Information services provider EBSCO, US, in co-sponsorship with the American Library Association (ALA) has awarded five librarians $1,500 scholarships to attend the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas, from January 20–24, 2012. As part of the application process, librarians were asked to write an essay on the topic 'If you could change anything about your current workplace or job responsibilities, how would you position them to meet future needs?'
The winners outlined creative approaches for change unique to their libraries. Their ideas included literacy outreach programmes in partnership with human service organisations, school reading initiatives, social media networking, and one-on-one librarian-to-patron consultations, with the common thread being stepping outside the library as 'a physical building' to partner with and meet the needs of the community.
The applications were judged by a jury designated by ALA. The five winning librarians will join EBSCO and ALA representatives for a breakfast honouring the scholarship recipients during the conference on January 22.
EBSCO has a long tradition of co-sponsoring scholarships to ALA conferences, providing money to be used for conference registration, travel, and expenses. The company will continue awarding scholarships in 2012 for the ALA Annual Conference, which will be held in Anaheim, California.
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