HYDERABAD: The city will not be left craving for its share of the American pie after all. An American Corner, originally proposed to be set up at the Osmania University Centre for International Programmes (OUCIP), will now come up at the St Francis College for Women in Begumpet.The US Consulate had planned to set up the centre for cultural exchange at the university but scrapped the same after sanctioning a sum of Rs 43 lakh to the OUCIP. “The decision was justified citing the politically charged atmosphere on the campus and the inaccessibility of the campus,” officials at the OU said.The American Corner will provide access to the entire collection of the US Library of Congress — about 25 lakh volumes including books and journals — in digital form. It will also provide online access to research material and journals through EBSCO Information Services, journal gateway J-Stor, Project Muse and other printed research material. “It is a wonderful resource for the students of college who will benefit from the proximity of the centre. Eminent personalities who visit the city under the aegis of the consulate will enrich the atmosphere of the college as speakers and by sharing their experience," Dr Sr. Alphonsa Vattoly, principal of St. Francis College for Women, told City Express. The centre will be open to all between 3 pm and 7 pm. It will also be open on Saturdays though the college remains closed. The US Consulate General in Hyderabad confirmed the transfer of the project to the college. “The US Consulate General has entered into an agreement with the St. Francis College for Women. We’ll share more details about the partnership as they come available,” said the spokesperson for the consulate general in Hyderabad.The college has been awarded an initial grant of $ 73,000 to set up the centre. “The infrastructure is being designed by architects chosen by the US Consulate General Hyderabad and we will be providing them space on the campus for the American Corner,” said the principal of St. Francis College for Women, Begumpet.The American Corner in the city is likely to be ready by July 4, the US Independence Day. It will be the seventh American Corner in the country and second in South India. American Corners are currently in Lucknow, Guwahati, Patna, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru. The American Corner Library receives a grant of $ 50,000 for initial infrastructure and benefits from enhancements to the tune of $ 10,000 every year for upgrading the volumes.The corner may also aid in re-opening the United States India Educational Foundation (USIEF) centre which guides applicants for Fulbright fellowships. The US Consulate had also distanced the USIEF from the OUCIP from April 1 when it decided to shift the American Corner.
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