The Institute of Museum and Library Services, or IMLS, has awarded the Willow Hill Heritage and Renaissance Center another $100,000 grant to continue and advance its work in preserving, digitizing and interpreting printed and written programs from African American funerals, the Willow Hill Center announced Monday.

As just one aspect, the Willow Hill Center and staff members at the Georgia Southern University Libraries have begun using publicly available artificial intelligence resources to improve the collection’s searchability and reduce errors and duplication. Four leaders in the project are scheduled to deliver a presentation highlighting this use of “A.I.” during the Oct. 8-10 Georgia Libraries Conference 2025 in Columbus.

Professors and students from the university’s Department of H

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