Funded by the Library of Congress, the Teaching with Primary Sources Southern Region at MTSU promotes the widespread, sustained and effective use of primary sources from the Library by increasing access to the TPS program in eight states across the South. Content created and featured in partnership with the TPS program does not indicate an endorsement by the Library of Congress.*
Funded by a Libr
ary of Congress grant, the Teaching with Primary Sources - Southern Region program at Middle Tennessee State University was officially established in 2025 and is administered by the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation. It grows out of the previous TPS-MTSU program, which joined the national TPS Consortium in May 2008. For almost sixteen years, TPS-MTSU linked current state-focused educational initiatives to larger national themes and emphasized the student exploration of history, science, arts, and culture through the use of primary sources available from the Library of Congress. As part of the TPS Regional program, TPS-Southern Region promotes the widespread, sustained and effective use of primary sources from the Library of Congress in K-12 classrooms by increasing access to the TPS program. School districts, universities, cultural institutions, library systems and other educational organizations may apply for grants of up to $25,000 to incorporate TPS materials and methods into their existing education and professional development programs for pre and in-service K-12 teachers, librarians, community members, and students. Beginning in 2025, the TPS Regional Program will also offer subgrants under the Lewis-Houghton Civics and Democracy Initiative, named in honor of late Congressmen John Lewis (D-GA) and Amo Houghton (R-NY). Lewis-Houghton Initiative subgrants will support projects incorporating music and creative arts-based primary sources and approaches to support student learning about civics, history, and democracy at the middle and high school level. Educational organizations across the country can apply for subgrants to incorporate music, visual art, theatre, poetry, and literature from the Library's digital collections, as well as arts-based approaches, into secondary civic and history education. Grant recipients may use TPS funding to meet a variety of programmatic needs, including:
Delivering online or face-to-face TPS workshops
Embedding TPS materials and content into broader professional development programs
Revising undergraduate or graduate course syllabi or curricula to include a TPS focus
Disseminating existing TPS materials to broader audiences
Partnering with another TPS consortium member on a pilot
Adapting existing TPS materials for new learner populations
