Spectrum Scholarship Program
Share
The Future is Overdue.
02/11/2025
Are you a library looking to expand your literacy impact within your community? Libraries are at the heart of community learning, and we’re excited to help them deepen or expand their literacy services! As part of the American Library Association’s Libraries as Literacy Centers Initiative, World Education is recruiting eight libraries across the nation to guide in achieving their literacy goals through professional learning, collaboration, and tailored technical assistance.
This initiative will leverage new Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), spaces for library professionals to network, share best practices, and access valuable resources. Our learning opportunities will focus on three key models:
📖 Libraries as Literacy Centers
🏫 Libraries as Places of Instruction
🤝 Libraries as Literacy Conveners
By the end of this program, participating libraries will walk away with customized resources, an action plan, expert support, and a stronger network of library collaborators. Want to learn more, join our informational webinar on February 19 at 3pm EST!
Register: https://jsi.zoom.us/meeting/register/EZdG2jWuRS2jOh8LaPr1AA #/registration
01/23/2025
Join five American Library Association Editions authors on Zoom Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 1 PM Central Time! Over the hour, we'll have a multi-part discussion of Black and African American experiences in libraries, historically and presently, and what can be done both to improve those experiences and to more effectively talk about race across educational settings.
Authors expected as panelists include Tracey Overbey and Amanda L. Folk (Narratives of (Dis)Enfranchisement: Reckoning with the History of Libraries and the Black and African American Experience AND Narratives of (Dis)Engagement: Exploring Black and African American Students’ Experiences in Libraries), Jessica Anne Bratt (Let's Talk About Race in Storytimes), and LaVerne Gray and Beth J.H. Patin (Libraries Without Borders: New Directions in Library History).
Register for the event here: https://ala-events.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_U02edOXpRm-vm4UGzRNG1A #/registration
12/06/2024
New Scholar Spotlight 🔦
Head over to the Spectrum website to read Cindy Hohl (2016) in conversation with the Spectrum Advisory Committee for our November spotlight!
https://www.ala.org/intersections/2024/11/scholar-spotlight-cindy-hohl-2016-conversation-spectrum-advisory
09/12/2024
The State of Welcoming: 2024 Report – Welcoming America For 15 years, Welcoming America has worked with members and partners across the globe to build inclusive communities where everyone belongs. This inaugural State of Welcoming report highlights the history of our contributions to the welcoming movement, why welcoming matters, critical lessons learned...
09/10/2024
The Coretta Scott King Book Award Round Table is celebrating 55 years of recognizing outstanding books for young adults and children by African American authors and illustrators that reflect the African American experience. Join the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Round Table for a Virtual Read-in of select banned award-winning titles during Banned Books Week.
To register for this event, please visit: https://buff.ly/3XvqnlB
08/19/2024
Nominations are now open for the I Love My Librarian Award
American Library Association invites library users across America to submit nominations for the I Love My Librarian Award through September 30, 2024. Ten outstanding librarians will receive $5,000 and the honor of a lifetime, including being celebrated on stage at ALA’s LibLearnX Conference in Phoenix in January 2025. Honorees will also receive complimentary LibLearnX registration as part of their award packages as well as a $750 travel stipend. We know librarians of all kinds go above and beyond to serve and educate their patrons every day, so please spread the word in your community about this life-changing opportunity! Promotional tools including graphics, social media copy, printable materials, and a sample press release are all available on the award website. Head to https://ilovelibraries.org/love-my-librarian/ to find out more information.
Announcing an upcoming American Library Association-Gallup research initiative from the Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services (ODLOS):
ALA ODLOS has partnered with Gallup, a global analytics and data gathering company, to understand more about the current state of diversity within our field and capture perspectives from current librarians and leaders. Our goal is to discover opportunities for programming and other areas of support that can help build and maintain a more diverse population of librarians within our field.
In the coming weeks we will be selecting leaders from across the field, Spectrum Scholarship alumni, and library professionals to participate in interviews. Interviews will be scheduled through August 30th. These interviews will help us to capture a range of opinions and first-hand experiences from librarians in the field.
If you are selected for an interview and would like to participate, a Gallup facilitator will ask you questions regarding your personal experiences, observations, and opinions surrounding diversity in the field. Interviews will last 60 minutes, and participants will be sent a $40 gift card upon completion. Participants' personal identity will be protected, and comments made in interviews will be reviewed and reported in aggregate only.
Thank you in advance for your consideration in participating in this exciting research opportunity! If you have any questions, you may reach out to the Gallup team by contacting [email protected].
07/25/2024
ALA Opens LibLearnX 2025 Call for Program Proposals Submit an education program proposal for the 2025 LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience, taking place January 24-27, 2025, in Phoenix, Arizona. The submission site is open now through August 12.
07/15/2024
REFORMA The REFORMA National Book Award is presented annually to a Latino/x/é author whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino/x/é cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature.
06/28/2024
HAPPENING TOMORROW! Join us for the Freedom To Read-a-Thon at the American Library Association Annual Conference from 9am-4pm at the Marriott Marquis Grand Ballroom Section 01. Organized by Literacy Nation and EMIERT, this event celebrates the freedom to read and promotes access to diverse literature.
Participants can read from any genre that they choose for five minutes. The event will also feature authors, adding to the celebration of literature and storytelling. Proceeds from the event will support the Merritt Fund-which provides financial assistance to librarians, Literacy Nation and EMEIRT.
06/27/2024
If you are attending American Library Association's Annual Conference this week, join EMIERT for our Chair's Program and Taste of the Town! This year, the membership group is celebrating local/independent authors in Cosplay, along with presenting the winners of EMIERT's David Cohen Award. Attendees are encouraged to participate in EMIERT events in Cosplay based on their favorite book/theme.
Check out EMIERT's event information in the graphic!
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.
Success through Community
Since 1997, the Spectrum Scholarship Program has provided critical funding, dynamic community building, and direct opportunities to collectively advance equity, diversity, and inclusion in the library/information science field to more than 1,100 library leaders from across the United States and Canada. Spectrum actively recruits and provides scholarships to American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Middle Eastern and North African, and/or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students to assist them with obtaining a graduate degree and leadership positions within the profession and the American Library Association (ALA).
An initiative of ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services, Spectrum provides funding to combat the rising cost of graduate education, fosters peer mentoring to help individuals at every step of their career, provides participants unique access to networking and continuing education, and builds a critical mass of professionals and LIS faculty invested in advancing social justice initiatives in library services and spaces. Each year, approximately 60 Scholars are selected to receive $5,000 towards educational expenses and an additional package valued at $1,500 for participation at the Spectrum Leadership Institute, held in conjunction with the ALA Annual Conference.
Opportunities as a Scholar extend far past a Scholar’s Institute year; indeed, a hallmark of the program are the relationships built within and across cohorts and the community of Scholars that has been 20 years in the making. Scholars often remark that Spectrum is a family - and we’d like to agree. And as any extended family knows, staying connected is vital to sustaining relationships and providing needed support. Through numerous Scholar resources, both virtual and in-person, both staff and Scholar-led, Spectrum alumni support one another and work to hold the door open for the next generation of library leaders of color.
Visit us online to learn more, follow us here and on Twitter, keep up with Scholar news, and consider donating to ensure the program’s continued success for the next 20 years and beyond.
Contact the organization
Website
Address
225 N Michigan Avenue Suite 1300
Chicago, IL
60601