The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) is the recipient of an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program Award in the amount of $100,000. The grant will support the “Breaking Barriers: The Future of Black Librarianship” national forum, a one-day pre-conference event to strengthen support for Black/African American MLIS students. Funding from IMLS will allow up to 50 LIS students, professionals, and educators to convene in order to distill approaches for increasing BCALA’s outreach to emerging librarians.
The forum will precede the 11th National Conference for African American Librarians (NCAAL), scheduled from August 5-9, 2021 in Tulsa, OK. In keeping with the conference theme, “Inspired by our Past, Igniting our Future,” the forum will culminate in the design of resources to recruit Black/African American librarians and the launch of an online, LIS program-independent student group called iBlackCaucus.
Black Caucus website is here.
