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Kaleidoscope Program Application and Eligibility

Review the timeline, materials, and rubric for the 2023 Kaleidoscope Program application process.

Application

Application Timeline

Application Materials

Selection Process

Eligibility

Application

Timeline

  • Monday, April 3, 2023: ARL issues Call for Applications
  • Tuesday, April 11, 2023, 1:00–2:00 p.m. (EDT): Informational Session
  • Monday, May 15, 2023 by 11:59 p.m. (PDT): Applications due to ARL
  • July 2023: ARL notifies applications of selection decisions
  • August 2023: 2023–2025 Kaleidoscope Program Cohort launches

Application Materials

All applicants are required to submit the following materials (requests for accommodations, questions, and concerns should be sent via email to dei@arl.org):

  • Online application form (requires Google account; program participation also requires a Google account; a free Google account may be created at https://www.google.com/account/about/). Please be prepared to respond to the following prompts in 2,000 characters or less:
    • Interests & Goals: Describe why you are interested in earning your MLIS degree (include professional interests and goals).
    • Challenges & Success: Describe potential challenges you may encounter in your career and how you might respond to them (include what professional success means to you).
  • Résumé
  • Undergraduate transcripts (unofficial or official) including last academic semester completed 
  • Graduate transcripts (unofficial or official) including last academic semester completed OR copy of official letter of acceptance into a graduate-level program in library and information science (either at the time of application or before being accepted into the Kaleidoscope Program) 
  • Two letters of recommendation (up to 500 words) from:
    • a current or past manager/supervisor (academic or professional) or faculty/instructor; and 
    • any person.

Letters of recommendation can be uploaded directly via the application form or sent via email to dei@arl.org by the applicant or the recommender. Letters of recommendation are encouraged to provide evidence in support of applicants’ qualifications and characteristics related to the evaluation categories of the rubric; this could include addressing applicants’:

  • potential for growth and development;
  • previous achievements and contributions to communities; and
  • patterns of behavior in various settings and groups.

Selection Process

Applications will be scored on a scale of 0–100. ARL staff will assign each application up to 20 points based on logistics. Each Selection Working Group member will assign each application up to 80 points—up to 20 points for each of four evaluation categories.

  • 20 (ARL staff) application logistics
  • 20 (Selection Working Group) professional interests & goals
  • 20 (Selection Working Group) growth and learning mindset
  • 20 (Selection Working Group) value from program participation
  • 20 (Selection Working Group) awareness of self & communities

Application Logistics

This rating is assigned by ARL staff as either zero (0), ten (10), or twenty (20) points. Ten (10) points are awarded for a complete application; ten (10) additional points are awarded for submitting all materials by the due date.

Complete Application

All materials must be received by ARL via the application form or email unless specific arrangements are made. Applicants that request and are approved for an accommodation related to not providing specific application materials may still receive the ten (10) points for a complete application provided that all other items are received. Application materials may be accepted after the due date based on the capacity of ARL staff and the Selection Working Group. In instances where capacity permits the acceptance of late materials, points for complete applications can be awarded.

Application Due Date

Complete applications received by the due date will receive an additional ten (10) points.

Selection Working Group Application Review & Scoring

Each application will be reviewed and scored by each Selection Working Group member who will award up to twenty (20) points for each of four (4) evaluation categories. Applicants are encouraged to include details of previous achievements, current efforts, and/or future intentions as relevant to each category.

Higher scores will be awarded for applications that provide clear, relevant evidence for each category, are supported by multiple application materials (e.g., prompt responses, letters of recommendation, and resume), and include multiple, specific examples of action and impact where applicable.

Professional Interests & Goals

Strong applications will either (a) identify applicants’ specific areas of interest within libraries and archives and describe how they became interested in the areas as well as how they hope to explore the areas in the future or (b) describe applicants’ general interest in the field as well as options they may pursue to identify specific areas of interest. All strong applications will include specific, measurable goals as well as how they will determine success for each goal.

Growth & Learning Mindset

Strong applications will demonstrate applicants’ curiosity, creativity, and enthusiasm for their studies/the profession; articulate applicants’ intention to engage the multiple components of the Kaleidoscope Program for both program years; and levels of initiative and motivation to grow personally and professionally.

Value from Program Participation

Strong applications will describe individualized benefits of program participation for applicants based on their specific needs, goals, experiences, and circumstances.

Awareness of Self & Communities

Strong applications will address applicants’ strengths and areas for growth; the ways applicants’ identities, values, and beliefs inform how they experience situations and how others experience them; and the importance of communities, relationships, and connections to applicants.

Eligibility

To be eligible to participate in the Kaleidoscope Program, applicants must fulfill the following requirements:

  • Identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or a Person of Color
  • Be a resident of the US or Canada
  • Be accepted into a graduate program accredited by the American Library Association (ALA)
  • Demonstrate a strong interest in pursuing a career in a research library or archive

Affiliates