ALCTS is offering registration grants to encourage library support staff and library school students to participate in the ALCTS 2018 Midwinter Symposium to be held February 9, 2018 during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Denver, CO.
The day-long symposium “Empowering Access and Ensuring Accessibility: Connecting People to Information and Collections” will explore how libraries and cultural institutions provide access to materials, and ensure that those materials are accessible to all populations. These concepts are particularly important for those working in collections and technical services, where responsibility for identifying, selecting, acquiring, organizing, managing, digitizing, and preserving recorded knowledge resides. The symposium explores the landscape and horizon of collections and technical services work as it contributes to access and broad accessibility to stimulate knowledge creation, to foster innovation, and to empower libraries to have a transformative role in society.
The registration grant committee consists of members of the ALCTS Membership Committee. At least five grants will be awarded in each category, additional grants may be available contingent on additional funding. Grants will be awarded competitively based on the committee’s ranking of applications received by Monday, October 30, 2017.
Eligibility
Library School Student Grant applicants must:
- Be enrolled at least part-time at an ALA-accredited institution (part-time status as defined by your institution)
- Submit a brief summary of the applicant’s progress towards their degree
- Provide a description of how attending the ALCTS Midwinter Symposium will support their career goals
- Submit a completed application by the due date
Library Support Staff Grant applicants must:
- Be currently employed in a library
- Submit a brief summary of the applicant’s current position responsibilities as well as a description of how attending the Midwinter Symposium will support their career goals
- Submit a completed application by the due date
In awarding the grants, preference will be given to:
- Applicants from diverse cultural/ethnic backgrounds
- Applicants who show an interest in actively contributing to the mission and goals of ALCTS
- Stated reasons for wanting to attend the 2018 ALCTS Midwinter Symposium
- Responses to open-ended questions
ALCTS or ALA membership is not required to apply or attend. Additional registration for the ALA Midwinter Meeting is not required to attend the ALCTS Midwinter Symposium. Applicants must secure permission from their supervisors to attend the Symposium in advance of applying for the registration grants. Those selected for the registration grants will be notified no later than Friday, November 17, 2017.
If you have any questions, please contact Megan Dougherty, ALCTS Program Officer, Continuing Education, at mdougherty@ala.org.