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Research Institute for Public Libraries (RIPL) in Chicago area July 12-15, 2020. Scholarships available.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

In an effort to connect small and rural libraries with professional development centered on data and evaluation, the Research Institute for Public Libraries (RIPL) is offering directors and staff of small or rural public libraries the opportunity to apply for a scholarship opportunity for the full value of the institute ($1,300) plus up to $500 in reimbursable travel costs. With this upcoming institute held from July 12-15, 2020, at the Eaglewood Resort & Spa in Itasca, IL (NW Chicago suburbs), this a great opportunity to engage in an immersive and intensive institute experience in its closest offering to Wisconsin.

In order to apply for the scholarship for staff working in rural or small library, you must meet these two criteria:

If you’ve determined you are eligible and interested in attending, follow these steps from the Travel Scholarship Opportunity for Staff Working in Small or Rural Public Libraries page:

  • Get prepared! The deadline for the application is Friday, November 22, 2019, at 7:00 p.m.
  • Get support from your supervisor! That would be your board or director, depending on your position at the library. Your supervisor will need to submit a statement of support that agrees that you will participate in the entire institute and will be supported and encouraged to continue to act on what you have learned and share your experience with the rural and small library community. Your supervisor will also need to provide a statement outlining why they support your attendance at RIPL 2020 (recommended length of response is 150-250 words). Your supervisor can submit their statement of support here.
  • Get writing! In addition to some basic application information (who are you and where is your library), you will be asked to answer the following questions: 1) Why are you interested in attending RIPL? and 2) Think about one question you would like to answer about your library, community, or users. In your response, please a) list this question, b) explain why the answer is important to you, and c) describe what skills you hope to learn at RIPL that will help to answer this question. You’ll want to draft these in a word processor first because the online application does not allow you to save your responses. You may also be able to ask your system or DPI staff to review your application before you submit. You can submit your application here.

You are encouraged to review this opportunity and determine if it is appropriate for you or your staff to attend the event. Several Wisconsin public library community members are alumni of RIPL and can be contacted for a first-hand account of what they learned at the institute.

There are three other chances to attend RIPL in 2020: 1) as a facilitator; 2) by registering for the full event starting on February 3, 2020; or 3) the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s Division for Libraries and Technology (DLT), with support from IMLS, will offer a limited number of scholarships to attend RIPL. DLT will have more information regarding state-offered scholarship opportunities soon so that potential attendees know if their expenses will be covered by another entity prior to registration opening on February 3, 2020. I look forward to sharing more information soon, and I hope to see many Wisconsin public libraries take advantage of this outstanding opportunity.

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