Newcomers & Scholarships
The Philadelphia Local Arrangements Committee is proud to offer the following special events during the 2010 RBMS Preconference. Additional details will be posted as they develop, and you are welcome to contact Local Arrangements Committee co-chair Ruth Hughes with any questions.
- Newcomers
- Membership
- "Buddy" Program
- Attendance Scholarships
Welcome Newcomers!
You are warmly invited to attend the 51st Annual Preconference of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).
- Conference Orientation and Introduction to RBMS
If this is your first RBMS preconference, or you would like to learn more about RBMS and opportunities to get involved, plan to attend the Conference Orientation and Introduction to RBMS session on Tuesday evening from 5–6 p.m. in the Doubletree Hotel Orchestra Room. The welcome reception immediately following.
- Tuesday, New Members' Social
Beginning at 7:30 p.m., immediately following the welcome reception, an outing for new members will be held at Time Restaurant within easy walking distance of the hotel. A specially designed dinner menu will be available for $25 plus tax and gratuity (vegetarian option also available). Enjoy dinner, drinks, music and getting to know other new members and RBMS leaders.
Membership
To join RBMS, visit ALA's membership page, or write to Membership Services, American Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL. 60611, or call 800/545-2433 ext. 5108 to request a membership application.
We also invite you to learn more about becoming a member and getting involved in RBMS by visiting the membership page of our section website at: http://rbms.info/about/membership.shtml.
Buddy Program
To learn more about RBMS from a more experienced member, you are invited to request a conference "buddy" to guide you through the preconference experience. You do not have to be a first-time preconference attendee to request a buddy.
Attendence Scholarships
In partnership with the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of ACRL is offering scholarships to subsidize first-time preconference attendance by professional librarians and qualified paraprofessionals and students.
RBMS is committed to increasing diversity in its membership and the special collections and archival professions. Accordingly, several preconference scholarships have been designated for applicants of underrepresented ethnic and racial groups. For more information about the RBMS commitment to diversity, please visit the RBMS website.
Full and partial scholarships will be awarded. Full scholarships include a waiver of the preconference registration fee (up to $255 for professional and paraprofessional ACRL members, and $105 for full-time student members) plus a travel and accommodation stipend. Partial scholarships provide complimentary registration only.
Eligibility: All candidates must meet one of the following criteria: 1) be currently enrolled in a library, information science, or archival studies program; 2) be a graduate of such a program; or 3) be currently employed as a paraprofessional in a rare books, special collections, or archival capacity. Candidates must also be members of ACRL who have not previously attended an RBMS preconference and who do not have sufficient institutional support to attend.
To apply: Candidates must complete an online application form (available by early February). We recommend you view the form, prepare your answers and then return to the form to complete it. Answers for the longer questions may be cut and pasted into the form. All applications must be received by midnight PST on March 31.
Requirements: Scholarship winners are required to attend the whole preconference and complete the conference evaluation. To help us assure the ongoing improvement of the scholarship program, all scholarship winners will be required to submit a post-conference evaluation letter by July 30, 2010.
Notification: Successful candidates will be notified on or before April 30, 2010.
