Grants, Scholarships, and Fellowships

All grants, scholarships, and fellowships are considered annually, but are only awarded when applicants clearly meet or exceed requirements.

• MLA will acknowledge receipt of all applications. Most grants and scholarships have a deadline of November 15. See individual pages listed below for further details.
• MLA membership is required for most grants.
• An announcement of all grant recipients is made in March and a virtual awards ceremony is held in April each year. See the vConnections page for access to past recordings.  
• Some MLA grants, scholarships, and fellowships are funded through financial revenues generated from MLA restricted funds (endowment). The amount and number of those grants, scholarships, or fellowships will be determined annually based on the funding of the endowment. 

To help sustain and develop grants, MLA welcomes your tax-deductible donation to the Grants and Scholarships Fund.

Applications will open in late August 2024 for most grants, scholarships, and fellowships.

Advanced Education

• MLA Doctoral Fellowship - Fosters and encourages superior students who have been admitted to candidacy in a doctoral program in medical librarianship or information science.
• Gwendolyn S. Cruzat MLA Scholarship - Scholarship for students enrolled in or entering an American Library Association–accredited library school.
• Beverly Murphy MLA Scholarship for Underrepresented Students - Scholarships for students enrolled in or entering an American Library Association–accredited library school.
• Ana D. Cleveland MLA Scholarship - Scholarships for students enrolled in or entering an American Library Association–accredited library school.
• MLA/NLM Spectrum Scholarship - American Library Association (ALA) Spectrum Scholars assists underrepresented individuals interested in obtaining a graduate degree and leadership positions in the profession.

Professional Development

• Naomi C. Broering Latinx Heritage Grant - Supports professional activities in cutting-edge medical information services for the Latinx community.
• Collection Development Professional Development Grant - Supports educational activities for health sciences librarians in collection development and related information management fields.
• Continuing Education Grant - Supports continuing education opportunities to enhance knowledge of librarianship's theoretical, administrative, or technical aspects.
• Mary K. Haver Consumer Health Professional Development Grant - Supports educational activities for consumer health librarians, including attending conferences, obtaining training, and taking continuing education classes.
• Hospital Libraries Professional Development Grant - Supports librarians in clinical settings by funding educational or research activities, including acquiring skills from Competencies for Lifelong Learning and Professional Success.
• Medical Informatics Career Development Grant - Supports career development activities that advance medical informatics.
• Harriet L. Steuernagel Continuing Education Grant - Supports professional development for members in the library and dental professions.

Annual Conference Support

• Ysabel Bertolucci MLA Annual Conference Grant - Funds in-person attendance to the association's annual conference.
• EBSCO/MLA Annual Conference Grant - Funds in-person attendance to the association's annual conference.
• Virtual Conference Registration Grant - Funds conference registration to assist members with a genuine financial need.

Research Related

• Eugene Garfield Research Fellowship - Supports research on the discoverability and dissemination of information by exploring the history of information science in the health sciences, emphasizing how historical insights can inform current practices and future developments.
• David A. Kronick and Charles W. Sargent Visiting Fellowship - Supports studying a specific aspect of health sciences librarianship by visiting multiple North American health sciences libraries or knowledge centers.
• Donald A. B. Lindberg Research Fellowship - Funds research that expands the knowledge base of health sciences information management and enhances health sciences librarianship.
• MLA Research, Development, and Demonstration Project Grant - Funds projects promoting excellence in health sciences librarianship and information sciences for non-operational, broadly useful activities.

International Focus

• Cunningham Memorial International Fellowship - Supports the education and training of health science librarians from outside the U.S. and Canada, funding their attendance at the MLA annual conference and supervised work in health sciences libraries.
• MLA Librarians without Borders®/ Elsevier Foundation/ Research4Life Grants - Supports training in low-income countries, enabling users to effectively utilize HINARI/Research4Life resources and serve as training resources for their institutions or countries.
• Librarians without Borders® Ursula Poland International Scholarship - Funds international projects by US or Canadian health sciences librarians related to health sciences librarianship.