~ Annual Scholarship Pays for the Travel Expenses of Librarians
Attending National Conference ~

IPSWICH, Mass. — January 30, 2018 —EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) has awarded five librarians, including two first-time attendees, $1,500 scholarships to attend the 2018 ALA Midwinter Meeting, February 9th-13th in Denver, Colorado. The scholarships are co-sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA). The scholarship recipients will be honored by EBSCO and ALA representatives at a breakfast during the conference.

The EBSCO ALA Midwinter Scholarship finances the cost of attending the conference and allows the librarians to benefit from the professional development and networking opportunities available at the conference. As part of the application process, librarians were asked to write an essay on the topic of “In a world where libraries may be underappreciated, how do you advocate for libraries and how do you think libraries can better advocate for themselves within their communities or institutions?”

The scholarship winners are:

• Chelsea Brantley, Media Coordinator, Nags Head Elementary School, Nags Head, North Carolina

• Natalie Burclaff, Head of Information Literacy Initiatives, Reference Department, University of Baltimore; Baltimore, Maryland

• Rosa Diaz, Children’s Librarian, Lincoln Branch Library, Rochester, New York

• Loren Klein, Coordinator of Transgender and Non-Binary Programs & Services, Rockland County Pride Center, Norwood, New Jersey

• Veronica Milliner, Outreach Librarian, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

All of the librarians effectively described the ways in which libraries can better advocate their mission of serving the needs of researchers and patrons. Chelsea Brantley, Media Coordinator at Nags Head Elementary School, believes “the key to promoting libraries in today’s society is to redefine people’s perceptions of the space. Libraries are not silent, dusty locales full of authoritarian librarians. Instead, they are bustling community centers where all types of learning, researching, creating, and discovering can take place.” First-time conference attendee Rosa Diaz, Children’s Librarian at Lincoln Branch Library, wrote “gone are the days when libraries could ‘afford’ to wait for patrons to enter, use the library and participate in programs. We need to go and seek patrons. It is about collaborating with local agencies and showcasing what the library has to offer.”

EBSCO is dedicated to supporting the professional development of librarians around the world and has a long-standing tradition of co-sponsoring scholarships to ALA conferences, providing funds for conference registration, travel, and expenses.

About ALA
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit professional organization of more than 65,000 librarians, library trustees, and other friends of libraries dedicated to providing and improving library services and promoting the public interest in a free and open information society: www.ala.org.

About EBSCO Information Services
EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) is the leading discovery service provider for libraries worldwide with more than 11,000 discovery customers in over 100 countries. EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS) provides each institution with a comprehensive, single search box for its entire collection, offering unparalleled relevance ranking quality and extensive customization. EBSCO is also the preeminent provider of online research content for libraries, including hundreds of research databases, historical archives, point-of-care medical reference, and corporate learning tools serving millions of end users at tens of thousands of institutions. EBSCO is the leading provider of electronic journals & books for libraries, with subscription management for more than 360,000 serials, including more than 57,000 e-journals, as well as online access to more than 900,000 e-books. For more information, visit the EBSCO website at: www.ebsco.com. EBSCO Information Services is a division of EBSCO Industries Inc., a family owned company since 1944.

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For more information, please contact:
Kathleen McEvoy
Vice President of Communications
(800) 653-2726 ext. 2594
kmcevoy@ebsco.com