Fresno State Library has received an additional $3,000 Supplemental Technology Improvement Award from the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) Region 5, bringing total NNLM support for the Library’s VR health education initiative to $8,000.
The funding continues a project that began with a $5,000 NNLM Technology Improvement Award to expand the Library’s virtual reality resources for health education. With that support, the project team developed the Library’s VR capacity and piloted hands-on learning activities with Physical Therapy and Public Health students. Those experiences also helped us see what could work better, particularly how easily VR can be set up, displayed, and used across different learning spaces.
The supplemental award will help address those practical needs by making the Library’s VR setup more portable, connected, and flexible for instruction. It will also allow us to continue exploring VR applications across health sciences programs while connecting students with trusted National Library of Medicine resources.
The project is led by Shuyi Liu, Health Sciences Librarian and Principal Investigator, in collaboration with Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Nupur Hajela, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy and Founder and Director of Fresno State’s Center for Digital and Technological Innovation in Healthcare (CDTIH). Their continued collaboration connects the Library’s work in emerging technology and health information with CDTIH’s focus on technology innovation in healthcare, opening the door to more interdisciplinary work around VR and health education.
The supplemental project will run from September 2026 through April 2027.
By Shuyi Liu. Photo by Heather Parish.