Did you know….each year, VLA provides two $2500 scholarships to VLA members pursuing their MLS degree? Competition for these coveted scholarships is intense, and we need help choosing the lucky recipients. This is where YOU come in.
The VLA Scholarship Committee is seeking members to round out our 12-person committee. Your responsibilities include:
- Review of Scholarship Applications (after March 1 each year)
- Ranking of Applicants (following specific criteria)
- Online discussion with other committee members — no meetings to travel to!
- Time spent at the VLA Scholarship Basket Raffle tables at the VLA Annual Conference in September
- A two-year commitment, beginning this month and ending in January 2015.
The VLA Scholarship Committee has as its mission “to provide financial support to Association members who seek to advance their education in the field of librarianship”. Seeing the need to encourage library workers and Virginia residents to become librarians, VLA awarded the first scholarship in 1991. The scholarships are meant to encourage current library workers, Virginia residents, and those new to the field to obtain their MLS degrees. By assisting those wanting to pursue this degree, the scholarship is helping to improve library workers, and libraries themselves; as a result communities and those we serve are affected.
Any member of VLA is eligible to be a member of the committee. We are required to have at least 6 members, which included one from each VLA region. We have found that we need about 12 members to be most effective. Scholarship applications are due each March 1. Following very specific criteria, the committee members review the applications and individually create a ranking of the applicants. Throughout the year, correspondence and business is handled via email. During the fall conference, members man the booth for the raffle of donated baskets, which is the sole fundraiser for the committee.
The Scholarship Committee serves a very important function for VLA and VLA members. Anyone interested in serving should contact Lisa Varga or me. We are in need of several members, especially from region 6. (What VLA Region am I? http://www.vpl.virginia.gov/directories-listservs/vla-regions.html) The term of serving on the committee is 2 years, and begins January of each year. It is a wonderful committee on which to serve!
If you have more questions, please contact me.
Sasha Matthews, Scholarship Committee Chair