2009 Asian Student Awards 
to attend Special Libraries Association (SLA) Conference in Washington, DC, USA, June 14-17 2009 
 

In 2009 SLA Asian Chapter will be offering an Award jointly with Science-Technology (ST) Division of SLA.

The award will be US$1800 to cover the costs of attending the 2009 SLA Annual Conference (conference registration, hotel lodging, economy return airfare to Washington D.C. and other related costs) for the successful applicant. The award will be formally acknowledged in Washington D.C. at the Science-Technology Division’s Award Ceremony.

Eligibility; All applicants must

• Have an excellent command of written and spoken English,
• Be enrolled in an accredited Master level LIS programme in Asia during academic year 2008-09
• Be eligible to travel to the USA
• Be interested in a career in special librarianship, preferably with a focus on working in a science technology environment.
• Be a first-time attendee at an SLA conference

Application Procedure

Write a two part essay, in English, of approximately 500 words, which:

1. Tells us why you chose to enroll in a graduate/master LIS programme and what you hope to do with your degree and especially why you might wish to work in Science-Technology area. 
2. Addresses one of the following three topics:
1. What skills must the new information professional possess and why?
2. What is the biggest challenge facing the profession, in general, and information professionals in your country, in particular?
3. What benefits/knowledge do you hope to gain from attending the 2009 SLA conference? (Do not describe what you will do during the conference).

Include a letter of recommendation, which explains why you would be a good candidate for this award. The recommendation may come from either a faculty advisor in your programme, or an SLA member who knows you well.

Include a copy of your most current CV with your current postal and email address and telephone number.

All documents must be prepared in Microsoft Word and must be e-mailed no later than 31 December 2008 to Scott Davidson, Award Chair, SLA Asian Chapter at  <scottjdavidson@gmail.com> and Sheila Rosenthal, Chair of the DST Awards Committee at <slr@sei.cmu.edu>. Notification of award status will be made in March 2009.

For further information about the Science-Technology  Division, who is co-sponsoring the Award, you may consult their website at  http://units.sla.org/division/dst/

Post Award Requirements

The recipients of the 2009 Asian student award will write a brief article, in English, on their conference experience for publication in the autumn 2009 issues of the SLA Asian Chapter Newsletter and for the Science-Technology Division’s newsletter, Sci-Tech News.

1. The 2009 Award Winner will be asked to maintain contact with the SLA Asian Chapter Board during the year of their Award.

2. Recipient will be asked to serve on a Science-Technology Division Committee of their choice.  

SLA Board Members and Members of the Science & Technology Division will be appointed as contacts, before, during and following the conference.