Mellon Foundation Awards Grant to the Council on East Asian Libraries

Mellon Grants on the CEAL Website

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Ann Arbor, MI, January 5, 2015

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded funds to the Council on East Asian Libraries (CEAL) of the Association for Asian Studies to establish a grant program, The Mellon Foundation – Council on East Asian Libraries Innovation Grants for East Asian Librarians. The new program will enable East Asian studies librarians to undertake projects addressing current and long-term challenges in collection development with the goal of strengthening the foundation for scholarly research in East Asian studies in North America. The Mellon Foundation award of $288,000 will be used for two rounds of grants over the period 2015-2017.

The Innovation Grants for East Asian Librarians will fund proposals that break new ground in research library East Asian collection development, encouraging new approaches to the acquisition of print, digital, or multimedia materials from East Asia and improvements in the ability to discover and access these materials. Projects might aim to collect and preserve web content or other “at risk” resources such as ephemera, identify and purchase films or other audio-visual resources not readily available through commercial channels, or improve the ability to discover East Asian-language resources in local and national online catalogs, repositories, or portals. Creation of infrastructure for digitized collections or open source software to enhance use of East Asian scripts in library applications are other examples of projects that could be proposed. Projects that are collaborative and look beyond the institutional level to solutions with national impact will be encouraged through the grant program.

Association for Asian Studies President, Dr. Mrinalini Sinha, said, “Congratulations to CEAL for receiving this generous grant from the Mellon Foundation to develop and expand East Asian library collections. This is an ambitious and innovative project that will benefit teachers and scholars for years to come.” According to CEAL President Ellen H. Hammond, “This funding will allow East Asian studies librarians to grapple with unresolved collection development issues, particularly those arising from the transition to digital formats. It is yet another example of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s strong support for library collections and services that enhance teaching and research in international and area studies. I am thrilled that the CEAL membership has been given this opportunity through the foundation’s generosity.”

CEAL will provide further information about the grant on the CEAL website (http://www.eastasianlib.org/) with a request for proposals to be issued early in January 2015. Members of the Council on East Asian Libraries may apply. Funds will be disbursed in two grant rounds, with first round applications due March 1, 2015.

Contact: Ellen Hammond, (President, Council on East Asian Libraries)
ellen.hammond@yale.edu