The ARL Academy: Careers in Academic and Research Libraries recruits, educates, and promotes visibility within the profession of MLIS students who bring previously gained educational and professional experiences to academic and research libraries. The Academy is a partnership between the Association of Research Libraries and three library and information science schools - Catholic University of America, Simmons College, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The program is generously supported through an Institute for Museum and Library Services Recruiting and Education Librarians for the 21st Century grant.
Each fall, from 2004 through 2006, five MLIS students from each of the three schools will be selected as ARL Academy Fellows. Fellows bring PhDs, or specialized educational accomplishments, to the program. As part of the program, Fellows are immersed through their MLIS classes in the core philosophical and theoretical context necessary to successfully contribute within libraries at professional levels. Simultaneously, they will gain mentored work experience in an ARL library; the goal being to signifcantly increase their exposure, competence, and marketability upon graduation. ARL libraries benefit from access to academic professionals - with sophisticated subject expertise and a unique understanding of the schoarly process - to recruit into the ever-evolving research library community.
