Career Advancement

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ACRL offers a variety of opportunities to publish, present, learn, and lead in the field, as well as numerous other ways to advance your career, including mentor and scholarship opportunities.


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Learning

Accessible. Affordable. Achievable. ACRL can increase your job proficiency, sharpen your skills, and help you find solutions faster. ACRL professional development opportunities, both virtual and face-to-face, help you gain the skills you need to keep up-to-date and advance your career. Oh, and did we mention that members always get a discount?

Visit our Conferences and Online Learning website for complete details!


Awards, Grants, and Scholarships

ACRL is pleased to provide funding to support new research, scholarships to attend events, and awards to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of the academic and research library community.

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Awards

ACRL's awards program recognizes and honors the professional contributions and achievements of your peers.

Browse awards.

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Grants

ACRL supports new research with a variety of grants.

Check out our current grant opportunities.

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Scholarships

ACRL provides funding for academic and research library professionals to expand their horizons at a variety of conferences and events.

Browse scholarships.


Share Your Knowledge, Accelerate Your Career

Achieve your professional goals by sharing your knowledge and advancing the profession. ACRL offers many opportunities to progress toward your career goals by presenting your ideas, publishing your research, and serving the profession.

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Present

Share your knowledge with your peers by presenting at our wide array of professional development opportunities, including the ACRL Conference, RBMS Conference, ALA Annual Conference, and Online Learning program.

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Publish

Share your research, ideas and recommendations, and scholarly thinking with the academic library community through the ACRL book publishing program. You can also share your knowledge through our serials program by submitting to College & Research Libraries, C&RL News, or RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage. Many ACRL sections, interest, and discussion groups offer additional publishing opportunities.

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Volunteer

Expand your professional network and contribute to ACRL by volunteering to serve on committees, task forces, editorial boards, and communities of practice. Serving is a great way to become involved, develop (or share) your skills, and make an impact on the profession. Learn more!


Career Planning

Find the position and career path that’s right for you. ACRL can help you find your first job or your next job, and get mentored, through our career development resources.

"I joined ACRL as a library school student because I knew I wanted to be an academic librarian and needed job hunting advice. It really helped to have ACRL mentors and to talk to future colleagues at the annual conference. I had a great job lined up before graduation! “ ~ Pearl Ly, ACRL member since 2007

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Get leads on great library jobs through ALA JobLIST, our one-stop resource for online library job searching. ALA JobLIST features the best library jobs in the nation, resume writing and career development tips, and career planning tools.

Learn more today!

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Mentoring

Having effective mentors is important for your professional and personal growth. Many ACRL sections have mentoring and coaching programs to help you get the most from this important relationship. For more information see:

“Programs offered by ACRL have not only contributed to my own professional development, they have also helped me with mentoring younger professionals who are becoming leaders in my library.” ~ Terri Fishel, ACRL member since 1985