IMLS OFFERS SCHOLARSHIPS TO ATTEND ACRL/RBMS CONFERENCE ON LIBRARIES,
ARCHIVES, AND MUSEUMS
The Institute for Library and Museum Services (IMLS) has provided funding
for thirty new and aspiring professionals to attend a major national
conference organized by the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of
the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of
the American Library Association (ALA). Entitled, "Libraries, Archives,
and Museums in the 21st Century: Intersecting Missions, Converging
Futures?," the conference will explore issues of mutual interest to
libraries, archives, and museums. It will be held on 20-23 June 2006 in
Austin, Texas, with the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at The
University of Texas at Austin serving as the primary host for the expected
300 attendees.
Students currently enrolled in graduate program of library and information
science or archival or museums studies, or graduates from such programs
with less than five years of professional experience are eligible to apply
for the IMLS-funded scholarships, which are designed to cover all costs
associated with attending the conference, including registration, airfare,
lodging and meals. At least ten scholarships will be reserved for
applicants from professionally underrepresented backgrounds. Further
information and an online application form are available from the
conference web site at <http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/rbms2006>. The deadline
for applications has been extended to March 30, 2006.
The two-and-a-half-day conference program will include a series of plenary
sessions that will address a broad range of topics from comparative
viewpoints, including collecting purposes and strategies, audiences and
access, legal issues, and professional education and development. A
variety of seminar sessions and facilitated discussions will complement
the conference theme. Participants will also be able to take advantage of
special tours of the recently renovated Ransom Center and Jack S. Blanton
Museum of Art, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, and other
local cultural facilities.
General registration will begin in February 2006, with an early-bird rate
of $195. Lodging at the conference hotel, the Stephen F. Austin
InterContinental in downtown Austin, will include rates from $99 to $129
per night. Additional hotel and dormitory lodging options will also be
available.
Questions about the IMLS scholarships may be addressed to Tory Ondrla,
Meeting and Special Events Planner (tondrla@ala.org).