Genealogy Conference Stipend Award

REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY:

• Recipient must be a member of the Texas Library Association
• Recipient must be employed as a librarian or paraprofessional in a Texas Library
• Recipient must work with a genealogy collection or genealogy patrons
• Recipient must agree to be an Archives, Genealogy, and Local History Round Table volunteer during the conference
• Recipient must submit a completed application form and letter of reference on or before the stated deadline
• Recipient must submit a report evaluating the conference, stating whether it fulfilled expectations, and what was learned that can be used in the recipient’s library. Report must be written and submitted to the Genealogy Conference Stipend Committee Chair within 30 days of the end of the conference
• Recipient must agree to attend all AGLHRT sponsored or co-sponsored pre-conferences, programs and/or meetings during the conference

DEADLINE: 

Submit APPLICATION (doc) and letter of reference postmarked by January 10 for the conference in the spring of that year. Submit to:

Laurie Mahaffey, Chair, Genealogy Conference Stipend Committee
Central Texas Library System, Inc.
1005 West 41^st Street
Austin, Texas 78756

TIMELINE: 

The Genealogy Conference Stipend Committee will use the following timeline as a guide for its work.

• September 1: Copies of the application form with a letter outlining the requirements listed below will be sent to TLA District Chairs, System Coordinators, the Texas State Library, and TLA for inclusion in TLACast, Library Developments, Texas Library Journal, and TLA unit newsletters.
• January 10: Deadline for application postmark.
• January 17: Committee members begin review of applications. Committee members will score applications on a scale of 100.  The top four applications will be placed in rank order.
• January 27: Committee members will be polled for their decisions on the recipients. In the event of a tie, committee members will be re-polled.
• February 3: All applicants will be notified of the results of their application submission. Notification of the winner will be sent to the Local Arrangements Chair for volunteer assignments.  Notification will also be sent to the TLA office and to the employer of the winning applicant.
• April (TLA Annual Conference): Introduce stipend winner at AGLHRT Membership/Business meeting at TLA Annual conference.
• May (30 days after the final date of TLA Annual Conference): Stipend winner will send conference report to Genealogy Conference Stipend Committee Chair (address above).

EVALUATION OF APPLICANTS:

Genealogy Conference Stipend Committee members will use the following guidelines that are listed in priority order with the most important first.

1. The applicant demonstrates interest in professional development.
2. The applicant attends genealogy workshops. (How are they involved?)
3. The applicant shows commitment to libraries (TLA membership, attendance at district meetings, etc.).
4. The applicant has good written and oral communication skills.
5. The applicant states why they want the stipend and how they will use what they learn.

An attempt will be made over the years to award stipends to applicants from all parts of the state and from all sizes of libraries.

Genealogy Conference Stipend Committee members will rank applicants on a scale of 100. In the event of a tie, the Chair will re-poll the Committee for new rankings. Committee members will not vote on applicants from their own library.

FUNDS:

An amount of $500 will be given to the stipend winner prior to the TLA Annual Conference. The winner will contact the TLA Office (which the Genealogy Conference Stipend Committee Chair has notified) for this advance in order to help defray registration and conference expenses.

COMMITTEE SELECTION:

The Chair of the AGLHRT will appoint the Chair of the Genealogy Conference Stipend Committee from among committee member volunteers.

STIPEND WINNERS

2008: Joy Wiley of the Abilene Public Library

2009: Jennifer Coffee, Pflugerville Community Library

2010: Joe Moreno, Laredo Public Library

2011: Jeffery Wright, Victoria Public Library

2012: Kathy Ritterhouse, Grand Prairie Public Library System