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INTRODUCTION TO PEEL
In October 2003, Montana State Library was awarded a Recruiting and Educating Librarians for the 21st Century grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), an independent federal agency. Montana's project, entitled Professional Education and Employment for Librarians (PEEL), received $206,167.
PEEL has two major, and related, goals. The first is to increase the number of librarians in the state who have earned a graduate library degree. The second is to demonstrate the value of having professional librarians in Montana's libraries. To accomplish these goals, four activities are proposed.
The first activity will be the formation of an Advisory Council to assist Montana State Library staff with each phase of the project. The Council 's members will be chosen to represent all types of libraries and be from all geographic sections of the state. The Council will be active in the project's second activity, the planning and implementation of a statewide promotion/ recruitment campaign designed to attract Montana residents to the library profession. This campaign will be aimed at current library staff not having MLS degrees and new college seniors, with a special emphasis on American Indians in these two groups.
Following the recruitment/promotional campaign, the third activity will be the awarding of scholarships to six Montana residents to attend graduate library school programs. These will be competitive awards with the selection of recipients made by the Council. Scholarship recipients will be required to work in a Montana public, school or tribal library for a minimum of two years following their degree program.
To help libraries bring these new graduates into their communities, the fourth activity will be to award stipends to libraries equaling one-half of the salary of a full-time professional library position. Two stipends will be awarded. Public, school or tribal libraries will be eligible to apply and will be asked to demonstrate a need for the position as well as the ability to provide required matching funds for the salary balance. Stipend libraries will be required to make every effort to keep the professional positions following the two-year stipend period.
The project promises several important results. The library profession will be promoted as a career. The scholarships will increase the number, and possibly the diversity, of professional librarians working in our state. Through mentoring, scholarship recipients will encourage and nurture library staff and interested college seniors in professional librarianship. Their role as mentors will help sustain interest in library school and professional library services beyond the term of the grant. The library stipends will make it possible to demonstrate to communities not having a professional librarian the benefits and changes such a position can bring. The result of the demonstrations will be to encourage other libraries to work toward securing professional positions for their own communities.
The most dramatic impact the project will achieve is improved library services for Montana residents.
