Making it REAL! Recruitment, Education, And Learning: Creating a New Generation of Librarians to Serve All New Yorkers

IMLS Grant

The Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has approved the New York State Library's proposal for a statewide recruitment project titled Making It REAL! Recruitment, Education, And Learning: Creating a New Generation of Librarians to Serve All New Yorkers. A grant of $995,630 will fund the recruitment activities of the project partners, including the New York State Library, 12 Library systems, 6 graduate schools of library and information science, and the New York Library Association, over a three-year period.

All scholarship funds have been awarded as of January 2006.

Grant Scholarship Recipients | Graduates

Grant Abstract | Grant Narrative | Grant Fact Sheet (.pdf format) | Announcements | Defining Diversity | Fiscal Forms | Program Evaluator Workshops

Evaluation Results

Website || Making It REAL! Evaluation Final Report | Teaching Library Model || Bibliographies: Teaching Library | Diversity in Librarianship

Interim Performance Reports:

September 1, 2004 - March 31, 2005 | April 1, 2005 - September 1, 2005 | September 1, 2005 - April 1, 2006
April 1, 2006 - October 1, 2006 | October 1, 2006 - April 1, 2007

 

NYLA 2005 Conference Evaluation | Revised Overall Evaluation Plan, February 15, 2006
NYLA 2006 Conference Evaluation

Student Survey 2005 | Student Survey 2006

librarycareersny.org
Discover the Possibilities...

Everything you need to know in pursuing a career in librarianship in New York State! Click on the logo above to go to the site (opens in a new window).

This project made possible by the New York State Library and the New York State Education Department through the Making It REAL! project, funded by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Fact Sheets:

Related information:

What Is the Purpose of the Grant?

  • The grant will enable the launch of a bold and imaginative plan to effect fundamental change in recruitment and education for librarianship.
  • It will generate important support for IMLS's "Librarians for the 21st Century" grant program throughout New York State, providing financial support to 44 master's-level students and enabling an infusion of new recruits into the library profession.
  • The project will be a significant step toward realizing the goal of the Regents New Century Libraries legislative initiative: recruitment of a new generation of librarians to bring greater visibility and diversity to the profession.
  • A program of model Teaching Libraries and scholarships will recruit and educate professional librarians, cultivating a diverse new workforce that is well prepared to serve community needs, especially those of diverse groups and special populations.
  • The Teaching Libraries will establish models and best practices for replication by library systems, library schools, and library organizations nationwide.
  • Library systems and library schools will build strong partnerships and develop new means of collaboration.
  • The recruitment process will become stronger with the development of new strategies, new means of communication, alternatives for library education, and a heightened awareness of recruitment needs for the 21st century.

Who Are the Project Partners?

  • Teaching Libraries (Contact List)
    • Capital District BOCES School Library System
    • Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library System
    • Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES School Library System
    • Mid-York Library System
    • North Country Library System
    • Northern New York Library Network
    • Onondaga County Public Library
    • Queens Borough Public Library
    • Rochester Public Library / Monroe County Library System
    • Rochester Regional Library Council
    • Southeastern New York Library Resources Council
    • The New York Public Library / The Branch Libraries
    • The New York Public Library / The Research Libraries
  • Library Schools (Contact List)
    • Long Island University, Palmer School
    • Pratt Institute: School of Information and Library Science
    • St. John's University: Division of Library and Information Science
    • Syracuse University: School of Information Studies
    • University at Albany, SUNY: Department of Information Studies
    • University at Buffalo, SUNY: Department of Library and Information Studies, School of Informatics
  • New York Library Association (NYLA)

What Are the Roles of the Project Partners?

  • The library systems, partnering with library schools, will create 15 scholarships and traineeships in Teaching Libraries where librarian recruits will acquire practical, hands-on experience and mentoring.
  • Library schools will match Federal funds to provide 29 scholarships for students recruited to enhance diversity in the library profession or acquire special skills in serving diverse users.
  • All project partners will initiate activities to strengthen library education overall:
    • construction of a career web site
    • implementation of a public-relations campaign to reach out to diverse populations and raise statewide awareness of the project
    • annual meetings of recruits and project participants
    • publication of project experiences and outcomes
  • The New York State Library and an Advisory Group representing different types of libraries and regions of the state will oversee project activities and administration, support project activities, and develop plans and alternatives for continuing the project after three years.

The Project Director for Making It REAL! is Mary Linda Todd, Library Development Specialist in the Division of Library Development at the New York State Library; phone (518) 486-4858.

Last Updated: July 10, 2009