Intercultural Communication Institute

What Intercultural Communication Institute does

The Intercultural Communication Institute is a non-profit organization that, since 1987, stewarded the intercultural communication field's most comprehensive private resource library, and now operates in the form of its successor initiative, the Janet M. Bennett Intercultural Library Consortium. Following ICI's 2019 closure and Dr. Janet M. Bennett's passing in early 2022, the more than 35,000-item collection — books, original papers, training materials, theses and dissertations, audio/visual media, posters, and digital files spanning 150+ categories — was reconceptualized for international digitization and distribution. The library is governed by a voluntary consortium of four organizations: Institute for Developing Across Differences (USA/Germany), Louisiana Tech University, Purdue University's CILMAR, and University of Groningen (Netherlands).

The core product is the Janet M. Bennett Intercultural Library: a centralized digital catalog that coordinates a physically distributed collection housed across the four consortium campuses, with public catalog access (free) and by-appointment site access to materials that are not readily digitized. Distribution is allocated by each member's specializations in the intercultural communication field, and the collection includes contributions from pioneers David Hoopes, Dean Barnlund, and E.T. Hall. Library co-leads are Dr. Kris Acheson-Clair (Purdue) and Melissa Liles (IDD).

The business model is non-commercial and donation-funded. There are no products sold and no service pricing; access to the catalog and physical materials is free for researchers, practitioners, and students worldwide. Funding is crowdsourced via GoFundMe, supplemented by tax-deductible contributions channeled through Purdue CILMAR, and the organization is actively pursuing inclusion in donors' estate planning. The target user base spans aspiring students, mid-career professionals and academics, and seasoned scholars and practitioners — across education, professional development, and academic research.

Name

Intercultural Communication Institute

Legal name

Janet M. Bennett Intercultural Library Consortium

Website

https://intercultural.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Intercultural Communication Institute is a non-profit that stewards the Janet M. Bennett Intercultural Library, a free, non-commercial resource center providing researchers, practitioners, and students worldwide access to more than 35,000 intercultural communication materials coordinated through a four-institution academic consortium.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Library Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Academic & Research Library Operations (College/University Libraries) (EDAEAGAB), Interlibrary Loan (ILL) & Resource Sharing Operations (EDAEAGAK)

Keywords

• Intercultural communication resources
• Cross-cultural research library
• Academic library collections
• Cultural training materials
• Specialized digital archive

Headquarters

HQ city

West Lafayette

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Crowdfunding: The library relies entirely on financial support from donors. This includes crowdsourced donations via GoFundMe and tax-deductible contributions through Purdue's CILMAR. The organization is also seeking to be included in estate planning.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Janet M. Bennett Intercultural Library is a non-commercial resource center preserving and providing access to over 35,000 books, original papers, training materials, theses, dissertations, audio/visual media, and multimedia items across 150+ categories of intercultural communication. The collection is distributed across four consortium campuses and coordinated through a centralized digital catalog, serving researchers, students, and practitioners worldwide. Operations are funded through donations and crowdfunding.

Product overview

The Janet M. Bennett Intercultural Library is a single, unified digital archive product—a comprehensive non-commercial resource center for intercultural communication research and practice. The library preserves and makes accessible Dr. Janet M. Bennett's collection of over 35,000 books, original papers, training materials, and multimedia materials across 150+ categories. The collection is being digitized and distributed globally through a consortium of four universities and organizations, with a shared digital catalog enabling worldwide access to the holdings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Janet M. Bennett Intercultural Library A comprehensive, non-commercial resource center for intercultural communication research and practice, containing over 35,000 books, original papers, training materials, theses, dissertations, audio/visual media, and multimedia items across 150+ categories including Adaptation, Bi-cultural/Bi-lingual, Communication Theory, Culture-specific Insights, Experiential Learning, Simulations, and ICI History. The collection includes contributions from scholars David Hoopes, Dean Barnlund, and E.T. Hall. The library serves aspiring students, mid-career professionals and academics, and seasoned scholars and practitioners worldwide, with distributed physical materials housed at consortium campuses and a centralized digital catalog providing global access.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 35,000 books, papers, and multimedia items preserved for future generations
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Purdue University CILMARcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCenter for Intercultural Learning, Mentorship, Assessment and Research at Purdue University serves as a key consortium member, library co-lead (Dr. Kris Acheson-Clair), and tax-deductible donation recipient (CILMAR-JMBInterculturalLibrary). Houses physical materials and coordinates digitization efforts.
• Institute for Developing Across Differences (IDD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSA/Germany-based institute dedicated to developing across differences. Serves as consortium member and library co-lead (Melissa Liles). Contributes to library governance and operations.
• Louisiana Tech UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerServes as consortium member housing physical materials. Distribution based on university's specializations within the intercultural communication field.
• University of GroningencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetherlands-based university serving as European consortium member. Houses physical materials and contributes to international distribution and accessibility efforts.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• NAFSA: Association of International Educators: Largest professional association advancing international education and intercultural exchange. Operates in an overlapping professional domain (intercultural training, international student support) but at broader scale with membership, conferences, and policy advocacy.
• WorldCat (OCLC): Global library catalog aggregator used by researchers to locate specialized materials. Comparable as a discovery layer for academic resources, though covering all fields rather than specializing in intercultural communication.
• SAGE Publishing — Intercultural Communication Portfolio: Major academic publisher producing books and journals in intercultural communication and cross-cultural research. Comparable as a knowledge dissemination channel serving the same researcher audience, though commercial rather than archival.

Direct peers

• SIETAR USA: Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research. A professional association advancing the same intercultural communication field that the JMB Library serves, providing complementary community, training, and research resources for intercultural scholars and practitioners.
• Purdue University CILMAR: Center for Intercultural Learning, Mentorship, Assessment and Research. Consortium partner and tax-deductible donation recipient; shares the same academic and practitioner audience in intercultural communication and houses a portion of the collection.
• Institute for Developing Across Differences (IDD): USA/Germany-based institute developing across differences; consortium member and library co-lead (Melissa Liles). Operates intercultural training and consulting, sharing the same mission domain and practitioner audience as the JMB Library.
• University of Groningen — Intercultural Studies: European consortium member housing a portion of the collection. Conducts academic research in intercultural communication and provides the same researcher and student audience served by the JMB Library.

Others

• Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection: University-based specialized cultural collection serving researchers worldwide. Comparable as a model for distributed academic cultural archives operating through consortium partnerships, though focused on visual art rather than intercultural communication materials.
• The Intercultural Press: Specialized publisher of intercultural communication books and training materials. Functionally comparable as a channel for intercultural scholarship distribution, though it operates commercially while the JMB Library is a non-profit archive.

Regional players

• Louisiana Tech University: USA-based consortium member housing physical materials from the Bennett collection. Comparable as an academic institution with intercultural communication programs serving the same student and researcher population.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/intercultural-communication-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Intercultural Communication Institute