SILS Awarded Gates Foundation Grant

UNC at Chapel Hill's School of Information and Library Science (SILS) has received a project support grant in the amount of $6,024 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will provide one-time funding for two full-time students ($3,012 for each student) working toward their master's degrees in information or library science.

The grant will benefit students that are dedicated to the improvement of public library service. In selecting students to receive the grant, first priority will be given to those committed to serving a North Carolina public library for at least one year after graduation.

To apply for the funding, applicants must write an essay expressing their interest in public library service, views on the role of technology in public libraries and special characteristics that will enable them to help people in North Carolina utilize public libraries and information resources. Application finalists will also be interviewed.

Interested students should fill out the application form and return with requested materials to Lucia Zonn, in the SILS Office.

"Support for students is a key factor in attracting the best and brightest to library and information science," said SILS Dean Joanne Gard Marshall. "The future of our field, and of citizen access to information, depends on it."

"Library staff are key players in providing individuals with free and open access to information," said Craig Arnold, director of the foundation's U.S. Library Program. "We are proud to be working in partnership with the University of North Carolina to support future library professionals."