Hi, everyone! I’m Julie Varee, a 2018 Spectrum Scholar, in my third year of the MLIS program at University of Washington. Coming to you from Anchorage, Alaska, where it looks like a winter wonderland today.

Hello! I’m Katy Hepner. I’m a 2008 Scholar. I am a branch manager at New Orleans Public Library with a youth services background.

Welcome everyone please feel free to introduce yourselves in the chat, and please be sure to mute if you are not actively speaking.

Good evening! I'm Raquel Lynn, and I'm in the master's program at the University at Buffalo.

Hi all, I’m Juan Villanueva, Archives Assistant for the Cuban Heritage Collection at the University of Miami Libraries. I will be studying at FSU starting in Spring 2021.

Hello! I'm Deborah Popowski. I am a human rights lawyer transitioning to library-centered work. I will be starting the Rutgers MI program next month.

Good evening everyone. My name is Lakeitra Spight and I am a first year graduate student in the MLIS program at Emporia State.

Hello all! I’m Estefania Eiquihua, I currently work at Texas A&M Central Texas as a Technical Librarian Assistant and I hope to attend library school in the fall!

Hi Juan. I plan on focusing on Archives/Spec. Collections with a minor in African-American studies

@Deborah - I practiced nonprofit law before switching careers

@Nancy that's encouraging to hear!

Best decision I ever made.

scholarships@ala.org

Thank you wonderful people, if any alumni on today's session is interested in mentoring applicants please feel free to drop your contact info in the chat!

And please do not hesitate to ask us questions at spectrum@ala.org.

Giao.baker@duke.edu

Please definitely feel free to contact me! aedcs7@gmail.com

Hi all, if anyone wants to chat my contact info is rromerorr@library.ucla.edu!

Happy to mentor applicants: nancyk@ohionet.org

If anyone would like to contact me, my email is khepner@nolalibrary.org. I look forward to chatting with you!

Hello Everyone!

As I mentioned, you are welcome to reach out to me if you would like to read my personal statement for my Spectrum application, I’m happy to share it with you! My email is mbergamasco@law.harvard.edu

My name is Monique Brooks and I am a 2nd Semester MLIS student at the University of Maryland, College Park. Thanks for this information session. It is helpful.

Being a miltary brat & working with military families did broaden my worldview on working with various peoples.

Hi everyone,

Same for me!

Great tip!

Pretend to vouch for yourself. I like that.

Hi everyone! My name is Jessica and I recently applied to a Library Science and Information program for Fall 2021.

This is not the time to be humble

This is helpful!

Hi everyone, please note Gwendolyn also goes by Wendy and has no preference on which name :-)

It is always great to have a hype person

I was going to add that it also helps to outline personal statements, similar to how you might for an essay!

+1 Renee

Hi, everyone. I'm a little scared about applying as an older student. I graduated with my bachelor's degree back in 2008 and haven't had much work experience aside from being a stay at home mom

@Dominique, I got my BA in 2000, so you sound young to me!

@Dominique, I was a full time parent when I applied (and was home for almost 10 years between careers). Don’t let that fear stop you.

Don’t be scared. Your experiences as a stay at home mom has just as much value as work experience.

And yes, you have transferable skills from running a household that will definitely be useful in librarianship.

These are great tips.

No don’t be. I see my parents and being a parent is work experience! Its a full time job !

Exactly. And quickly problem solving!

@Dominique, there were many folks in my classes in library school that were starting library work as a second career! I learned so much from them and their thoughts and experiences were so valuable in class!

:) thanks for the vote of confidence

Would it be better to obtain experience working in a library before applying for this scholarship?

Second career person here! Graduated from undergrad in 2000.

Getting library experience is helpful to navigate where you want to go but not totally necessary. Having honest conversations with different librarians can be just as helpful.

I’m another second career person, and was 60 when I applied after a long career in fund raising. Don’t let it stop you.

You make me happy! I am 51 but have worked in my library for over 20 years. I withdrew from the Syracuse ischool because of lack of funds. I really miss it.

Yes, @Julie! This. There is no age limit here on either end. I didn’t work in libraries before applying (to address an earlier question) and didn’t feel at any disadvantage.

We've been happy to support scholars who worked for many years in the field before getting their degree and to celebrate graduation AND retirements.

This is really great dialogue!! I find myself in a lot of these scenarios.

Yay! So glad to hear that the conversation has been helpful!

Are there professional orgnizations that one recommends to join to connect to Spectrum scholars? I am a member of BLCA currently.

The ALA ethnic caucuses are a great place to find support.

As part of the Spectrum Scholarship you will get free membership to ALA, its Divisions and many Round Tables and AILA, APALA, BCALA, CALA and REFORMA (to name a few)

There is also a community called We Here that you might find helpful. https://www.wehere.space/

We will also be sharing info in January about a Happy Hour with each of the National Associations of Librarians of Color to learn about their organizations and scholarship opportunities

We Here is a great community!!

+1 to Katy and Maya's comments!

how can I find out about the E.J. Josey mentorship program?

+1 to Giao’s +1

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/spectrum/BIPOC-student-resource-center

Here is a list of community spaces, formal organizations and mentoring programs (as well as additional scholarship opportunities)

http://www.ala.org/acrl/membership/mentoring/joseymentoring/mentorprogram

I am also an ALSC mentor and recently working with a New Orleanian resident who is interested in library science. Please feel free to contact me.

https://www.bcala.org/

To add what has been expressed about mentorship—Mentorship opportunities through ALA and other affiliated groups are especially helpful when you are taking a new step in your career (getting your first library job, graduating from library school, etc.)

I remember being scared to network but everyone is truly welcoming.

When I joined the Dr. E.J. Josey mentorship program, my mentor helped me craft my resume and cover letter which led to my first full time library job!

You'll have access to this cohort and there are all kinds of possibilities for research, presentation, articles, etc.

Re: professional development after Spectrum. I recently attended the Minnesota Institute for Early Career Librarians, and there were a couple other Spectrum alums there too! https://www.lib.umn.edu/sed/institute

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/spectrum/outside-funding

That is my goal. To be debt free when I graduate.

Also ASK the library school you are applying to if they match the Spectrum Scholarship program, many do! (and the more their students ask them to the more that sign on)

$$$$ Whohoo!!! Go Kimberly! $$$ That is so inspiring!

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

If you know what type of librarianship you want to enter, there may be opportunities with other professional associations AALL (law librarians), ATLA (theology), etc.

+1 Gwendolyn! I went to Simmons University for my MLIS and part of my scholarship was matched by the school

Did Simmons have in state/ out of state tution?

This is mind-blowing

@LiteraryLady1, that’s a question, and I’m not 100% sure! I believe it’s based on number of credit hours you enroll in, rather than your state of residence

that’s a *good question

And there are almost always student rates. Also sometimes publishers will have student scholarships to cover travel to conferences.

https://www.arl.org/category/our-priorities/diversity-equity-inclusion/kaleidoscope-program/

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/spectrum/outside-funding is our best attempt as a Spectrum community to round up money!

Look at the guidelines of the university you’re attending. I know when I attended Catholic University, they had an agreement that, if you’re a full time employee as a teacher in a public library in Virginia, DC, or Maryland and you were applying to be a part-time student, you got 50% off tuition. That was basically the reason why I chose Catholic over UMD.

I love that quote!

"Librarians are lifers."

Join the professional associations at the student rate. That $15 or $30 for a year will get you on their email list and aware of opportunities that you might not otherwise know about.

If you’re still going through the application process for applying to library school, I encourage you to reach out to faculty members that teach there! By contacting them, you are expressing your interest in not only the profession, but also the school, and it will help you gauge what the library program is like!

I know ALA and TxLA come bundled for students.

You could also reach out to local public libraries, archives/museums, and/or local colleges and universities in your area!

NJ too -- but make sure you sign up for both the ALA and the state association at the same time to get the rate.

Although I ultimately didn’t attend, I visited Syracuse University because it was close to where I lived and the SLIS department was super welcoming and happy to sit down and talk to me about their program.

We're about to open to your questions, feel free to hop on the mic after this or put your question into chat!

Yes, volunteer!

I have also noticed an influx of webinars and virtual conferences while in the remote environment. If you want to attend one, you can see if they have student pricing, and they are easier to attend now without needing to worry about travel and lodging costs.

Totally!

Check out internships too.

https://www.newberry.org/volunteering

Yes! I volunteer virtually by making cards for people in nursing homes.

<3

There seem to be more opportunities for virtual internships with no geographic limitations, at the current moment. Librarians still do email lists, so make sure you’re on those (for your state library and state library associations, especially).

I really appreciated this forum! Very helpful, thank you. I have to jet to my night class now. Thank you again!

Yes this was very helpful

We are getting close to the end of our hour, please let us know if you have any questions you'd like us to address.

Thanks for joining us for those who have to sign off.

I applied for the scholarship a couple of years ago and didn't get chosen

We always encourage reapplying!

I was told there were 7 more apps than the prior year

Feel free to contact me at jvaree@anchoragemuseum.org

Thank you so much for you time tonight

Thank you so much for this informational session. I am shifting careers from a high school English teacher to the library field, so I will be reaching out for guidance.

Feel free to contact me, too! rromerorr@library.ucla.edu

aedcs7@gmail.com

Kimberly M. Gay kmgay@pvamu.edu

khepner@nolalibrary.org

Thank you for your help. This is enriching experience.

nancyk@ohionet.org

giao.baker@duke.edu

Thank you all for your time and imparting your experiences!

This was so helpful, thank you all!

Question: Why hasn't diversity really improved in the profession?

Thank you, everyone!

Good Luck, everyone!

Y’all are welcome to reach out to me at mbergamasco@law.harvard.edu!

Thank you!

thank you!

I'm frustrated about it.

Thank you everyone for your time and sharing of information and life experiences. This is really inspiring!

https://www.wehere.space/

Thank you everyone..

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/spectrum/BIPOC-student-resource-center

different online communities and accounts to follow

BIG +1 to joining we here! It’s a great community with a lot of rad people doing important work!

Thank you everyone!

Thank you everyone!

Thank you so much. This was so incredibly helpful.1

Thank you everyone!

Thank you, all! Happy I was able to join today!

Thank you all so much!

Thank you Everyone!

Thank you everyone!!

Thank you everyone! This was a great webinar!

Thank you!

Gracias!! It's been both a helpful and connecting experience.

thank you!!