Alumna Heather Wakefield will receive a grant from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program to do research in the National Parliamentary Library in Tbilisi, Georgia. The grant will support her year of research beginning in September.

“I know the Georgian and U.S. governments have been working to strengthen their relations and my project fits into the Fulbright mission of cultural exchange,” she said. “For my project, I will start with a cultural exchange as I learn more about Georgian library practices. They have a closed stack system in which patrons request books and the librarians retrieve them. I will set up temporary open stacks with children’s books so that young patrons and parents can browse the stacks.”

Heather will utilize direct observation and feedback from children and parents about the children’s interests in books and reading. She will collect and compare data on circulation of the children’s books with open versus closed stacks. She will attempt to determine if direct interaction with books increases young people’s enthusiasm for, and time spent, reading.

“My experiences at the College of Information have definitely helped me get here,” said Heather. “I have had dedicated professors, supervisors, and colleagues who have set excellent examples, encouraged my ambitions, and helped guide me in my learning process. I could not have come this far without them.”