ALA Diversity Office calls for research grant proposals

Contact: Gwendolyn Prellwitz
Program Officer, Office for Diversity
312-280-5048
For Immediate Release
March 5, 2007

ALA Diversity Office calls for research grant proposals

(CHICAGO) The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity seeks proposals for its Diversity Research Grant program. Applicants must be current ALA members, and 2007 proposals must address one of three identified topics:

* Ten Years of Transformation – Spectrum's Impact as a Model for Diversity Initiatives

* Diversity Within Diversity – Intersections of Identity

* (Re)envisioning Multicultural Librarianship and Pedagogy

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 April 30, 2007. Only proposals demonstrating relevance to the 2007 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 the 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 criterion on which proposals will be evaluated, please visit: http://www.ala.org/ala/diversity/divresearchgrants/diversityresearch.htm.

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.

Submissions should be sent by mail to the ALA Office for Diversity, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Electronic submissions are preferred and should be submitted in a Word document attachment. Email electronic submissions to diversity@ala.org. For more information, please email diversity@ala.org or call 1.800.545.2433 ext. 5048.