SOLIS Professional Conference Scholarships

By: Jessica Davis

The University of South Florida Student Organizations of Library and Information Science (SOLIS) is accepting applications for the First Annual Professional Conference Scholarships!

Applications will be accepted from March 7th, 2011 – March 21st, 2011 for the following professional conference organizations:

• American Library Association (ALA, http://www.ala.org/)

• Special Library Association (SLA, www.sla.org)

• Florida Library Association (FLA, http://www.flalib.org/)

Students are limited to one national and one state Professional Conference Scholarship award over the course of their USF School of information graduate program studies.

Awards: One scholarship will be available per year for each annual conference. The scholarship award amounts are based on the annual conference:

• ALA and SLA: $1500

• FLA: $200

Funding for the USF SOLIS Professional Conference Scholarships is generously provided by the USF School of Information.

Requirements: Scholarship applicants are required to:

·   be members of SOLIS.

·   include proof of membership in the professional organization for the conference they are attending.

·   be a student at the time of the conference. This is determined based on the date of the student’s graduation ceremony.

·   Winning applicants must write a blog article and lead a brown bag or after-dark lecture discussing their conference experience.

Application Process:

Applications will be collected via SurveyMonkey. Please visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GDJV8D8 to apply.

The survey will function as the official application for all three conference scholarships. Applicants may return to previous questions and modify responses until the survey is submitted or exited. For each scholarship, the applicant who meets all scholarship requirements and has accumulated the most points for participation and service activities will receive the scholarship award. Please note that scholarship points are retroactive, beginning August 2010. Any activities before August 2010 will NOT be considered for this award. The applications will be reviewed on March 23rd, 2011. Students may be asked to verify information submitted in their applications. The results will be posted on the SOLIS Blackboard announcements, website, and blog. Award winners will also be contacted via e-mail by the scholarship committee.

For questions regarding SOLIS membership, contact us at slisstudentorgs@usf.edu. Questions regarding the Professional Conference Scholarships should be directed to the Scholarship Committee Chair at jrdavis2@mail.usf.edu. Thank you!

 

Filed under: ALA, Conferences, FLA, Professional Organizations, Scholarships

ALA Student Chapter of the Year Nomination Form Submitted

By: Bill Harris

The USF ALA Student Chapter of the Year nomination form was submitted last Friday. The Student Chapter of the Year Award is presented by the ALA’s New Members Round Table (NMRT) in recognition of a chapter’s outstanding contributions to the American Library Association, their school, and the profession. The purpose of the award is to increase student involvement in ALA through student chapters, and to recognize future leaders in the profession. This is the first time in the history of the USF student chapter that we have submitted a nomination form for this award.

The application included details of our 500% increase in total members for our student chapter since June 1st, 2010. We also increased the frequency and/or numbers in our Socials, After-Dark Lectures, and Brown Bag programs. The first Professional Association Membership Scholarships were distributed over the fall. We will give out the first Professional Conference Scholarships in the spring.

You can download our nomination form by clicking here. The ALA / NMRT Student Chapter of the Year Committee will announce the winner by March 31st.

The ALA student chapter would like to thank all of the members who participated and lead the improvements seen over the last year, which are detailed in this nomination form.

Filed under: ALA, Professional Organizations