Application guidelines
There are five Early Career Conference Awards (ECCAs) available in 2012. Past Award winners have found the experience invaluable. We encourage you to apply.
SLA Europe is offering five 2012 ECCAs jointly with the Business & Finance, Leadership & Management, Legal, Pharmaceutical & Health Technology, and Science-Technology (Diane K. Foster International Student Travel Award) Divisions of SLA.
The Award is to attend the 2012 SLA Annual Conference and INFO-EXPO in Chicago, 15-18 July, 2012.
Each Award is worth about £2,000. It covers the full cost of Conference registration, hotel lodging, economy return airfare to Chicago, and meals and appropriate incidental expenses.
Award winners will be assigned to one of the five SLA Divisions co-sponsoring the Award and will be paired with a mentor from that SLA Division. Their mentor will brief them before the Conference, give guidance during the Conference, and maintain a link to the Division following the Conference.
When to Apply
All applications must be received no later than 12 February 2012 20 February 2012 – extended! Award winners will be notified in March 2012.
How to Apply
You will need 3 documents to apply for the 2012 ECCAs: a statement, a CV/resume, and a letter of recommendation.
Statement: Write a two-part statement in English of approximately 500 words.
Part one: Tell us why you chose to pursue a career in LIS and why you might want to pursue a career in one of the areas covered by the supporting divisions.
Part two: What specific benefits/knowledge do you hope to gain from attending the 2012 SLA Conference and/or working with your chosen division?
CV/resume: Include a copy of your most current CV/resume with your current postal and email addresses as well as a current telephone number.
Letter of recommendation: Include a letter which explains why you would be a good candidate for this Award. The recommendation may come from your supervisor at work, or a professional colleague not at your own workplace, or, if you are a student, from a faculty advisor in your programme.
To apply, complete the form at http://www.sla-europe.org/awards/early-career-conference-award/ecca-applications/. Don’t forget to attach your documents! We also have some advice for applicants.
Are you eligible?
Applicants must be:
• Information professionals working in the field in Europe who are within their first 5 years of post-qualification work in the LIS sector
o OR Students enrolled in a European Library and Information Science (LIS) programme (undergrad or postgrad) during the 2011-12 academic year.
o OR participants in a recognised LIS training position, such as graduate traineeships, or studentships/internships lasting not less than 1 year
• Be first-time attendees at an SLA annual conference.
• Be able to communicate in written and spoken English
• Have up-to-date travel documents required for entry into the United States (e.g. current passport, visa waiver, etc)
• Be interested in a career in special librarianship, preferably in the areas of one or more of the five Divisions co-sponsoring the Awards with SLA Europe.
You don’t need to be an SLA member to apply. Winners will be awarded a year’s membership of SLA.
Benefits of Receiving the Award
Previous Award winners thoroughly enjoyed their experience of attending the SLA Conference and their ongoing participation in SLA. Following are some of the benefits they highlighted in their post-conference articles for SLA Europe
• Gaining a broadened perspective on the many careers a Library and Information Science (LIS) degree offers by attending Conference programme events and meeting seasoned information professionals at the Conference
• Learning about many products and services for the LIS market by visiting the stands of exhibitors at the Conference’s accompanying INFO-EXPO.
• Receiving professional recognition from SLA Europe members and the co-sponsoring SLA Divisions. Award winners will be formally acknowledged in Chicago by the Division co-sponsoring them. They will also be introduced at the International Reception and the First Timers Reception.
• Gaining widespread visibility through international publicity disseminated by SLA, SLA Europe, the co-sponsoring SLA Divisions and industry sponsors, introducing the ECCA winners to the information community.
• Being able to travel to the United States and meet information professionals from all parts of the globe.
• Developing their professional profile and publicity-seeking skills by writing articles for SLA blogs.
After the conference
After the 2012 SLA conference each award winner will be expected to write two short articles in English on what they learned at the Conference. One article, geared towards SLA Europe membership, will be published on the SLA Europe blog.
The second article will be published in the blog/newsletter of the SLA Division co-sponsoring them and geared to that readership.
The 2012 award winners will be given the opportunity to stay in touch, plus opportunities to get involved with the work of the SLA Europe board.
Enquiries
If you have any questions, please contact the Chairs of the Early Career Committee at or the President of SLA Europe at .
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