SAGE Publications, Inc. Sponsors Support Staff GrantSAGE Publications, Inc. has entered into an agreement with ALCTS to sponsor six support staff grants. The SAGE Library Support Staff Grant is based on a pilot project, developed under the auspices of the ALCTS Fundraising Committee and supported by SAGE, that awarded grants to three paraprofessionals to attend the 2005 Annual Conference of the American Library Association.
SAGE Publications has a long and distinguished history of supporting organizations and individuals engaged in scholarly and creative endeavors. The publisher has generously agreed to support the grant for an initial period of three years, beginning July 2005. At the end of that period SAGE and ALCTS will evaluate the agreement, with the option to renew it every three years thereafter. To be eligible for consideration to receive a grant, applicants must currently be employed in a full-time library support staff position, must have a minimum of three years of experience in an area of technical services (acquisitions, cataloging, collection development/management, preservation of library materials, serials), and must not previously have attended an ALA Annual Conference.
In response to the announcement about the availability of the 2005 grants, 114 applications were received. Interest in the grant was phenomenal, and illustrated with amazing clarity that our libraries are staffed by dedicated, highly motivated paraprofessionals who hold the American Library Association and its divisions in the highest regard, and who are eager for opportunities to enhance their skills. The review of applications took place in December 2004 and after a careful evaluation, three recipients were chosen to receive grants for 2005: Linda Christine Ericson, University of Alaska, Anchorage; Heidi M. Jensen, Pioneer Library System, Canandaigua, New York; and Lydia C. Williams, Longwood University, Farmville, Virginia. Members of the ALCTS Membership Committee will serve as mentors to the grant recipients, and they will be feted in Chicago during the ALCTS Awards Ceremony, from 5 to 6 pm on Sunday, June 26.
The ALCTS Board, at its January 2005 meeting, noted the level of interest the grant had generated and moved to establish the grant on a permanent basis, contingent on the availability of financial support. SAGE graciously offered not only to make a multiyear commitment to ALCTS to support the grant, but to increase significantly the level of their support as well. ALCTS is pleased to collaborate with SAGE in making this special opportunity available to technical services staff—often the unsung heroes of the library—in the years ahead.
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