Magda El-Sherbini, professor and head of the Collection Description Access Department, University Library, has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholar Grant. El-Sherbini will be affiliated with Abu Dhabi University in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, where she will research “Library Information Web Access (LIWA) consortium and the possibility of creating a comprehensive Arabic thesaurus.” The grant is for six months, divided into two-month intervals over a period of three years. Her first segment will take place from November 1 – December 30, 2016.

El-Sherbini’s research will focus on the methodologies and technologies used by various institutions to provide access to their collections across platforms and library systems. She will explore the degree of cooperation between institutions to see if an open linked data association for Arabic language materials would be a possibility. Her overall goal is to create an authorized Arabic subject thesaurus to be shared among libraries worldwide.

This is the second Fulbright Grant El-Sherbini has received. In 2010-2011, she conducted research and offered seminars and workshops at the Alexandria Library in Egypt.

Anyone interested in the Fulbright Scholar Program should contact Joanna Kukielka-Blaser.