Hello,

 

SLA Europe is pleased to offer three 2014 Early Career Conference Awards (ECCAs) jointly with the Academic, Leadership & Management, and Legal Divisions of SLA. As with previous years, the Early Career Conference Awards provide invaluable opportunities for new library and information professionals to develop and establish themselves within their chosen sector.

 

The Awards:

 

The Awards allow winners to attend the 2014 SLA Annual Conference and INFO-EXPO in Vancouver, Canada, 8 – 10 June 2014.

 

Each Award is worth about $4000. It covers the full cost of Conference registration, hotel lodging, economy return airfare to Vancouver, and meals and appropriate incidental expenses.

 

Award winners will be assigned to the SLA Division to which he/she applied and will be paired with a mentor from that SLA Division. Their mentor will brief them before the Conference, give guidance during the Conference, and maintain a link to the Division following the Conference.  For more information, see the SLA Europe website: http://www.sla-europe.org/awards/early-career-conference-award/

 

When to apply:

 

All applications must be received no later than 14 February 2014, 23:59 GMT. Winners and unsuccessful applicants will be notified no later than 31 March 2014.

 

How to apply:

 

You will need 3 documents to apply for the ECCAs: a statement, a CV/resume, and a letter of recommendation. All documents should be in English.

 

Statement: Write a two-part statement of approximately 500 words:

 

Part one: Tell us why you chose to pursue a career in LIS and why you want to pursue a career in the area of your chosen Division.

 

Part two: What specific benefits and knowledge do you hope to gain from attending the 2014 SLA Conference and working with SLA Europe and your chosen SLA Division in the future?

 

CV/resume: Include a copy of your most current CV/resume with your current postal and email addresses as well as a current telephone number.

 

Letter of recommendation: Include a letter which explains why you would be a good candidate for this Award. The recommendation may come from your supervisor at work, or a professional colleague not at your own workplace, or, if you are a student, from a faculty advisor in your programme.

 

To apply, complete the form at http://www.sla-europe.org/awards/early-career-conference-award/ecca-applications/. Don't forget to attach your documents!

 

Are you eligible?:

 

Applicants must be:

 

• Information professionals working in the field in Europe who are within their first 5 years of post-qualification work in the LIS sector
• OR Students enrolled in a European Library and Information Science (LIS) programme (undergrad or postgrad) during the 2013-14 academic year.
• OR participants in a recognised LIS training position, such as graduate traineeships, or studentships/internships lasting not less than 1 year

 

• First-time attendees at an SLA annual conference.

 

• Able to communicate in written and spoken English.

 

• In possession of up-to-date travel documents required for entry into Canada (i.e. current passport, visa waiver, etc).

 

• Interested in a career in special librarianship, preferably in the areas of one or more of the three Divisions co-sponsoring the Awards with SLA Europe.

 

• SLA members by the time of the conference.

 

Co-sponsoring SLA Divisions:

 

To find out more about SLA Europe and the co-sponsoring divisions, please visit their websites:

 

SLA Europe: http://www.sla-europe.org/

 

Academic: http://academic.sla.org/

 

Leadership & Management:: http://lmd.sla.org/

 

Legal:  http://legal.sla.org/

 

Benefits of receiving the Award:

 

Previous Award winners thoroughly enjoyed their experience of attending the SLA Conference and their ongoing participation in SLA. Here are just some of the benefits highlighted in their post-conference articles for SLA Europe:

 

• Gaining a broadened perspective on the many careers a Library and Information Science (LIS) degree offers by attending Conference programme events and meeting seasoned library and information professionals at the Conference

 

• Learning about many products and services for the LIS market by visiting the stands of exhibitors at the Conference's accompanying INFO-EXPO.

 

• Receiving professional recognition from SLA Europe members and the co-sponsoring SLA Divisions. Award winners will be formally acknowledged in Vancouver by the Division co-sponsoring them. They will also be introduced at the International Reception and the First Timers Reception.

 

• Gaining widespread visibility through international publicity disseminated by SLA, SLA Europe, the co-sponsoring SLA Divisions, and industry sponsors all introducing the ECCA winners to the information community.

 

• Being able to travel to North America and meet information professionals from all parts of the globe.

 

• Developing their professional profile and publicity-seeking skills by writing articles for SLA blogs.

 

 

After the conference:

 

After the 2014 SLA Conference each award winner will be expected to write two short articles in English on what they learned at the Conference. One article, geared towards SLA Europe membership, will be published on the SLA Europe blog.

 

The second article will be published in the blog/newsletter of the SLA Division co-sponsoring them and geared to that readership.

 

The 2014 award winners will be given the opportunity to stay in touch, plus opportunities to get involved with the work of the SLA Europe board.

 

Enquiries:

 

If you have any questions, please contact the Chairs of the Early Careers Committee at

[log in to unmask] or the President of SLA Europe at [log in to unmask].

 

About SLA:

 

The Special Libraries Association is a non-profit global organisation for innovative information professionals and their strategic partners. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, USA, SLA serves more than 9,000 members in 75 countries in the information profession, including corporate, academic and government information specialists. http://www.sla.org

 

About SLA Europe:

 

SLA Europe provides information professionals in Europe with unique networking and learning opportunities through its blog, and regular seminars and social events. The group recognises outstanding achievement in the information profession with annual awards. SLA Europe also engages with young information professionals through its Early Career Conference Awards (ECCA) http://www.sla-europe.org

 

Simon Barron

 

Co-Chair

Early Career & Awards Committee

SLA Europe

 

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