Carroll Preston Baber Research Grant (HISTORICAL)

About the Carroll Preston Baber Research Grant
The Carroll Preston Baber Research Grant is given annually to one or more librarians or library educators who will conduct innovative research that could lead to an improvement in services to any specified group(s) of people. The project should aim to answer a question that is of vital importance to the library community and the researchers should plan to provide documentation of the results of their work. The Jury would welcome proposals that involve innovative uses of technology and proposals that involve cooperation between libraries, between libraries and other agencies, or between librarians and persons in other disciplines.

Administered by:

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Award and Frequency

This grant consists of an amount up to $3,000. Half of the amount will be paid within one month of the ALA Annual Conference. The remaining half will be provided approximately six months later upon the receipt of a satisfactory progress report as determined by the Carroll Preston Baber Research Grant Jury Chair and the ALA staff liaison to the Carroll Preston Baber Research Grant Jury.
This award is not currently being given out.

Eligibility

Any ALA member may apply. The Jury would welcome projects that involve both a practicing librarian and a researcher.

Application Instructions

Please send via email one completed application cover sheet and proposal with budget to the ALA Staff Liaison listed below. Email subject line should read “2015 Baber Award Proposal”. File formats accepted are PDF (preferred) or MS Word 2003 or newer. Please do not fax or mail.
 
Proposal Requirements
  1. Application Cover Sheet - (Word Version) or Application Cover Sheet - (PDF Version)
  2. Narrative
    1. Statement of the problem: This section should identify the problem to be studied and place it in the context of the goals of the Grant specified in the first six evaluative criteria listed on the introductory page.
    2. Research questions to be answered.
    3. Strategy for answering the question.(s)
    4. Group(s) of people who will eventually benefit.
    5. Planned activities: This section should provide a detailed description of the proposed organization and implementation of the project and a time line of activities. Include whatever details are necessary to enable an evaluator of the application to understand the project and the costs related to various elements of it.
      It is expected that the project will be completed within 18 months. A final report is due to ALA at that time although dissemination of results will take longer.
    6. Plans for dissemination: This section should describe a plan for disseminating the results of the project. The plan could include such possibilities as: oral presentation at an ALA Annual Conference or divisional national conference, oral presentation at meeting of other library or non-library organization, article in an ALA periodical, article in a non-ALA periodical, submission to ERIC, book, video, or microcomputer software program.
      Notes:
      1. If the project results in a print or non-print product suitable for sale, ALA Publishing Services has the right of first refusal. If the project results in a periodical article, the ALA periodical appropriate for the subject matter has the right of first refusal.
      2. In any publication or presentation of results, the grantee should acknowledge that full or partial support for the project came from the Carroll Preston Baber Grant administered by the American Library Association.
III.   Budget
The budget should include all costs that can be specifically identified with the proposal and should show both costs being covered by other sources and the amount being requested from the Baber Grant.
  1. Possible categories are:
    1. Salaries and wages Project Director Support staff Fringe benefits for salaried personnel
    2. Consultant services
    3. Travel for work on the project (see note 3 below)
    4. Supplies and materials
    5. Other, including such costs as rental of space and/or equipment, communications, and computer services
    6. Dissemination costs
      Notes:
      1. The applicant should indicate the extent of any parent organizational commitment of support. If the applicant is to be given leave for the research project, this should be noted. No specific financial commitments by the institution are required but, if submitted, those commitments will be weighed in the evaluation of the proposal.
      2. Institutional overhead is not an acceptable budget item within the parameters of the Baber Grant, nor should overhead be listed as institutional support.
      3. If travel for dissemination of results is in the budget, it must be less than 10% of the total.

Contact Information

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Selection Criteria

The Baber Grant Jury will evaluate applications on the basis of the following criteria:
  1. The research problem is clearly defined, with a specific question or questions that can be answered by collecting data. The applicant(s) clearly describe a strategy for data collection whose methods are appropriate to the research question(s). A review of the literature, methodologies, etc. is not considered research (e.g., methodology review rather than application of a methodology) for purposes of the award, except where the literature review is the primary method of collecting data.
     
  2. The research has the potential to address a currently important issue in library service that is national in scope. The research question should focus on benefits to library users and should be applied and have practical value as opposed to theoretical.
     
  3. The applicant(s) demonstrate ability to undertake and successfully complete the project. The application provides evidence that sufficient time and resources have been allocated to the effort. Appropriate institutional commitment to the project has been secured.
     
  4. The applicant(s) demonstrate commitment to a reasonable dissemination plan.