University
of Maryland’s iSchool Awarded Inclusion and Diverse Populations IMLS
Grant
College Park, MD (10/11/10)--
The University of Maryland’s iSchool has been awarded a $799,483 grant
from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). This grant will
support the iSchool’s Information and Diverse
Populations Masters concentration. This three-year grant will provide
scholarships for a cohort of 20 full-time students to enter the program in fall
2011. For these scholarships, students will be recruited based on a commitment
to working in diverse service and learning environments.
The Information and Diverse
Populations concentration is a unique track of study with the College’s
ALA-accredited MLS degree, allowing students to develop a range of practical
and analytical skills to provide information and technology services to diverse
populations for careers that can range from working in a highly diverse library
setting to conducting research about diversity in information settings. This
concentration was officially launched in August 2010, with an enrollment of
approximately 25 students.
As enhancements to the
program’s curriculum, the grant from IMLS will also provide scholarship
students with special career building opportunities that include: internships
in partner public, academic, and special libraries; mentoring and training in
mentoring; travel funding to attend professional conferences that address
issues of diversity; research opportunities at two facilities in the College of
Information Studies; opportunities to publish diversity-related books reviews
in Library Quarterly;
and participation in a workshop on diversity practice and research at the
University of Maryland. Partner institutions that will provide internship and
mentoring opportunities include the Prince George’s County Memorial
Library System, the McKeldin Library at the University of Maryland, and the
Maryland State Library for the Blind and Handicapped.
This grant will serve to
expand the focus on diversity and inclusion in both the professions and the
academy. Scholarship students will primarily be expected to enter the
profession, working in institutions in communities with high need for this kind
of training. The presence of more inclusive services will not only make
libraries more inclusive, but more diverse librarians will foster diversity in
library school enrollment. In addition, the scholarships will recruit some
students who want to become researchers of diversity and inclusion issues.
These students will seed greater diversity in library school doctoral programs,
ultimately helping to diversify the faculty and expand teaching and researching
on diversity issues.
This grant has been awarded
to Paul T. Jaeger, Cassandra B. Jones, John Carlo Bertot, Mega M. Subramaniam,
and Lesley A. Langa of the University of Maryland, along with Jonathan Lazar of
Towson University and Renee E. Hill (nee Franklin) of Syracuse
University.
Details for applying for the
scholarships will soon be available on the College of Information Studies
website at www.ischool.umd.edu . For
more information, please contact Paul T. Jaeger at [log in to unmask].
About
Maryland’s iSchool
The
College of Information Studies, Maryland's iSchool, empowers people,
organizations and society to use information effectively through its research
and undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. Maryland's iSchool
enables students and faculty to create new ways for people to connect with
information that will transform society and is ideally located in the
information capital of the world- the Washington DC metro region. The iSchool
is transforming itself as well, from a small college with a strong foundation
in library and information studies programs to a fast-growing and
groundbreaking center of expertise that will help people manage the information
explosion from childhood to adulthood.
For more information visit www.ischool.umd.edu
Mary
Carroll-Mason
Communications
Coordinator
College of
Information Studies, Maryland's iSchool
4110D
Hornbake Library
College Park,
MD 20742
(301)
405-1260