(CHICAGO) The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity has extended its deadline for proposals for its 2008 Diversity Research Grants from April 30 to May 19.  Applicants must be current ALA members, and 2008 proposals must address one of three identified topics:

• The Impact of Rapidly Shifting Demographics on Information Needs, Services and Strategies
• Diversity and Library Services to LGBTQ Communities
• The Impact of Library 2.0 Initiatives on Services to Under-Served Populations

Since 2002, the office has sponsored the program to address critical gaps in the knowledge of diversity issues within library and information science. The application deadline is May 19.  Only proposals demonstrating relevance to the 2008 research topics will be considered.

The Diversity Research Grant consists of a one-time $2,000 award for original research and a $500 travel grant to attend and present at ALA Annual Conference. One proposal will be chosen from within each of this year’s topics, for a total of three awards. Grant recipients will be expected to compile the results of their research into a paper and will be asked to present and publish the final product in conjunction with the ALA.

A complete proposal must include the following: a cover letter, one-page vita for each of the researchers involved, a concise abstract of the project and a description of the project detailing the justification and needs for the research project, research objectives, expected outcomes and benefits, budget plan and timeline. For a complete list of the criteria on which proposals will be evaluated, please visit: http://ala.org/ala/diversity/divresearchgrants/diversityresearch.cfm

            Persons submitting a proposal must be current ALA members. If you are not presently a member of ALA, but wish to submit a proposal please visit http://www.ala.org/membership/ for information on becoming a member. Applicants must supply membership ID numbers with proposals.

Electronic submissions are preferred and should be submitted in a Word document attachment. E-mail electronic submissions to diversity@ala.org. Mailed submissions should be sent to the ALA Office for Diversity, Attn: Gwendolyn Prellwitz, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. 

For more information, please email diversity@ala.org or call 1 (800) 545-2433, ext. 5048.