International Forum for US Studies, University of Illinois

To respond to the need for American Studies resources in libraries outside of the U.S., IFUSS has launched the “Books Across Borders” project. Although the Internet increasingly makes available access to primary resources for research on U.S. topics, there is still a pressing need for access to works on the U.S. in fields like cultural anthropology, literature, social history, political science, geography, cultural studies, and art history. With the closing down or downsizing of many United States Information Service libraries outside the U.S. over the past several years, access to current books is needed even more. To address this need, IFUSS is spearheading the “Books Across Borders” project which links U.S. academics, U.S. presses, and libraries of academic institutions outside the U.S.

Many U.S. academics are asked to review manuscripts by leading U.S. presses. Since the monetary payment offered is very small, especially after taxes, many academics choose to receive books from the press in lieu of payment. If you do several reviews for one press, after a while, you have received the books from that press that you want. Here is where Books Across Borders comes in.

Instead of taking your “payment” in books, you donate those books to the program. Individual U.S. academics will be linked with academic colleagues overseas, who will then choose from among the press’ available books those they would like to add to their institution’s library. (The books will go only to libraries where students and faculty may use them, not to single individuals.) In this way the books are well targeted to enhance the existing collection in the foreign library and to respond to the research agendas of foreign researchers. The U.S. academic in effect donates his/her labor in manuscript reviewing and the press sends the books directly to the recipient library. Presses may, of course, decrease the amount of books in order to cover their expenses for shipping abroad. For example, a reviewer’s fee of the equivalent of $150 U.S. dollars (which would ordinarily translate into a non-monetary payment of twice that amount in books) may supply $200 of books, and the equivalent remaining for shipping costs.

We are just beginning to implement this program, with the IFUSS directors as the first contributors. In the future, we will be talking directly to leading U.S. presses to explain the new venture (which, of course, is good publicity for them in the long run, getting more of their publications widely read abroad). The program will begin by matching U.S. scholars with former IFUSS Fellows from various countries where the need for additional resources is particularly acute. Eventually, we would hope to expand this program to include books on the U.S. published by non-U.S. publishers, which are often just as difficult to get in the U.S. or in other countries outside their country of origin.

Please join us in this exciting new initiative. U.S.-based academics who would like to join us in this program can send us a brief email.

IFUSS is pleased to announce the inauguration of a new residency program, the IFUSS Affiliates. This program is especially designed for scholars on sabbatical from their home institutions outside the U.S., who want to conduct American Studies research in the U.S. during the U.S. academic year (late August through May). It is also appropriate for scholars holding research fellowships such as Fulbrights or Wenner-Grens.

Although IFUSS cannot offer any monetary support for these residencies, we can arrange access to an excellent research library, a lively intellectual community, computer access and email account, and a small office account to help with the costs for phone, copying, and mailing. In a few cases of long term residencies, office space may be available. In addition, we will assist the visitor in locating housing. Affiliates must supply their own health insurance and make final arrangements for housing and transportation.

Exceptional scholars at all professional levels (post Ph.D.) are welcome to apply. Residencies usually run for terms of one or two semesters. Applications are accepted year-round, but please apply well in advance of your anticipated period of residence. Selection criteria include: excellence of the scholarly record, appropriateness of the proposed work to the IFUSS mission, and availability of resources for the application period.

To apply, please send a letter of application stating the dates you wish to be in residence, the nature of the specific research project that you will be conducting during the residency, and an indication of the type of fellowship or sabbatical support you will be arriving with. To this letter of application please append the following: a detailed description of the research project you will be undertaking while in residence and the previous work already done on this project (no more than five pages), a curriculum vitae and one sample article or book chapter from a recent publication.

While in residence, IFUSS Affiliate Scholars are expected to meet informally with University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign faculty and students, attend IFUSS lectures/related events, and join fully in the intellectual life of the university. No formal obligations of lecturing or teaching are required, but on occasion we will be able to arrange a lecture or informal discussion of the Affiliate’s work-in-progress if he/she so desires.

Although short research or conference trips off campus are fine, the Affiliate should plan to be in residence at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for the majority of his/her time, except during formal university holidays. In other words, Affiliate Residencies are not appropriate for those scholars merely needing a U.S. host institution as a sponsor for research they may wish to conduct in multiple sites for the duration of their time period. Rather, we offer the opportunity of conducting sustained research using excellent library facilities as part of a lively and committed intellectual community.