Attention!

MLS Candidates and First Time Attendees,
apply for the Kay Bader Memorial Scholarship to attend

21st Century Literacies

a conference sponsored by the Massachusetts Library Association, The Massachusetts Center for the Book, and the Association of College and Research Libraries, New England.

The MLA is offering 4 scholarships to help defray the costs of attending 21st Century Literacies.  The scholarships are available to current and future library staff who wish to attend the conference at the Doubletree Hotel in Lowell, MA, November 17 &18, 2005.

Who is eligible?

• Applicants must be first time MLA Annual Conference attendees.
• Applicants must be able to attend at least one day of the conference.
• Applicants must be students in a M.L.S. program OR currently employed in a Massachusetts library.
• Applicants whose supervisor is a current member of the MLA Executive Board are not eligible.

How do I apply?

Applicants must fill out the application form and write a short statement on one of two topics:

1.) How are libraries adapting to life in the 21st century?

2.) What is the library’s role in promoting literacies?

Application forms are available online (PDF) (MS Word) or available in hard copy at your library.  If you need a form and are unable to access one electronically, please call Ellen MJ Keane at 978-934-4594 to have one mailed to you.

Completed applications may be mailed to:

Reading Public Library
Attention: Elizabeth Dickinson
64 Middlesex Ave
Reading, MA 01867
Faxed to: 781-942-9113
Emailed to: dickinso@noblenet.org

When is the deadline and when are winners announced?
Completed applications must be received by October 26, 2005.  Winners will be notified by telephone on November 1st.

What does the scholarship cover?
The scholarships cover the cost of registration, lunches and dinners on the days of attendance.  MLA will also cover half the cost of accommodations (single or double room) for scholarship winners.  The scholarship does not cover transportation. Scholarship winners will also receive a one- year membership to the Massachusetts Library Association.

If I win a scholarship, what are my obligations?
Scholarship winners are free to choose whatever sessions most interest them.  Scholarship winners may be asked to write a brief account of their MLA conference experience for the MLA newsletter, Bay State Libraries.

If you have questions about the scholarships please contact:

Elizabeth Dickinson at 781-942-6711;  email: dickinso@noblenet.org or
Ellen MJ Keane        at 978-934-4594;  email: Ellen_Keane@uml.edu.

If you have questions about the annual conference please contact:

Gianna Gifford at 617-521-2777 or gianna.gifford@simmons.edu;
Michael Colford at 617-859-2389 or mcolford@bpl.org