Information about scholarships and grants for under-represented students enrolled in information and library science courses is now available in on the SILS Web site.
Compiled by the SILS Diversity Committee, the scholarships are presented in alphabetical order by each granting organization. Sources of scholarships and grants include the American Library Association and its affiliates, as well as independent and private organizations.
**Note: The availability of the scholarships and grants described below is subject to change.
American Association of Law Librarians: George A. Strait Minority Scholarship
George A. Strait Minority Scholarships are awarded annually to college graduates with meaningful law library experience who are members of a minority group as defined by current U.S. government guidelines, are degree candidates in an accredited library or law school, and who intend to have a career in law librarianship. Applicants must show evidence of financial need.
Scholarship Information | Application (pdf) | ALA Affiliate: Yes
American Indian Library Association: Library School Scholarship
The American Indian Library Association provides an annual scholarship for American Indian/Alaskan Native students who are enrolled in, or have been accepted to and will enroll in a master's degree program in an American Library Association accredited library school. The scholarship is designed to encourage the entry of qualified American Indians and Alaskan Natives into the library profession.
Website | Scholarship Information | Application (pdf) | ALA Affiliate: Yes
American Library Association
ALA has several scholarships geared towards individuals from groups currently underrepresented in the library profession.
Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies: Century Scholarship
The scholarship funds services or accommodations for a library school student or students with disabilities admitted to an ALA-accredited library school.
Scholarship Information | Application
Library and Information Technology Association: LITA/LSSI Minority Scholarship
Awarded annually by Library Systems and Services, Inc. and LITA in the amount of $2,500, this scholarship is designed to encourage the entry of qualified persons into the library and automation field who demonstrate potential in and have a strong commitment to the use of automated systems in libraries and who are qualified members of a principal minority group.
Website | Scholarship Information | Application
Library and Information Technology Association: OCLC Minority Scholarship in Library and Information Technology
The LITA/OCLC Minority Scholarship, established in 1991, is awarded jointly annually by OCLC, Inc. and the Library and Information Technology Association, a division of the American Library Association, in the amount of $3,000.00. The scholarship is designed to encourage the entry of qualified persons into the library and automation field who plan to follow a career in that field; who demonstrate potential in and have a strong commitment to the use of automated systems in libraries; and who are qualified members of a principal minority group (American Indian or Alaskan native, Asian or Pacific Islander, African-American, or Hispanic). The recipient must be a U.S. or Canadian citizen. This scholarship is for study in an ALA Accredited Master of Library Science (MLS) program.
Scholarship Information | Application
American Library Association: Spectrum Scholarships for Minorities
Established in 1997, the Spectrum Scholarship Program is ALA's national diversity and recruitment effort designed to address the specific issue of under-representation of critically needed ethnic librarians within the profession while serving as a model for ways to bring attention to larger diversity issues in the future. This is a one-time, non-renewable $5,000 scholarship award paid in two installments directly to the recipient. Recipients are announced at the ALA Annual Conference, two $2,500 installments are awarded in September and January.
Scholarship Information | Application Information
Asian Pacific American Librarians Association: APALA Scholarship
The Asian Pacific American Librarians Association offers a scholarship of financial assistance to a student of Asian or Pacific background who is enrolled, or has been accepted into, a master’s or doctoral degree program in library and/or information science at a school accredited by the American Library Association.
Scholarship Information | Application (pdf) | ALA Affiliate: Yes
Association of Jewish Libraries Student Scholarship
Encourages students to train for and enter the field of Judaica librarianship, and awards a scholarship of $1000 to a student attending or planning to attend a graduate school of library and information science. Prospective candidates should have an interest in, and demonstrate a potential for, pursuing a career in Judaica librarianship.
Scholarship Information | Application (rtf) | ALA Affiliate: Yes
Association of Research Libraries: Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce
ARL’s scholarship is designed to recruit masters of library and information science (MLIS) students from traditionally underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups into careers in research libraries. The Initiative includes a stipend up to $10,000, leadership and career development training, and a formal mentorship program.
Website | Scholarship Information | Application | ALA Affiliate: Yes
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: Gates Millennium Scholarship
The Gates Millennium Scholarship’s goal is to promote academic excellence and to provide an opportunity for outstanding minority students with significant financial need to reach their highest potential by:
• Reducing financial barriers for African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American and Hispanic American students with high academic and leadership promise who have significant financial need;
• Increasing the representation of these target groups in the disciplines of computer science, education, engineering, LIBRARY SCIENCE, mathematics, public health and the sciences, where these groups are severely underrepresented.
Website | Scholarship Information | Application | ALA Affiliate: No
Black Caucus of the American Library Association: E.J. Josey Scholarship Award
The E. J. Josey Scholarships are unrestricted grants of $2,000 awarded annually to African American students enrolled in or accepted by ALA accredited programs. The application process includes completion of an essay on a topic of current interest to the information & science community.
Scholarship Information | ALA Affiliate: Yes
Medical Library Association: Medical Library Association Scholarship for Minority Students
A scholarship for up to $5,000 is granted to a minority student who is entering a Masters program at an ALA-accredited library school or has yet to finish at least one half of the program's requirements in the year following the granting of the scholarship. African American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, or Pacific Islander American individuals who wish to study health sciences librarianship are eligible.
Website | ALA Affiliate: Yes
Medical Library Association / National Library of Medicine: Spectrum Scholarship
The Medical Library Association (MLA) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM) jointly sponsor two scholarships through the American Library Association (ALA) Spectrum Initiative Scholarship program. The two organizations make a total annual donation of $6,500 each year to support minority students in their goals to become health sciences information professionals. African American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, or Pacific Islander individuals attending ALA-accredited library schools are eligible.
Website | ALA Affiliate: Yes
REFORMA Scholarship
Since 1971, REFORMA has supported the active recruitment of bilingual and bicultural librarians to meet the information needs of the Spanish-speaking community. The REFORMA Scholarship provides financial assistance to encourage and enable Spanish speakers to pursue or advance a career in Library and Information Science. Open to students who qualify for graduate study in Library and Information Science who are Spanish-speakers or interested in serving Latinos or the Spanish-speaking. Maximum award is $1,500.
Scholarship Information | Application (pdf) | ALA Affiliate: Yes
Society of American Archivists: Josephine Forman Scholarship
Established in October 2010 by the General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church and named for Josephine Forman, archivist for 18 years of the Southwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church and author of We Finish to Begin: A History of Travis Park United Methodist Church, 1846–1991. The purpose of the Josephine Forman Scholarship is to provide financial support to minority students pursuing graduate education in archival science, to encourage students to pursue a career as an archivist, and to promote the diversification of the American archives profession. The scholarship is given to applicants who demonstrate excellent potential for scholastic and personal achievement and who manifest a commitment both to the archives profession and to advancing diversity concerns within it.
Website | ALA Affiliate: No
Society of American Archivists: Mosaic Scholarship
The Mosaic Scholarship was established by the SAA Council in August 2008 to advance SAA's Diversity Strategic Priority: To provide financial and mentoring support to minority students pursuing graduate education in archival science, to encourage students to pursue a career as an archivist, and to promote the diversification of the American archives profession. The award is given to applicants who demonstrate excellent potential for scholastic and personal achievement and who manifest a commitment both to the archives profession and to advancing diversity concerns within it.
Website | ALA Affiliate: No
Special Libraries Association: Affirmative Action Scholarship
The Affirmative Action Scholarship will be granted only for graduate study in librarianship leading to a master's degree at a recognized school of library or information science. One US $6,000 Affirmative Action Scholarship is available each year. Scholarship winners are notified in December. The official announcement and the presentation of the award will be made at the Association's Annual Conference in June. Applicants must be citizens of the United States of America either by birth or naturalization or permanent resident aliens and a member of a minority group defined as Black (African American), Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander, American Indian, Aleutian (Alaskan) native or native Hawaiians. Note: Scholarship not granted in 2011.
ALA Affiliate: No
Compiled November 2011
SILS Diversity Committee
