About The Authenticity Project:

The Authenticity Project, hosted jointly by the HBCU Library Alliance + Digital Library Federation, is an IMLS-funded mentoring and professional development program for early- to mid-career HBCU librarians.

Our goal is to build a more diverse, inclusive, collaborative, and cohesive next-generation digital library workforce, ready to work across types of institutions in building infrastructure of various kinds (social and technological) in service to a wide array of communities.

READ OUR OCTOBER 2018 PRESS RELEASE.

  Call for Mentors & Conversation Partners

About the opportunity:

Each fellow will be paired with two library professionals: a Mentor from an HBCU Library Alliance institution and a Conversation Partner from the DLF membership.  These librarians and technologists will support fellows’ learning through quarterly discussions on provided topics and, where possible, in-person meetings.

Mentors:

Senior HBCU librarians are invited to work with the program as Authenticity Project Mentors. Mentors will share their career experience and knowledge of HBCU libraries and provide collegial support, networking help, and serve as sounding-boards for fellows.

Mentors will receive a $300 annual stipend in acknowledgment of their time. They will also receive a free DLF Forum registration each year, and are warmly encouraged to attend the DLF Forum in October 2019 (Tampa, FL) to meet with mentees in person and engage with other participants at the Forum. In-person mentorship meetings are not required as part of the program, but if DLF Forum travel is not possible, mentors may alternately apply for up to $400 per year in reimbursement of costs to arrange a separate visit with their mentees.

Conversation Partners:

Digital library practitioners from DLF member institutions are invited to participate in the program as Authenticity Project Conversation Partners. These individuals will share their knowledge of the digital library field and provide collegial advice and networking assistance to fellows as they work towards their local and collaborative goals. Conversation partners will also receive a $300 annual stipend for participation.

To apply :

  Call for Fellows

About the opportunity:

Each year, 15 fellows from HBCUs will join their peers in a year-long, funded and facilitated program. Each will receive

• full travel, lodging, and registration expenses for the DLF Forum and Learn@DLF workshops toward the end of each fellowship year
• facilitated mentoring (with each Fellow matched to two volunteer mentors: one from the Alliance and another from the DLF community, and given quarterly discussion prompts to provide a backbone for conversations and exchange)
• access to seed money through a microgrants program, to foster leadership among our fellowship cohorts and lead to deeper and broader collaboration among DLF and Alliance member institutions
• access to an always-available Slack space, email list, and quarterly facilitated, synchronous, online video-networking sessions for Fellows, mentors, and eventual microgrant project partners

To apply:

The Authenticity Project Fellowship application will open on October 22, 2018. Potential fellows should submit the following elements

• A brief statement of purpose that addresses the applicant’s interest in the program and in digital library topics
• A curriculum vitae or resume
• A letter of support from the library dean or director at the applicant’s place of employment.

Eligibility:

Authenticity Project fellows will be early- to mid-career librarians, archivists, or other library employees who currently work at HBCUs and are interested in advancing their knowledge, skills, and professional connections in digital library work. Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to meaningful, community-building ideas and projects in their statement of purpose.

Fellows will commit to participating in the program for the full year, from January-December 2019. A joint committee of DLF and HBCU Library Alliance representatives will make selections.