Description
Two inquiries arrived recently from groups affiliated with the Association for Asian Studies (AAS). Both are for events to take place in conjunction with the March 2020 AAS conference in Boston; both seek funds at the discretionary grant level. Since both are of interest and importance to fields of concern to our Asia Program, I suggested to Krisna Uk, Senior Advisor to the AAS Board of Directors: Development, Outreach and Strategic Initiatives, that they be combined in one request.
The leadership institute proposed by the 200-member Council on East Asian Libraries (CEAL) would build upon earlier discretionary grants to strengthen the capacity of the East Asian library community in North America. These have included a summer training program for East Asian librarians (University of Pittsburgh, 2002), a conference and publication on the history of East Asian library collections in the U.S. (UC Berkeley, 2006), a summer institute for Chinese studies librarianship (University of Washington, 2008), and support for invited speakers at CEAL annual meetings (AAS, 2012). In 2017, we awarded a special grant to Ithaka for a research report on the changing research practices of Asian studies scholars. It included discussion of library support services for the field.
At the encouragement of Zhijia Shen, current CEAL president and director of the East Asian Library at the University of Washington (UW), a task force was constituted in 2018 to plan the institute. We first got to know Shen through our 2002 grant to the University of Pittsburgh. Then an emerging leader, she has gone on to serve the field in many ways, including organizing the 2008 summer institute at UW. As many senior librarians reach retirement age and a new cohort takes over the reins at a time of significant technological change in library and information services and growing constraints on library budgets, CEAL is right to pinpoint leadership as a focus. Librarians, often marginalized within their institutions, need the knowledge to keep their collections robust and up to date, and the skillsets to advocate for those collections and their users’ needs. The unique characteristics of East Asian languages and the diversity of materials and cultures at issue strengthen the case for a regionally-focused event. The bulk of the funds CEAL requests ($12,685) would cover honoraria and travel for instructors and speakers, and hospitality, for this professional development opportunity through which up to 40 East Asian librarians from institutions of differing sizes and means will benefit.
Another special grant to AAS, in 2017, was used by the Indonesia and Timor-Leste Studies Committee (ITLSC) of AAS’ Southeast Asia Council to launch a pilot initiative on Timor-Leste (TL). Its aim was to bring greater scholarly attention to this young and relatively marginalized nation, and foster ties with Timorese scholars, public intellectuals, artists and institutions. The current request would further headway made over the past two years as well as our investment in field strengthening for Southeast Asian studies in the American academy. It is particularly appropriate given our interest in neglected and underrepresented areas of inquiry. The fact that TL is now a placement country for Luce Scholars provides additional impetus.
The study of TL is significant not only for its own sake but also for the light it can shed on colonial and postcolonial experiences. The roughly $13,400 requested would allow inclusion of three key TL partners from overseas, funding their travel and accommodation for the Boston event. The next phase of development is built around five modules, outlined in the proposal, that will be the focus of the all-day workshop. It is quite likely that the strategic planning resulting from the workshop will set the stage for a future proposal through LuceSEA.
The balance of the funds sought for these two initiatives would support AAS staff time for administering the grant. Please note that there are a number of attachments to this proposal that provide additional detail on both efforts.
