Minnesota Institute: Professional Development Anyone?

Minnesota Institute for Early Career Librarians from Traditionally Underrepresented Groups
July 10 — July 16, 2010

Program Description

The University of Minnesota Libraries will offer its seventh week-long training institute for 24 early career academic librarians, who are from traditionally underrepresented groups and are in the first three years of their professional career.

Program Objectives

The goal of this Institute is to better equip librarians from underrepresented groups, who are early in their careers, with the knowledge and skills to obtain the positions they seek and to succeed as academic librarians.  At the conclusion of this Institute, they will have gained expertise with critical areas, a better understanding of themselves and behaviors in complex organizations, and a long-term peer group for mutual support and networking.

To achieve this goal, the Institute will:

• Provide training in leadership, management, and decision-making skills;
• Increase self-knowledge and understanding of behavior in complex organizations;
• Develop skills in writing grant proposals;
• Facilitate the development of a community of peers with whom participants share common experiences and on whom they can rely over time and distance for support and encouragement.

Institute Environment

The University of Minnesota is located in Minneapolis/St. Paul, the largest metropolitan area in Minnesota. The Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport provides convenient access to the campus. With more than 65,000 students, the University offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees in more than 100 fields, including law and medicine. The University of Minnesota Libraries ranks among the leading research libraries in North America, with holdings of more than six million physical volumes and access to thousands of electronic resources.

In 1991, The University of Minnesota Libraries’ Residency Program for underrepresented groups was one of the first in the U.S. In 1998, the Libraries offered the first week-long institute for early career librarians underrepresented in the profession and has continued to offer this successful program at two-year intervals.

Applicant Criteria:

• Currently employed as an academic librarian, having no more than 3 years of professional library experience at the time of application.
• Member of an underrepresented racial or ethnic group and a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or Canada. (Racial or ethnic group membership is based on the categories outlined in the U.S. Census, including American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Latino.)
• A masters in library science from an ALA-accredited program.
• Interest in pursuing leadership opportunities and positions in academic and research libraries.
• Demonstrated leadership ability or potential.
• Institutional support demonstrated by a letter from the director of home institution, supporting participation in the Institute through the commitment of a $750 registration fee, and associated travel costs.

Application Process
Printed version of instructions available at: http://www.lib.umn.edu/sed/institute/ApplicationProcess2010.pdf

Financial Support

Participants will be provided:

• Housing in a hotel adjacent to campus Saturday, July 10 through Friday night, July 16, 2010; rooms provided will be shared (two to a room) – private rooms are available with additional cost to be absorbed by the individual.
• Lunch Sunday through Friday.
• Opening dinner Saturday, July 10, reception Wednesday, July 14, and concluding lunch Friday, July 16.

Participants are responsible for:

• Travel arrangements and expenses;
• Meals unless noted above;
• Local transportation during the Institute;
• Approval from their home institutions for the time commitment to participate in the Institute and payment of a $750 participation fee; and
• Participants are required to attend the opening dinner program, July 10 and participate through the final session, which ends at 5:00 p.m. Friday July 16
• This is an intensive week and participants must commit to fully engage in all aspects of the entire institute.

Deadline: February 15th, 2010

For further details, including how to apply: http://www.lib.umn.edu/sed/institute/