EBSCO Information Services Awards Five Scholarships for Librarians to Attend the 2020 ALA Midwinter Meeting
~ Annual Scholarship Pays for the Travel Expenses of Librarians Attending National Conference ~

IPSWICH, Mass. — January 14, 2020 —EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) has awarded five librarians, who are all first-time attendees, $1,500 scholarships to attend the 2020 ALA Midwinter Meeting, January 24th-28th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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 helps defray the cost of attending the conference and allows the librarians to benefit from the professional development and networking opportunities available at ALA-Midwinter. As part of the application process, librarians were asked to write an essay on the topic of “What do you think the biggest factors for change will be as libraries expand into non-traditional areas of service, introduce new technologies and endeavor to support their changing research communities?”

This year’s scholarship winners are:

• Sharon Kay Edwards, Branch Librarian, Motlow State Community College, McMinnville, Tennessee

• Rachelle Brandel, Adult Services Librarian, Ferguson Municipal Public Library, Ferguson, Missouri

• Lauren Frazier, Librarian, Santa Clarita Public Library, Valencia, California

• Haley Leigh Walters, Librarian, George Washington High School, Danville, Virginia

• Bel Outwater, Library Manager, Auburn Public Library, Auburn, Georgia

The winners effectively described what the biggest factors for change will be as libraries expand. Haley Leigh Walters, Librarian at George Washington High School, believes, “With such a transient society, library outreach is more important than ever. Libraries realize they cannot do everything alone, nor within the confines of their buildings. Having a community network is essential for libraries to adapt and thrive, not just survive.” Sharon Kay Edwards, Branch Librarian at Motlow State Community College, wrote, “It’s imperative to the future of librarianship — and the cataloging of and access to future information — that we think outside of, ‘how we’ve always done it.’ We need to be innovative in creating user experiences, information platforms, community programs, lectures, conferences, and more. We must learn to speak, write, and teach code. We must dream beyond our current services and think of what could be done if there were no walls — because the truth is, there aren’t. We must empower other librarians and library staff to stretch their comfort levels to meet the future patron’s informational needs.”

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