The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has awarded Sophia Abundo the Julia C. Blixrud Scholarship to attend the ARL President’s Institute 2025. Sophia is a master of library & information science student at Western University and a University of British Columbia English literature graduate. She works as an auxiliary library assistant at the Vancouver Public Library and serves a diverse demographic of patrons across the city. Her experience as a volunteer at long-term care facilities has inspired her career in librarianship. Sophia is interested in introducing life-story workshops in public libraries and developing community-based dementia services. During her master’s program, she is excited to complete a co-op within an academic library to further her research and reference abilities. Upon graduation, she hopes to pursue a doctoral degree in library, archival, and information studies.
The Blixrud Scholarship was established in 2015 to honor the memory and extend the legacy of longtime ARL staff member Julia C. Blixrud. Generous donations to the Julia C. Blixrud Memorial Fund support the scholarship.
The theme of the 2025 ARL President’s Institute, which will be held Wednesday, February 12–Thursday, February 13, is “Ignite Collaboration: Thriving Multigenerational Libraries.” As part of the scholarship, Sophia will write an overview of the event, to be published on the ARL Views blog.
About the Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of research libraries in Canada and the US whose vision is to create a trusted, equitable, and inclusive research and learning ecosystem and prepare library leaders to advance this work in strategic partnership with member libraries and other organizations worldwide. ARL’s mission is to empower and advocate for research libraries and archives to shape, influence, and implement institutional, national, and international policy. ARL develops the next generation of leaders and enables strategic cooperation among partner institutions to benefit scholarship and society. ARL is on the web at ARL.org.
