by Sandra Hoyer, Head Editor, INALJ Washington

Scholarships for Everyone! – Funding your MLIS or MLS

Everyone knows how pricey a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) or Master of Library Science (MLS) program can be. Here are some excellent sites that feature a variety of  different scholarships and fellowships to help fund your program:

• The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) has created a list of scholarship opportunities for those working to become a law librarian: http://www.aallnet.org/main-menu/Member-Resources/scholarships
• The American Library Association (ALA) also offers a list of national scholarship programs: http://www.ala.org/educationcareers/scholarships
• The American Indian Library Association (AILA) grants scholarships to American Indian individuals living and working in an American Indian community and who are starting or have been admitted to an MLIS or MLS program: http://ailanet.org/awards/scholarships/
• American Research Libraries (ARL)/Music Library Association (MLA) Diversity & Inclusion Initiative (DII) offer generous financial support for minority students pursuing their masters in library and information science degree and hoping to work in a large academic music library: http://www.arl.org/leadership-recruitment/diversity-recruitment/arl-mla-diversity-inclusion-initiative
• The Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) features its own yearly scholarship: http://www.apalaweb.org/awards/apala-scholarship/
• The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) administers a variety of scholarships for those interested in youth librarianship: http://www.ala.org/alsc/edcareeers/alscschol/scholarship_specifications
• Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) includes a scholarship for African American Students interested in librarianship: http://www.bcala.org/awards/about.htm
• Biblioteca Para La Gente has gathered together several diversity scholarship opportunities: http://www.bibliotecasparalagente.org/pages/more_scholarships.html
• The Border Regional Library Association (BRLA) features two scholarships for individuals who reside in the El Paso, Juárez, and Las Cruces area:  http://www.brla.info/scholarship2012.html
• The Catholic Library Association (CLA) offers several scholarships: http://www.cathla.org/scholarships-grants
• The Chinese American Library Association (CALA) also offers a variety of awards, honors, scholarships, and grants: http://cala-web.org/node/183
• The Mountain Plains Library Association (MPLA) has available an assortment of awards for those living within the applicable 12 states of Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming: http://www.mpla.us/committees/awards/awardsinfo.html
• The Music Library Association (MLA) offers a list of scholarship for those interested in music librarianship: http://www.musiclibraryassoc.org/awards.aspx?id=42
• LISJobs.com offers a comprehensive list of scholarships for master, doctoral, and fellowship programs. Explore those here: http://www.lisjobs.com/education/scholarships.asp.
• Library and Information Technology Association (LITA), a division of the American Library Association also offers scholarships: http://www.ala.org/lita/awards
• Library Land Index has also compiled an excellent scholarship list: http://www.librarylandindex.org/scholarships-grants.html
• The Medical Library Association (MLA) has gathered together  a variety of scholarships geared towards those interested in health sciences librarianship: http://www.mlanet.org/awards/grants/
• The Public Library Association (PLA) lists a variety of awards for those currently working in public libraries: http://www.ala.org/pla/awards
• Scholarships. com also offers several scholarship tips and links: http://www.scholarships.com/financial-aid/college-scholarships/scholarships-by-major/library-science-scholarships/
• SchoolSoup.com has also gathered together a great list of scholarships: http://www.schoolsoup.com/scholarship-directory/academic-major/library-science/
• The Southeastern Library Association (SELA) offers a yearly scholarship: http://selaonline.org/about/scholarships.htm
• The Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium (SCELC) offers scholarships to library science students on staff at a SCELC Member Libraries: http://scelc.org/scholarships
• The Theatre Library Association (TLA) offers a scholarship for students interested in performing arts librarianship: http://www.tla-online.org/awards/scholarship.html
  
  Also make sure to check your state or regional library associations and your respective university or program scholarship pages for more library science-related scholarship opportunities.