Sternheim Memorial Scholarship

Purpose

The $3,000 Karen Sternheim Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually by, and at the discretion of, the Southern California Chapter of the Special Libraries Association [SLA], and provides assistance to a student who is pursuing a career in special librarianship. The award was established in May of 1993 at a special board meeting called by chapter President John Shea, shortly after Karen’s death; the first money was awarded in 1996. Sternheim, a UCLA library employee, dedicated much of her career to the success of library school students.

Karen: A Friend Worth Remembering by Rita Costello

Eligibility Guidelines

Applicants must be members of SLA and members of the SLA Southern California Chapter. [SLA membership information may be found online at: http://www.sla.org/content/membership/joinsla/index.cfm]

Applicants must demonstrate an interest in a career in special libraries, and must be taking classes in master's degree program in library and information studies at an ALA accredited library school per http://www.ala.org/ala/educationcareers/education/accreditedprograms/index.cfm

There is no geographic restriction on the school in which the applicant is enrolled. However, applicants must be permanent residents of California or Nevada, and must submit a photocopy of their valid California or Nevada's driver's license, identification card or voter registration card.

Expectations of the Recipient

The scholarship recipient(s) will be encouraged to participate in chapter activities and will be contacted by a chapter Executive Board member to serve on an advisory committee. The recipient(s)' essay(s) shall be submitted electronically to the SLA Southern California Chapter for publication in the chapter's newsletter.

Procedures

Please pay close attention to the following:

Applications must be received by June 30, 2010.
Failure to submit a complete application will result in the rejection of your application.
Please use the checklist to be sure your application is complete.

The application packet consists of:

The completed application form
A copy of your valid California or Nevada:

--I.D. card,

--driver’s license,

A 1,000- to 2,000-word essay discussing your interest and experience in special libraries, and what you hope to contribute -- or already have contributed –- to the field of special librarianship.
Three letters of academic or professional recommendation, at least one of which must be from a faculty member in your Library Science program.
One (1) copy of a term paper written for one of your current Library School classes.
PLEASE NOTE: If embedded images are included in your submission, they must be compressed -- or the image size must be reduced -- to less than 1 (one) megabyte apiece.

Criteria for Evaluation

The Scholarship Committee will evaluate applicants based on their written statements, the term paper, and the letters of recommendation. Submissions are expected to be intellectually rigorous, and stylistically and grammatically correct.

The deliberations of the Scholarship Committee shall be confidential. All submitted application materials shall be the property of the SLA Southern California Chapter, and will not be returned. Applicants are encouraged to retain copies of all application materials.

Selection and Notification

The selection of the scholarship recipient is expected to be announced on or around August 1, 2010.

In the event of a tie, the award may be split at the discretion of the Scholarship Committee.

The committee chair will notify the president of the SLA Southern California Chapter prior to notifying the recipient(s). The chair will then notify the recipient(s) by telephone, and an e-mail will be sent to all applicants and the SLA Southern California Chapter list announcing the selection.

Guidelines for Submission

The Scholarship Committee will not consider an incomplete application. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all application materials are received in the manner proscribed below, by June 30, 2010.

Applications must arrive in one complete package; the committee will not consider any application materials that arrive separately or do not arrive on time.

Application materials must be sent electronically in 1 (one) complete PDF file to the following e-mail address:

johnsonpeterf@yahoo.com

Applications will ONLY be accepted as pdfs via e-mail. Once the chair receives an application, an acknowledgment e-mail will be sent to the address from which the application arrived. An applicant who has not received an e-mail acknowledgment within 72 hours of submission may contact the committee chair by phone at 213-590-5983.

Address applications to:

SCC-SLA Scholarship Committee
Peter Johnson, Chair
johnsonpeterf@yahoo.com

Committee

The Committee consists of:

Rita Costello, Library Director, UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Keith Gurtzweiler, Vice President of Recruiting, Library Associates Companies.

Peter Johnson, Project Manager for Archives at the Skirball Cultural Center and a consultant in DAM Strategies and Digital Asset Management.

Victoria McCargar, Archivist, Mount St. Mary’s College, and a consultant in DAM Strategies and Digital Asset Management.

Norah Xiao, Science and Engineering Librarian at the University of Southern California and co-chair of the library's professional development committee.

Past Scholarship Recipients

Year	Name	School
2009	Michelle Gorospe	UCLA
2009	Allison Schulte	San Jose State University
2008	Brett VanBenschoten	San Jose State University
2007	Rachel Clarke	San Jose State University
2006	Katherine Shilton	UCLA
2005	Peggy Shin	UCLA
2004	John Juricek	UCLA
2003	Christy Thomas	UCLA
2002	Natalie Joy Kamper	UCLA
2001	Aura Lippincott	UCLA
2000	Natasha Bergson-Michelson	San Jose State University
2000	Laurie C. Blasingame	San Jose State University
1999	Heather Lynne Hepler	University of North Texas
1998	Cathy Spitzer	University of Texas
1997	Kim Laru	San Jose State University
1996	Sharlene Matsuhara	Simmons College