Details of How to Participate in ITRL

If you are interested in participating, please click here for a submittable form.

The Information Technology Rural Librarian Master's Scholarship Program seeks your active participation in the following ways:

*Assist in recruitment of ITRL students as a member of the ITRL Recruitment Board: Help with the distribution of flyers and help us select the best candidates for the ITRL Scholarships. If you want, you can also work with potential applicants you identify and in consultation with the PI/co-PIs help the potential applicants complete admission procedures and submit completed application packet to UT’s Graduate College before the February 1, 2010 deadline.

*Participate as a member of the ITRL Practitioner Mentoring Board: By April-May 2010, sixteen librarians with MLS degrees will be identified as members of the ITRL Practitioner Mentoring Board. Members of the ITRL Practitioner Mentoring Board will provide practitioner mentoring and professional work experience to some of the ITRL students. Ongoing from May 2010. 

1.  Each ITRL student will be assigned a practitioner mentor from a rural library environment to provide guidance, identify relevant IT deliverables, and develop best practices for the rural libraries where the ITRL student works.
2.  Educators from UT’s SIS and practitioner-mentors from the ITRL Mentoring Board will identify learning objectives, course recommendations, and research projects to enhance IT skills with rural library applications.
3.  Faculty and practitioner-mentor participants will develop profiles of work/position descriptions and IT expectations for each ITRL student. Each work/position profile will incorporate specific IT content and application.
4.  Practitioner-mentor participants will develop orientation and mentoring programs for ITRL in conjunction with participating faculty.
5.  Practitioner-mentors will meet [electronic/telephone and/or face-to-face] at least once each semester with SIS faculty to coordinate educational and training efforts for ITRL students. All practitioner-mentors and all students will meet [electronic/telephone and/or face-to-face] at least once each semester to discuss issues and concerns about the program.
6.  With the assistance of the practitioner-mentors, in the first semester of coursework, ITRL students will identify personal learning objectives and goals. Working closely with the practitioner-mentors will allow early identification and remediation of any academic deficiencies.
7.  An annual honorium will be provided to members of the ITRL Practitioner Mentoring Board.

*Participation in the ITRL Needs Assessment Symposium: The Symposium will take place during March/April 2010 and will comprise of electronic/telephone and face-to-face meetings. These will involve interviews and focus groups with a total of 50 library professionals from across the Southern and Central Appalachian region. Participants will provide feedback about library services and information challenges faced by rural libraries in the region. An honorarium will be provided to Symposium attendees. Break-out sessions for small group discussions will be orchestrated to address local information needs, use of information resources and services, challenges and barriers, areas of improvement, and use of computers and information technologies.

FUNDED BY: