Academic Library Impact Research Grants
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) offers grants of up to $3,000 each for librarians to carry out new research in areas suggested by ACRL’s 2017 report Academic Library Impact: Improving Practice and Essential Areas to Research (prepared for ACRL by OCLC Research and available for download or purchase). This program is one of several developed by ACRL’s Value of Academic Libraries (VAL) Committee to support librarians in their efforts to demonstrate the impact of their work to a wider audience.
ACRL invites applications from librarians and information professionals seeking to conduct research that will demonstrate library contributions to student learning and success. The proposed project should aim to build on the foundations of the Academic Library Impact report and fill gaps in existing literature. The committee invites applicants to propose using any investigative methods appropriate to their research questions. These include but are not limited to standard quantitative and qualitative approaches, as well as critical evaluations, case studies, reflective essays, and (auto)ethnography. Proposals that involve collaboration between librarians and other higher education stakeholders, such as institutional researchers, faculty, administration, students, or community partners are also welcome.
More information is available on the ACRL website: http://www.ala.org/acrl/awards/researchawards/impactgrants
Administered by:
Award and Frequency
Eligibility
Each applicant must be a member of ACRL and employed as a librarian or information professional in a university, college, community college, or research library at the time of application for the grant.
Grants should not be sought for tuition or other degree-related expenses.
Applicant Responsibility
Researchers should expect to provide evidence of the progress and outcomes of their work. Grant recipients must:
- Complete and sign an agreement form for funds to be disbursed.
- Report on the progress of their research six months into the project.
- Disseminate their results within one year of completion.
- Provide ACRL with a summary of the research results that may be disseminated online, for example as part of a blog post or other update to the community.
- Acknowledge ACRL’s support in any publication or presentation resulting from this research.
Application Instructions
The application coversheet is available to download here. Please fill it out, save it, and combine it into a single PDF with the other documents detailed below.
The application should be submitted by the principal investigator or project lead. It should include:
1) A completed cover sheet (use application form provided) with your name, contact information, ACRL membership information, and, if applicable, names and contact details of collaborators.
2) Your CV or résumé.
3) A brief abstract of the project (maximum 200 words).
4) Proposed budget, using the worksheet provided (download .docx file). The budget should total no more than $3,000, unless additional funding has been secured. The budget should itemize costs related to carrying out the proposed research. Possible budget items include: wages for personnel, travel for work on the project, research tools and materials, technology services, and dissemination costs.
a. Indicate whether you have applied for or received any other funding for this project. No additional financial commitments by the institution are required, but they will be weighed in the evaluation of the proposal.
b. Institutional overhead is not an acceptable budget item, nor should it be listed as institutional support.
c. Any costs related to dissemination that are part of the budget should comprise no more than 20% of the total.
5) A project proposal (maximum 1000 words), following the guidelines outlined below.
Proposal Requirements
The proposal should include:
1) Statement of the research objectives and question(s): These should align with at least one of the six priority areas identified in the Academic Library Impact report. Critical perspectives will also be considered.
2) Methodology and analysis strategy for answering the question(s): Identify the methods that will be used, why they are appropriate for addressing the research question(s), and how the results will be assessed.
a. Explain any ethical considerations including how you will protect the rights of participants in your research, if applicable. If your research may be subject to an IRB, address that process here.
3) Planned research activities: This section should contain a detailed description of how the research project will be organized and implemented, including a timeline of activities. These activities should relate to the stated budget. It is expected that the project should be completed within 12 months, though dissemination of results may take longer.
a. If the proposed research constitutes a piece of a larger project, please address how the work funded by this grant fits in and what results will be achieved within the time allotted.
b. For collaborative projects, state how each team member will contribute. Team members may come from different institutions.
4) Expected outcomes and plans for dissemination: This section should describe plans for sharing the results of the project. Grant recipients are required to disseminate their research outputs in a form of their choosing. We strongly encourage that the chosen avenue of dissemination be open access and that it reach a wide audience of stakeholders within higher education.
a. Possibilities include: a conference presentation, a peer-reviewed article, a book or book chapter, a webinar, or a digital project.
b. The ACRL VAL committee will be assembling a special issue of College & Research Libraries and facilitating special sessions at the ACRL 2019 conference for grant recipients. They will invite all interested recipients to submit to those two venues. ACRL also has other avenues for publication that we would be happy to discuss.
c. In any publication or presentation of results, the grantee should acknowledge that support for the project came from ACRL.
5) Benefit of this research: Articulate the significance of this research project in advancing the role of academic libraries within your institution and the wider higher education landscape.
Contact Information
Selection Criteria
A subcommittee of members from the VAL Committee will review proposals. In selecting recipients, they will have the following criteria in mind and will seek balance across research questions and institutions.
- Need for support: Is this monetary support necessary for this research to be undertaken? Is the proposed research original enough to justify funding?
- Need for research: Will this research help fill an existing gap in the literature? Does it investigate or provide new ways of thinking about the impact of academic libraries? Are the ideas well-conceived, developed, and articulated?
- Project design: Is the proposed project clear and intriguing? Will the proposed methodology enable effective research? Is it feasible within the proposed timeframe and budget? Are the proposed outcomes realistic?
- Alignment with objectives: How well does the proposed project align with the priority areas suggested in the Academic Library Impact Report? Or, if this research takes a critical perspective, does the proposal explain how it will further debate in the field and deepen our understanding? How well does it align with the Value of Academic Library goals and objectives as stated in ACRL's strategic plan?
Notification
All applicants will be notified of their status by Friday, May 31, 2018. Grants funds will be disbursed within one month following completion of an agreement form.
