For immediate release:
August 9, 2010

For more information, contact:
Mark A. Puente
Association of Research Libraries
202-296-2296
mpuente@arl.org

ARL Career Enhancement Program Call for Applications

Deadline October 1, 2010

Washington DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is now accepting applications for the ARL Career Enhancement Program (formerly announced as the ARL Minority Fellowship Program). Masters of library and information science (MLIS) students from racial and ethnic minority groups, who have successfully completed a minimum of 12 credits hours (or will complete 12 hours by the scheduled internship) from an ALA accredited MLIS program, are encouraged to apply for this enriching program experience.

The ARL Career Enhancement Program has four main components.

A 6- to 12-Week Internship Experience

Each fellow will have a unique opportunity to work in a research library to gain both educational and professional experience while enrolled in an MLIS program. Fellows will be assembled in groups of two or three to create a fellowship cohort at each host institution.

Mentoring Relationship

Each fellow will be assigned a professional librarian from the host institution to serve as a mentor during the program. The mentoring relationship will be different from the supervisory relationship and will provide the fellows with professional guidance and resource sharing.

Leadership Development

The fellows will participate in the ARL Leadership Symposium held in January during the ALA Midwinter Meeting. During the symposium, the fellows will have an opportunity to explore macro-level issues facing research libraries and discuss appropriate strategies for securing a professional position in research libraries upon graduation. The fellows will have an opportunity to connect with other ARL fellows, library leaders, and other MLIS students who attend the annual Leadership Symposium.

Career Placement

ARL staff will work with each fellow to network and connect with member libraries to assist with networking during the job search process.

The ARL Career Enhancement Program provides each fellowship participant with a rewarding compensation package with a potential value in excess of $10,000 per person.

Eligible applicants for the fellowship must:

• Be accepted into an ALA-accredited library/information school program
• Be a member of a racial/ethnic minority group as described by the US Census Bureau
• Complete a minimum of 12 graduate-level credits in library and information science prior to beginning the internship

Selection and Institutional Match

The ARL Career Enhancement Program has a unique process for selecting and matching fellows. Each host institution designates a staff member to serve on the Coordinating Committee. The committee will read the entire application pool, select acceptable fellows, and then enter into dialogue about the experience and professional fit (fellows' goals and desired experience) for each candidate. The committee will then work together to determine the best placement for each fellow, creating a diverse cohort of students.

The fellowship host institutions are:

University of Arizona
University of California, San Diego
Columbia University
University of Kentucky
National Library of Medicine
North Carolina State University
University of Washington

Applications

Applications are being accepted until October 1, 2010, and should be submitted online. Information about the program, the application process, timelines, and host institutions can be found at http://www.arl.org/diversity/cep/index.shtml.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 125 research libraries in North America. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the Web at http://www.arl.org/.