CONTACT INFORMATION
Proposal Contact Name
Tessa Brawley
Title
Humanities Librarian & Assistant Professor
Phone
(405) 747-0573
Fax
E-mail
tmbrawle@syr.edu
Street Address
637 Sooner Way
City
Norman
State
OK
Zip Code
73019
Organization Website
http://libraries.ou.edu
Mailing Address (if different than street
401 West Brooks Street
address)
City
Norman
State
OK
Zip Code
73019
REQUEST DATA
Program/Project Title
OU/PUCP Librarian Staff Exchange
Total Budget for this Program/Project
$39,450
Amount of this request
$39,450
Grant Duration (e.g., one-year grant, etc.)
10 months
Anticipated Project Start Date
August 1, 2011
Community/Counties served by this
Norman, OK, USA and Lima, Peru
Program/Project
Total Number of people to be served
Approximately 1,000 students & faculty
during grant period
Brief demographic description of
College students and faculty at OU and PUCP
population served by this Program/Project
TYPE OF REQUEST (check all that apply and see glossary for definitions)
Capital
Technical assistance X Operating
Endowment
Program/Project Start-up
Other (specify)
SIGNATURES (both are required unless otherwise specified by funder)
Signature of Executive Director
Signature of Board President
1
December 15, 2010
Review Committee for the
Council for International
Exchange of Scholars
3007 Tilden Street NW
Suite 5L
Washington DC 20008
Dear CIES Committee Members:
On behalf of the University of Oklahoma (OU) Libraries, I am respectfully requesting a
Fulbright Scholar Award in the amount of $34,950 for a librarian staff exchange project. The
exchange would be between myself and Maria Robles, Humanities Librarian for the Pontificia
Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) library in Lima, Peru. This staff exchange project is a
cooperative effort between the two university libraries. Each library is to provide its own funding
for the project. The award I am requesting will cover my part of the exchange. Maria Robles will
seek her own funding separately.
The proposed staff exchange will allow for OU and PUCP to gain a librarian with specialization
in an area of need at each library. The exchange librarians will improve the collections at their
host library and will continue to enhance the collections of their home institution after the project
is completed. The exchange will help to develop each library’s collection in the alternative
literatures. In expanding these needed collections, the exchange will support each institution’s
faculty and students in their research and development as scholars. The exchange also supports
the mission of CIES and the Fulbright program to increase mutual understanding between the
people of the United States and the people of other countries by providing scholars with the
opportunity for research and the exchange of ideas and knowledge.
The OU libraries system, established at the same time as the university in 1890, is the largest
research library in the state of Oklahoma and ranked second among research libraries in the Big
Twelve Conference. While the libraries of OU maintain a large literature collection, we are
significantly lacking in our South American literature section. Correspondingly, the library of
PUCP is in the process of developing a North American literature collection to support their new
English Language and Literature program. The proposed exchange project will include: 1) Each
exchange librarian will assist in enhancing or creating a literature collection at the other
institution’s library; 2) The librarians will continue to improve and develop the collections
started by the exchange librarians upon returning to their home institution; and 3) The exchange
librarians will teach a practical course in library science.
Not only will the librarians be enhancing, weeding, and creating a new collection for the host
library, but each will also teach a practical course in collection development at the Library and
Information Science programs of their host university. This professor exchange will serve to
provide a new perspective to the Library and Information Science programs at each university.
The cooperation required of both libraries and library science programs will also encourage
future international exchange opportunities between the schools.
2
This project will assist each university in the advancement of their collections, provide more
research opportunities for the scholars of both OU and PUCP, and will provide a new global
perspective to the universities and academic libraries represented by the exchange librarians.
Please find attached the complete statement of need, project description, and detailed budget.
Contact me at (405) 747-0574 or tmbrawle@syr.edu with any questions you might have. Thank
you for considering this request.
Sincerely,
Tessa Brawley
Tessa Brawley, MLIS
OU Humanities Librarian &
Assistant Professor
637 Sooner Way
Norman, OK 73019
3
SECTION TWO: ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND
Established in 1890, the University of Oklahoma (OU) libraries is the largest system of research
libraries in the state of Oklahoma. The OU libraries is made up of the following branches: the
main branch, Bizzell Memorial Library, the Architecture Library, the Fine Arts Library, the
Physics and Astronomy Library, the Youngblood Energy Library (Geology), the Pray Law
Library, the Bird Health Sciences Library and the main libraries for the University of OklahomaTulsa and University of Oklahoma-Oklahoma City campuses.
The OU libraries, in support of the mission of the University of Oklahoma, develop and maintain
programs that provide access to the informational resources necessary to fulfill the academic,
research, artistic, scholarly and community leadership objectives of the University. The OU
libraries also recognize its obligation to the local community, the state, other libraries, and
scholars in general.1 The Humanities section of the OU libraries seeks to serve and fulfill the
scholarly needs of the university’s Humanities Departments, including: Classics, English
Language and Literature, Film Studies, History, History of Science, Linguistics, Modern
Languages and Literature, Philosophy, and Religious Studies.
As part of a public, land-grant university, the OU libraries must serve the academic and
information needs of the students and faculty members of the university, and the general public.
Library staff is charged with developing, cataloging, and weeding the collections necessary for
the research of faculty and students. Librarians also maintain library archives, order and
maintain library databases, answer reference questions, and assist faculty and students with their
research needs. The Librarians at the OU libraries also serve as faculty members, and teach
information literacy and research skills courses to students. Several university librarians also
serve as Professors of Practice in OU’s School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) and
teach practical courses to the department’s graduate students.
The main goal of the OU libraries is to enhance the research capabilities of the students and the
teaching and research capabilities of the faculty through its collections. The libraries use surveys
and other evaluation methods to determine how to achieve that goal, and are always pleased with
the positive reports the libraries receive from faculty and students. Some impressive
achievements of the OU libraries can be summarized as follows:
 The OU libraries is the largest research library in the state of Oklahoma.
 The libraries contain over 5 million volumes, 63,000 serials subscriptions (print and
electronic), and 250 databases.
 The libraries have been a depository library for federal government documents since 1893.
 The libraries rank second compared to other university libraries in the Big 12 Conference and
rank 27th out of 113 academic research libraries in North America for number of volumes
held.
 The libraries maintain over 17,000 linear feet of manuscripts and archives, 1.6 million
photographs, and more than 1.5 million maps.
1
University of Oklahoma Libraries. (2009). Administration: Our mission. Retrieved from
http://libraries.ou.edu/locations/?id=1.
4


The libraries hold over 50 incunabula (books printed before 1500), the oldest one of which
was published in 1467.2
The libraries maintain an impressive collection of over 50,000 volumes in Modern
Languages and Literatures. However, the Latin American collection consists of only 5,000
volumes, or 10 percent of the collection.
The OU libraries serve the research and information needs of over 22,000 students (both
undergraduate and post-graduate level) and 3,000 faculty members at the University of
Oklahoma (OU). At OU, there are 20 colleges offering 158 majors at the baccalaureate level,
166 majors at the master’s level, 81 majors at the doctoral level, 26 majors at the first
professional level and 24 certificates. The most popular majors among students served by the
OU Libraries are: Accounting, Chemical Engineering, Communication, Elementary Education,
English, Finance, Health and Exercise Science, History, Human Relations, International and
Area Studies, Journalism, Liberal Studies, Management, Marketing, Mechanical Engineering,
Meteorology, Microbiology, Multidisciplinary Studies, Nursing, Petroleum Engineering,
Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Zoology.3
The main branch of the library is located in the city of Norman, in Cleveland County, Oklahoma.
Home to an estimated 111,357 residents, Norman is the third largest city in the State of
Oklahoma. According to the 2000 US Census, four percent of Norman’s population is
considered Hispanic or Latino in origin, a demographic that is expected to steadily increase over
the next few years.4 In 1890, Norman was chosen as the location for OU, contingent upon the
county passing bonds to construct a building. Town and country residents were also required to
donate 40 acres of land for a campus site. The residents of Norman were successful in all their
plans to become OU’s home and by 1895, the university enrolled 100 students. Today, the
Norman campus has an enrollment of approximately 22,000.5
OU’s Bizzell Memorial Library is also home to OU’s School of Library and Information Science
(SLIS). The program, officially established in 1929 under the leadership of former OU Library
Director Jesse Lee Rader, currently offers three degree programs: a Masters in Library and
Information Studies, a Master of Science in Knowledge Management, and a Bachelor of Arts in
Information Studies. The SLIS was first formally accredited by the American Library
Association in 1956. To this day, the SLIS continues to offer the only accredited library and
information studies program in Oklahoma.6 The librarians at OU are actively involved with the
school’s SLIS program, providing guidance and internships for students, and teaching practical
Library and Information Science courses with SLIS faculty.
University of Oklahoma Libraries. (2009). OU Libraries’ Facts. Retrieved from
http://libraries.ou.edu/cms/default.aspx?id=15 on 11/13/10.
3
The University of Oklahoma 2009 Campus Profile. (2009). Retrieved from
http://www.ou.edu/content/dam/recruitment/Downloads/0910CampusProfile.pdf on 11/13/10.
4
City of Norman (2010). Demographics. Retrieved from http://www.ci.norman.ok.us/content/demographics on
12/5/10.
5
City of Norman. (2010). About the City. Retrieved from http://www.ci.norman.ok.us/content/about-city on
11/13/10.
6
University of Oklahoma School of Library and Information Studies. (2007). SLIS History. Retrieved from
http://www.ou.edu/cas/slis/SLIS_10/About/history.htm on 11/13/10.
2
5
SECTION THREE: STATEMENT OF NEED
Problem, challenge, or need that is unaddressed or unmet
The University of Oklahoma libraries, while containing vast collections of literature and other
research materials in the areas of law, the sciences, and mathematics, is significantly lacking in
South American literature. This lack of resources is due to many things: insufficient funding,
shortage of staff, and inadequate communication in the past between the academic librarians and
faculty of the Modern Languages and Literatures Department at OU. An increase in Norman’s
Latino population in addition to an increase in student enrollment in Spanish language studies at
the university has made this deficiency in South American literature a serious problem.
As the newest member of the Humanities Librarian staff, Tessa Brawley’s responsibilities are to
acquire library materials for the English, Linguistics, and Modern Languages and Literatures
(MLL) departments at OU. The Spanish professors within the MLL faculty have informed the
OU Humanities Librarians that the Spanish language literature collection in the University
Libraries is lacking, particularly in the area of Latin American literature. While our library has
access to the Hispanic American Periodicals Index (HAPI) database featuring some full text
articles on writers from Latin America and the Caribbean, there is an insufficient amount of
hardcopy materials in this subject. The university only maintains a collection of 5,000 in Latin
American literature, compared to 20,000 in North American literature and 15,000 in French
literature. While databases like HAPI provide articles for research purposes, the Spanish faculty
and students require novels, biographies, and literary anthologies to complete their research and
educational needs. This insufficiency in materials does not only reflect poorly upon our library
and its collection, but has also hindered faculty research and that of the students who do not have
access to as much information as they could were our literature collection more extensive.
Maria Robles, Humanities Librarian for the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), is
facing a similar situation with her library’s collection. The PUCP library is in the process of
creating a North American literature collection to support the Humanities Department’s new
English Language and Literature (ELL) program. The new program, which will focus primarily
on North American English language and literature, is currently under development and
scheduled to become available for students in the next two years. The library and librarians at
PUCP would like to begin creating the North American literature collection before the English
program is officially offered by the university’s Humanities Department in 2012.
While the PUCP library currently maintains an extensive collection of 70,000 in Latin American
literature and materials for the university’s Hispanic American Linguistics and Literature
program, the library does not have enough hardcopy or database materials in English to support
the new ELL program. Though fluent in English, Robles does not have a wide knowledge of
North American literature and is struggling to fulfill the collection needs of the new ELL
program. Currently, the PUCP library maintains an English language collection of 2,000.
However, this current English collection does not include any North American literature and
therefore does not meet the standards of PUCP’s new ELL program.
Research, statistics, or evidence that shows this need or benefit exists
A librarian staff exchange between Robles and Brawley would be beneficial to both the OU and
PUCP libraries and our collection development projects. This staff exchange would allow for
each librarian to conduct research on the literature, history and culture of the host institution’s
country, and bring their findings, knowledge and experience back home to assist in their
6
respective institution’s collection development project. As a temporary OU librarian, Robles
would work with the Spanish faculty and other Humanities librarians to enhance the Latin
American literature collection. Concurrently at the PUCP library, I would work with the new
English professors and other Humanities Librarians to help develop their North American
literature collection. The exchange would not only help in further developing each library’s
collection, but would also support each institution’s mission to assist faculty and students in their
research and development as scholars. Additionally, the exchange would support the mission of
CIES and the Fulbright program to increase mutual understanding between the people of the
United States and the people of other countries by providing scholars with the opportunity for
research and the exchange of ideas and knowledge.
The two universities in question currently maintain an established relationship. As partner
universities, PUCP and OU offer an exchange program that provides study abroad opportunities
for students. An exchange between librarians at each university will strengthen the relationship
between the two academic institutions and will encourage more students to consider the study
abroad opportunities provided by both schools. As Hulstrand (2009) explains, “engaging faculty
in study, teaching and research can infuse exciting new energy, knowledge, and a new global
perspective…while also bringing about more diffuse benefits both on and off campus” (p. 48).7
The exchange of knowledge between the two academic libraries would certainly serve to benefit
both institutions.
SECTION FOUR: PROJECT DESCRIPTION & METHODOLOGY
Description of Project
The exchange will consist of three components. First, each librarian will assist in enhancing or
creating a literature collection at their host library. Next, the exchange librarians will each teach
a practical course in library science in their host institution’s LIS department. Finally, the
librarians will return to their home libraries and continue to improve and develop the collections
started by the exchange librarians in their absence. Prior to the exchange, two months will be
spent working via distance with each host institution in understanding both libraries’ collection
development practices and policies and in investigating additional funding sources for collection
development assistance.
The head of the Humanities division at the OU libraries will orient Robles to the American
academic library, and explain her responsibilities and expectations during her academic-year
long stay. Robles’s main objective will be to work with the Spanish professors in the MLL
Department and other Humanities librarians in enhancing the Latin American literature
collection. She will also examine and conduct research on OU’s current North American
literature collection in order to assist in the development of the English literature collection
project at PUCP upon her return. As the OU staff representative, I will work with the Head of
Acquisitions at the PUCP library in helping to initiate the North American literature collection
for the new English Language and Literature program within PUCP’s Humanities department.
Like Robles, I will also examine and conduct research on PUCP’s current Latin American
literature collection and bring my findings back to the US.
7
Hulstrand, Janet. (2009). Attracting faculty to education abroad. International Educator, 18 (5), 48-51.
7
For the second semester of the exchange, Robles and Brawley will also teach one course in the
host university’s Library Science program: OU’s School of Library and Information Studies
(SLIS) and PUCP’s Bibliotecología y Ciencia de la Información (BCI) program. After beginning
their respective collection development projects, each librarian will teach a practical course in
collection development for students at the host LIS program. Prior to arrival, each exchange
librarian will work with the department heads of both LIS programs in developing the course
content and structure. This added professorship exchange will diversify each school’s LIS
faculty and provide the LIS students at OU and PUCP with an international view of librarianship.
Goals and Objectives
1. To improve the current collections, or lack thereof, at each host institution’s academic library.
Objectives: a) The PUCP librarian will examine and assist in the enhancement of the Latin
American literature collection at the OU library; b) The OU librarian will assist in the creation
of the North American literature collection at the PUCP library; c) Each librarian will learn
about the literature of their host country.
2. To continue to improve upon the collection projects of the home library. Objectives: a) The
PUCP librarian will return to Peru with increased knowledge and understanding of North
American literature in order to continue that collection begun at PUCP in their absence; b)
The OU librarian will return to the US with increased knowledge and understanding of Latin
American literature in order to continue that collection begun at OU in their absence.
3. To provide a new perspective to the Library and Information Science programs at each
exchange institution. Objectives: a) Each librarian will teach a collection development course
at the LIS program of their host institution in accordance with the current curriculum
requirements and with the supervision and assistance of the department head.
4. To increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of
other countries by encouraging international exchanges between the two universities.
Objectives: a) Upon their return, each librarian will work with their home LIS programs and
libraries to promote the idea of further exchange opportunities between the two universities.
Timetable for Implementation8
Evidence of Use of Best Practices
A librarian staff exchange between OU and PUCP has never been attempted. However, similar
academic librarian exchanges have been conducted between universities in the US and Peru to
great success. For instance, Bonta, in his article An American in Peru, describes what he learned
from a successful academic librarian exchange in the 1980s.9 A librarian for the Pennsylvania
State University Library, Bonta exchanged with a librarian in Peru from the Escuela de
Administracion de Negocios para Graduados (ESAN), a Peruvian university in Lima specializing
in upper-level business degrees. His article describes the benefits of librarian exchanges between
the US and Peru.
Collaborators
8
9
Please see Appendix I for the complete project timetable.
Bonta, Bruce. (1988). An american in peru. Library Journal, 113 (8), 45-49.
8
The library exchange will require the collaboration of the University of Oklahoma and Pontificia
Universidad Católica del Perú and their respective libraries. Collaboration between each
institution’s LIS education program will also be required.
Qualifications of Institutions and Librarians10
PUCP, founded in Lima in 1917, is ranked as Peru’s number one university, one of the twentyfive best universities in Latin America and the only Peruvian university to be listed among the
top five-hundred universities in the world in international rankings. This placement is
recognition of the quality of its education, research, publications, social responsibility,
contribution to culture and indisputable institutional and academic leadership.11 The PUCP
library, with a collection reaching nearly 3 million, is recognized as the leading research library
in the country.
Both Robles and Brawley hold MLIS degrees from American Library Association accredited
institutions, have taught as Professors of Practice in Library Science programs, and are bilingual
in English and Spanish. Please see the attached Curriculum Vitae for more qualifications.
SECTION FIVE: EVALUATION AND RESULTS
Short term outcomes:
1) The exchange librarians will assist in enhancing or creating a literature collection at each
institution’s library; 2) The exchange librarians will provide a new perspective to the Library and
Information Science programs at each exchange institution.
Long term outcomes:
1) The exchange librarians will continue to improve and develop the collections started by the
exchange librarians upon returning to their home institution; 2) The collection development
project created or enhanced by the exchange librarians will improve the research and educational
opportunities of the faculty and students of each university; 3) The exchange librarians will
encourage future international exchange opportunities between the schools.
Each exchange librarian will be evaluated by the Head Humanities librarian at their host library.
The librarians will be evaluated on the amount of items added to each collection, by the
maintenance of the host libraries’ collection development plan, and on the performance of their
regular professional duties. The heads of each LIS program will monitor and assess the
performance of the librarians in their professorship duties.
At the end of the exchange, the faculty of the Spanish program at OU and the new ELL program
at PUCP will examine the newly established literary collections and make suggestions for the
review of the libraries and exchange librarians. The students in the LIS courses will also
complete an evaluation form at the end of the course to assess the teaching capabilities of each
exchange librarian. Results of the student and library department heads’ evaluations will
determine whether the exchange was successful in completing its goals, and whether or not
similar exchanges can and/or should be implemented in the future.
10
Please see Section Two: Organization Background for the qualifications of the OU libraries.
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. (2010). About PUCP: Welcome. Retrieved from
http://www.pucp.edu.pe/en/content/pagina14.php?pID=915&pIDSeccionWeb=6&pIDReferencial= on 11/17/10.
11
9
SECTION SIX: PROJECT BUDGET
ITEM
Base Stipend
AMOUNT NEEDED
$2,000/month at $20,000 for 10
months
Housing & Subsistence Allowance
$1350/month at $13,500 for 10
months
Travel Relocation Allowance
$950 (one time only)
Gift to Host Institution for Purchase of Materials
TOTAL
$500
$34,950
10
APPENDIX I
Timetable for Implementation of Librarian Exchange
The timeline for the librarian exchange funding period is from August 2011 through May 2012.
Please see the table below for more details. Times denoted with an asterisk* indicate pre- and
post-funding planning and evaluation periods that will not be covered by funds from CIES and
the Fulbright program.
Month/Year
June-July
2011*
Project Responsibilities & People Responsible
The exchange librarians will work with each other and the host library via
distance communication methods (phone, email, and fax) to gain an
understanding of each host library’s current literature collection needs,
collection development plans for the project, and to learn of funding sources
and the budget for the collection project. Researching and soliciting funders for
the collection may also take place during this time.
AugustDecember
2011
The librarians will exchange places at their host institutions and begin working
on their collection development projects. The librarians will also study and
learn from the alternate literature collections at their host institutions’ library to
bring their findings back home upon the conclusion of the exchange. During
this period, the librarians will also be responsible for the regular duties of the
Humanities Librarian position, including answering reference questions,
managing current collection resources, and liaising with academic departments
and faculty.
January-May
2012
The librarians will continue working on their collection development projects
and will continue to perform the role of academic Humanities Librarians, in
addition to teaching a practical course in collection development for their host
institutions’ LIS department. At the end of May, the librarians will be evaluated
by the Head Humanities Librarians at each host library and will be evaluated by
their LIS students through an evaluation form.
June-July
2012*
The Spanish faculty at OU and the English faculty at PUCP will examine and
evaluate the new literature collections and make suggestions for the review of
the libraries. Each library’s department head will examine these evaluations to
determine if similar exchanges should be done in the future. The exchange
librarians will also continue to work on the collections begun by their
counterparts during their absence.
11
Tessa Brawley
IST 600: International Librarianship
Librarian Exchange Project
To a certain extent, I went about designing my project backwards. I had decided that I wanted to
propose a librarian exchange project, and I then began looking for a funding source before I had
established the details of the project. Once I found that funding source, the Fulbright program’s
Council for the International Exchange of Scholars (CIES), I tailored my project proposal to fit
the requirements of CIES’s US Fulbright Scholar Award. CIES and the Fulbright commission
fund opportunities for research and the exchange of ideas and knowledge between countries. I
believe that my librarian staff exchange proposal aligns well with CIES and the Fulbright
program’s mission to increase mutual understanding between the people of the US and the
people of other countries. While I had not originally intended to add the teaching component to
my proposal, I think it increases the educational impact of the project on the students, librarians
and faculty of both universities.
There are other funding sources available that are specifically targeted for librarians, but they
only fund for a limited amount of time. For instance, the Association of College and Research
Libraries (ACRL) offer a grant to academic librarians to conduct international research in a
Western European country, but only provide enough money for a period of two weeks. I thought
that a longer time frame for the project would make the exchange more meaningful. I also
believe that, were this project to be reality, approaching CIES rather than OU for funding would
be encouraged by the university. In these hard economic times, I’m sure that universities applaud
staff members who seek outside funding sources for projects that will serve to enhance the
university and enrich student learning. For these reasons, I decided to choose the CIES program
to fund my librarian exchange project.
12