Love books?  Of course you do!  The question is do you love history books, all kinds of history books?  If so, then you might be a potential Jefferson Cup Committee member.  Complete this application and return it to Martha Cole, Jefferson Committee Chair, by July 6.  Email your completed application to mjcole@infopeake.org.

The Jefferson Cup honors two distinguished biography, historical fiction or American history books for children and young adults. Presented since 1983, the Jefferson Cup Committee’s goal is to promote reading about America’s past; to encourage the quality writing of United States history, biography and historical fiction for young people and to recognize authors in these disciplines. Read more and see previous winners here.

The Jefferson Cup Committee selects the winning titles. The committee has ten members: a chairperson and vice-chairperson (selected by the previous year’s committee), one person from each VLA region (total of six persons) selected by the current chair, the past chair of the previous year’s Jefferson Cup Committee and the outgoing chairperson of Youth Services Forum. All committee members must be members of VLA. Members may be employed by public libraries, schools or any type or bookstores; they may also be unemployed or retired.

You may nominate yourself or a colleague for consideration. Persons selected must be willing to commit a large amount of personal time to read and evaluate books; committee members may receive over 200 titles. Members will also have to attend daytime meetings (up to seven, usually held in Charlottesville). Persons who serve on the committee should be knowledgeable of literature for young people and have book evaluation experience. Jefferson Cup Committee members are expected to present programs at the annual VLA and, possibly, VAASL conferences, so a supervisor must sign this application, indicating he or she will allow the person to attend the conferences and will assist with the member’s expenses.

VLA Scholarship Application 2013

VLA Scholarship Recommendation Form 2013

The links above are the application packet for the Virginia Library Association Scholarship. The Virginia Library Association awards two $2,500 scholarships to students pursuing a Masters degree in Library Science at ALA accredited schools. One of these, the Clara Stanley Scholarship, is awarded by the VLA Paraprofessional Forum.

The eligibility requirements for the VLA Scholarship are:

• Residence in the state of Virginia or currently employed in a Virginia library.
• an undergraduate degree, and
• Acceptance by an American Library Association accredited library school or a pending application for admission. MUST be earning a Master of Library Science Degree
• Membership in VLA
• for the Clara Stanley VLAPF scholarship: current employment at a Virginia library

The major factors considered in making the awards are:

• evidence of commitment to a career in librarianship in Virginia,
• financial need,
• potential for outstanding achievement in the library profession,
• academic excellence,
• membership in the Virginia Library Association.

In order to be considered, your application, including two references, must be emailed to Lisa Varga by March 1, 2013. Please give copies of the reference form to two persons, one of whom should be a librarian. The references should return the forms to Lisa Varga via email.

The Scholarship Committee will review applications during the spring and you will be notified of the Committee’s decisions in late April. If you have any questions about any aspect of the application process, please contact Sasha Matthews.

Sincerely,
2012-2013 VLA Scholarship Committee