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Art Exhibits   The Textile Museum Receives Mellon Grant
The Textile Museum recently received a $171,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to create a searchable online catalogue of the Museum’s 20,000-volume Arthur D. Jenkins Library. The online catalogue will provide researchers and the general public with full access to the Library’s unparalleled collection of materials related to the textile arts. The catalogue will also become part of the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), a worldwide library cooperative. Phase I of the online catalogue is scheduled to be available in April 2004; the entire catalogue will be online in April 2005. For information, contact: Rachel Bucci, Director of Marketing & Communications, The Textile Museum, 2320 S Street NW Washington DC 20008-4088 (202 667-0441; ext 42; rbucci@textilemuseum.org; www.textilemuseum.org).
General  

Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures
EWIC Scholar's Database

Over 1,500 scholars from all over the world, from all disciplines, all research subjects
A resource of international experts on women and Islamic cultures
Search by scholar’s names, scholars’ institutional affiliations, countries of research, and research topics.

To participate, please fill out your information on the website at www.sjoseph.ucdavis.edu/ewic/author/template.htm.

Books for Baghdad-Latest News
After four shipments of more than 55,000 textbooks and journals to universities in Iraq, we are saddened to report that "Books for Baghdad" books collection has been suspended for the time being due to lack of resources.

"Books for Baghdad" project has become a well known humanitarian project in Iraq and the demand on textbooks has increased. We have received many requests from the universities in Iraq asking us to support their education system. The fact is that we are a small organization and we have absolutely no extended funds to support the activity of this project. As a result, we are not able to satisfy the increasing demands and we cannot promise anything we can’t deliver. We would love to continue this project because we believe in it and we consider it a labor of love. We are waiting for the opportunity to come to allow us to restart book collections in the near future. However, other objectives of this project will continue, specifically helping the faculty in Iraq to establish collaborative work with the counterpart in the US. Books for Baghdad will continue to assist undergraduate and graduate students in finding a scholarship to come to the US and promoting partnerships with educational institutions in the United States.

Anyone who would like to contribute books and other gifts should contact Dr. Al-Hamdani (256-782-5801; sah@jsu.edu). Cash contributions can be made to the JSU Foundation, 700 Pelham Road North, Jacksonville AL 36265. Visit: www.booksforbaghdad.org.

Dr. Safaa Al-Hamdani and a small group of faculty volunteers established the Books for Baghdad project in 2004 as an international humanitarian effort to help reestablish the war-torn Baghdad University library. Local volunteers were soon joined by faculty and students from throughout the U.S. Thanks in part to international media coverage, including special reports on CNN, the project far exceeded its goal of 5,000 books with a total collection of more than 11,000 textbooks and $6,500 in school supplies.

The Baghdad Museum Project
The Baghdad Museum, or the Iraq National Museum in Baghdad, has been looted, stripping it of a priceless collection of cultural artifacts dating back to the dawn of civilization. As you will see from the “museum walkthrough” (available from the website), these are major historical treasures not only for the Iraqi people but for all humanity as well. How can we respond to this cultural catastrophe? This is an opportunity to promote better dialogue among our cultures. The Baghdad Museum Project proposes a 4-part program to not only help save the museum but also to bring about improved relations in the international community. The goals are to: Establish a comprehensive online catalog of all cultural artifacts in the Baghdad Museum to help locate them, discourage illegal dealing in these antiquities, and encourage their safe return to the museum’s curators in Baghdad; create a virtual Baghdad Museum, a content-rich website–free to the general public–based on the Baghdad Museum collection, in order to stimulate cross-cultural appreciation and dialogue. We anticipate that this site would feature the best search and navigation tools, including interactive streaming video, GIS, 3D navigation, and online classrooms; build a 3D collaborative workspace within the virtual Baghdad Museum, to allow international teams to work together on renovation designs, exhibit layouts, and new building proposals for the museum in Baghdad, as well as fundraising programs for construction and events; and establish a resource center for community cultural development within the virtual Baghdad Museum, offering experiences, ideas and success stories that show how people can contribute creatively to their own culture, and thereby strengthen their historical memory. For information and or to participate, contact: John Simmons, Chairman, The Baghdad Museum Project (JohnSimmons@BaghdadMuseum.org; BaghdadMuseum.org).

Looking For…  

Arabic Distance Learning Network
Seeking Institutional Participants
Montana State University-Bozeman is looking for institutions that want to add Arabic language to their modern language offerings to participate in an innovation project dubbed the U.S. Arabic Distance Learning Network, which is supported by the US Department of Education, Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE). The network offers a full two-year program of Arabic language taught through a distance-learning approach complemented by face-to-face instruction and an integrated study abroad component for students who want to continue their Arabic studies. Interested parties should contact Yvonne Rudman (406 994-4032; rudman@montana.edu). Dr. Norman Peterson will be attending the upcoming AIEA conference and will be available to discuss the program in more detail. For more information about the Network, access: www.arabicstudies.edu.

U.S. Department of Education
Readers for Grant Programs of the Office of Postsecondary Education (March 14, 2008)
The U.S. Department of Education seeks qualified individuals interested in reviewing applications for grant programs of the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE). These reviewers (also called field readers, grant application reviewers, grant readers, proposal readers, or peer reviewers) will independently read and evaluate applications submitted to the Department requesting federal funds. Your application to become a field reader will be reviewed by OPE staff to determine whether you have the subject area expertise needed for upcoming competitions. In addition to having subject area expertise, you must be able to access the World Wide Web through Internet Explorer 5.X or higher or Netscape 6.X or higher browsers and be willing to commit a specified amount of time to the review process, and complete and submit this Field Reader Application Form. If selected as a field reader for a specific grant program, you must establish that you have no conflicts of interest. (Conflicts of interest are described later in the registration process.) Selected readers will be notified via email so it is important to keep your contact information current. All payments to readers will be made electronically; therefore if you are selected as a reader you must submit your social security number and banking information prior to the reading. The Department is moving toward an electronic grant review process. This includes the electronic submission of grant applications; registration, selection, notification, and training of field readers; and the reading of applications. Most of the discretionary grant programs in OPE have already incorporated some aspects of the electronic grant review (e-grants) process. For many of the electronic grant reviews, field readers may no longer be required to travel to Washington, D.C. for training; review and evaluation of grant applications; completion and submission of technical review forms; or meeting as a panel. Field readers will be asked to complete their grant review duties online, via a conference call, and/or via video conferencing. For information, or to submit application, contact: U.S. Department of Education, Field Reader System, 1990 "K" Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006-8513 (ope.field.reader@cbmiweb.com; http://webprod.cbmiweb.com/edfrs/).



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