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New Grant Will Support Youth Services Students Seeking Advanced Degrees

July 29, 2009

GSLIS Associate Professor Christine Jenkins and Assistant Professor Carol Tilley have received a grant to support eight full-tuition scholarships for school or public youth services librarians to want to further their education as youth services librarians through the GSLIS Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) program. The grant, in the amount of $364,925, was awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as part of the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program.

The project, "Sharing Success: Training Education Leaders for Youth Services Librarianship," will provide scholarships to students entering the CAS program, a 40-credit hour degree program open to professionals who hold a master’s degree in library and information science and desire to update their skills, gain greater specialization in their professional training, or redirect their careers from one area to another.

As part of their CAS work, Sharing Success students will complete a research project that relates to youth services and develop a continuing education workshop based on this research. They will present their research-in-progress or completed workshops to an audience of GSLIS students and faculty as well as to their target audience of youth services practitioners. During each of the two years that students receive tuition funding, Sharing Success students will also receive funding to support travel to professional conferences.

"We're thrilled to offer these scholarships that will allow GSLIS to reach youth services librarians where they are with continuing education that has immediate value," said Jenkins.

The youth services program at GSLIS has a national reputation for excellence and was recently ranked the best youth services program in the country by US News & World Report. GSLIS is home to the Center for Children's Books, a research collection of more than 16,000 recent and historically significant trade books for youth, for which Jenkins serves as director. It is also home to the Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books, one of the nation's leading children's book review journals for school and public librarians. "I'm looking forward to being a part of this new program that extends our already-strong youth services program at GSLIS," said Tilley.

The grant will provide funding for eight students who begin the program during the 2009-2010 and the 2010-2011 academic years.

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