An interview with Ann Fuhrman, conducted by Tom Peters
Cultural competence and global perspectives are two aspects of MSU’s Public Affairs mission. Meyer Library has two excellent resources to help students, staff, and faculty to develop awareness of diverse cultures and global issues: The United Nations collection and Ann Fuhrman, our UN Documents Specialist. Recently I chatted with Ann about the UN collection and her work.
Ann reported that Meyer Library has been an official UN depository since December 2000. MSU has the only library in Missouri with this official designation. She noted that the UN collection contains a wealth of information about other cultures and global issues – often called “problems without passports” – that know no political boundaries, such as climate change, terrorism, and world health issues. The collection contains a range of types of materials on these important topics, from high-level theoretical and scientific overviews and policy statements to practical information about real-world problems, such as landmine eradication.
The UN collection also helps foster a culture of inclusion here at MSU by making the campus community aware of other places around the world, their cultures, their societies, their challenges, and their opportunities. Ann noted that recently the UN has been making great strides in raising global awareness of disability issues and LGBTQ issues as fundamental human rights issues. The business, economics, and educational areas of the UN collection are strong, too, with lots of information on hot topics, such as microlending programs in developing countries.
Always outgoing and helpful, Ann concluded our chat by expressing her excitement about the coming year, when MSU’s Public Affairs theme will be “Global Perspective: Why It Matters” and the Common Reader book will be Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie. Ann excels as MSU’s own local UN “ambassador.” It’s in her blood. She even participated in Model UN as a college student.
For more information about MSU’s UN Collection, including both print and online documents, visit http://guides.library.missouristate.edu/unitednations