NAHSL: Professional Development -General Information, Eligibility, Conditions

The NAHSL Professional Development Fund seeks to:

• Assist award recipients to increase professional knowledge and skills, ultimately improving their patrons' access to health information
• Encourage professional knowledge sharing amongst colleagues across the region
• Support and encourage professional development opportunities
• Promote the profession of health sciences librarianship

Criterion 1 - NAHSL Membership

Applicant must be a current member of NAHSL (membership will be verified by Membership Chair). Current membership is defined as having become a member or renewed membership by application award deadline but no later than March 15 of the current year (whichever comes first). New members of NAHSL who join at mid-year (due to change of job, moving into the area, etc.) will be eligible for award opportunities.

Criterion 2 - Eligibility for Awards
Professional development funds are available for educational courses or programs primarily sponsored by NAHSL or MLA.  Funds are available to cover any expenses associated with the educational program including, but not limited to, conference registration fees, hotel expenses or transportation costs. Limited funds are also available for non-NAHSL and non-MLA programs that, by a NAHSL member's attendance, will uniquely benefit NAHSL as a whole.

Criterion 3 - Dollar Amount
The maximum yearly dollar amount per NAHSL member is $1,000.  The award will not exceed the actual expense associated with the program/meeting/course and will never cover staff time.  Example: If an awardee requests funding to cover their travel costs and those expenses are either greater or less than the maximum award for that activity, the award will not exceed the actual expense or maximum amount available.

Criterion 4 - Number of Awards Per Applicant
An applicant may receive more than one award per calendar year as long as the total does not exceed $1,000 per calendar year. The Professional Development Fund Committee Chair will keep a record of scholarships awarded.

Criterion 5 – Deadline for Application
Chair must receive application at least 4 weeks before the deadline for registration. No exceptions will be permitted. Note that awards for some funded activities may have an earlier deadline.

Criterion 6 - Limits
Award applications will be considered and weighted for factors such as levels of institutional support; amount of recently received NAHSL awards; professional involvement on the local, state, regional, or national level; statement of purpose for award use; number of applicants per institution; and geographical distribution of applications across the NAHSL region.

Criterion 7 - Dissemination
Awardees are required to write a summary of the meeting/class which will be posted to the NAHSL blog. Click on the blogging guidelines PDF file on the right side bar of this page for the complete guidelines.