible to our military students.”
Recently, Penn State University Libraries enhanced library materials access for World Campus students — with the notable exceptions of active military students and patrons in international locations — by providing return shipping labels for physical library materials shipped to users. Through the Hamer Foundation grant, the University Libraries aims to close that gap while also anticipating the opportunity to explore other potentially greater-impact means to deliver library items to users, such as additional materials-scanning services or controlled digital lending.
“Penn State enrolls thousands of active U.S. military personnel stationed around the world. More than 2,500 World Campus students enrolled in the spring 2024 semester had a military affiliation. Currently, those students stationed on U.S. military bases do not have equitable access to physical library resources because the University Libraries’ standard materials shipping process is infeasible,” said Meg Massey, University Libraries manager of ILL. “We want to expand our shipping services to ensure that the University Libraries is actively taking steps to provide equitable access to library resources for all Penn State students. Developing and implementing a strategy for shipping library materials to military bases through the generous support of the Hamer Foundation’s grant will allow our military students to take advantage of all the University Libraries resources available to support a successful Penn State education. In the long-term, we hope that this exploration and expansion of shipping services is a catalyst to enhance our ability to better serve non-military students in international locations.”
The late Don Hamer, a veteran himself, and his wife, Marie Bednar, were longstanding philanthropic supporters of the University Libraries. Their gifts have transformed several Pattee Library and Paterno Library spaces during the 21st century, including the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information. Their generosity also established the Marie Bednar Internship program, which continues to provide students with invaluable, hands-on, paid engaged scholarship experiences.
This grant is also the latest in a series from the Hamer Foundation supporting military-connected students at Penn State, which includes programs like Penn State’s inaugural Veteran College Boot Camp that helps veterans transition to college taking place this month.
The Hamer Foundation’s mission is to provide support to nonprofit organizations within a 100-mile radius of State College in the areas of environmental, community and educational support.
About philanthropy at Penn State
Contributions like those from the Hamer Foundation advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.