SLA Board Votes on Changes to Scholarship Fund
Thursday, April 18, 2024
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Posted by: Deanna Bright
SLA Board Votes on Changes to Scholarship Fund
On Thursday, March 28, 2024, the SLA Board of Directors held a special meeting to vote on a change in the scope of the Scholarship Fund as recommended by the SLA Investment Policy Review Working Group. The recommendation made by the working group expands the scope to include both tuition and conference scholarships. The vote was unanimous.
The Scholarship Fund was originally established in 1939 as a Student Loan Fund to “provide assistance to those members who wished to carry on professional study in an accredited library school.” Contributions to this Fund were to be made by the Executive Board, as funds permitted, by the different Chapters, and by donations, bequests and grants. By Board action, the Loan Fund (later the Scholarship and Student Loan Fund) completed a transition in its scope and to a sole focus on scholarships in 1968 and 1969. In 2010, SLA paused the tuition-based scholarship program.
A review of issues of Special Libraries from the inception of the Student Loan Program through the 1970s provides a rich history of member and unit support for the program, from an annual fundraising event at the annual conference organized by the Metals Division to a Monte Carlo night fundraiser organized by the Southern California Chapter, and all manner of support in between.
The monies from the Scholarship Fund will be utilized in a manner that is consistent with the original purpose.
Tuition-based scholarships for library and information studies programs will now be available for the following:
post-secondary degree programs certificate programs offered by colleges, universities, and other accredited institutions of higher learning
SLA will also be making two categories of conference scholarships available:
These will be managed by the SLA Scholarship Working Group. More information for 2024 will be announced soon.
To fund these scholarships, the SLA Investment Policy Review Working Group recommended that the board appropriate 7% of the Scholarship Fund’s fair market value (averaged over the preceding five years) for use in 2024. The working group also recommended modifying the annual spending limit of the Scholarship Fund. The balance of the Scholarship Fund is $998,588 as of December 31, 2023.
Rose Boots was fundamental in the creation of the Student Loan Fund and in its conversion to include a Scholarship component. She served as the first Chair of the Student Loan Fund Committee, and the first Chair of the re-focused Scholarship and Student Loan Fund Committee in 1952-53. In 1960, Boots was posthumously awarded the SLA Professional Award.
“SLA has a proud tradition of supporting new ideas and professional development in the field,” said SLA President John DiGilio. “Based on the research we’ve done into the Scholarship Fund, we feel that this is the continuation of that tradition. These monies were set aside for the use of students and members seeking to advance in the field. It is time for SLA to reintroduce scholarships and make use of these funds in the way that was originally intended. We have plans to honor Rose Boots and her accomplishments. This is an exciting day for SLA.”
Members of the Investment Policy Review Working Group include:
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