UPDATE, 30 August 2017: Thanks to a generous IMLS LB21 grant in support of our collaboration with the HBCU Library Alliance, DLF is pleased to announce that we will be able to fund at least 21 full fellowships in this program!

We’re therefore extending the deadline for applications to September 7th. Please assist us in spreading the word about this wonderful funding opportunity for people with a current HBCU affiliations or background in Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or for members of underrepresented groups more generally who are interested in the work of our 2017 Liberal Arts Colleges/HBCUs Pre-Conference.

Read on!

Announcing a fellowship opportunity for participation in this year’s Digital Library Federation Forum and DLF Forum Pre-Conference, which is being co-organized by DLF and the HBCU Library Alliance!

The Forum Pre-Conference (on representation, information careers, and the liberal arts—or digital libraries and library-based teaching as common mission and common ground between liberal arts colleges/programs and HBCUs) will be held on October 22nd in Pittsburgh, PA. It is planned as an informal, highly interactive “unconference.” Our keynote speaker is Loretta Parham, director of Atlanta University Center’s Woodruff Library. The annual DLF Forum will follow the pre-conference, from October 23rd-25th, and will be keynoted by Afrofuturist writer and community organizer Rasheedah Phillips.

About the Opportunity

DLF and the HBCU Library Alliance are offering a number of full travel and registration fellowships, primarily designed to bring practitioners from Historically Black Colleges and Universities to the pre-conference and DLF Forum. These fellowships will offset or completely cover travel and lodging expenses associated with attending, with a cap of $1200 in costs. Fellows will additionally receive complimentary full registration to the pre-conference (a $50 value) and—if desired—to the DLF Forum as well (up to a $750 value), along with an invitation to special networking events.

Eligibility Requirements

Priority for travel support will be given to: HBCU Library Alliance-affiliated librarians, faculty, and other employees or HBCUs; library practitioners with HBCU backgrounds or experience who work in liberal arts colleges or serve undergraduates in other types of institutions; and current HBCU students interested in library and information careers. We also welcome more general applications from people who can articulate a connection to the theme of the pre-conference and are members of groups historically underrepresented among library, cultural heritage, and information professions.

To Apply

Please submit the following:

• a brief personal statement (under 500 words) explaining your involvement in digital libraries or related fields, indicating your eligibility for this opportunity, and describing why you would like to attend the HBCU/Liberal Arts Colleges Pre-Conference and DLF Forum.
• a resumé, CV, or full professional profile (preferably linked online; emailed files accepted)
• a short DLF budget form, with estimated costs of travel and lodging not otherwise covered by institutional professional development funds.

Apply here: https://forum2017.diglib.org/about-fellowships/

HBCU Fellowship applications will be accepted until midnight PST on August 31 September 7, 2017. All other DLF fellowship opportunities are currently closed.

[This fellowship program and the DLF Liberal Arts Colleges/HBCUs Pre-Conference itself is made possible in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services: #RE-87-17-0079-17. Thank you, IMLS!]