The Research on Libraries Fund
Background
The Margaret Scott Research Fund was renamed The Research on Libraries Fund following a review of the Fund in 2018. The name of the Fund was broadened to include research initiatives for any library sector, whereas the original Fund was limited to research that supported school libraries and school library programs.
The recipient may be an approved person or group from any library sector and who meet the application criteria. The Research on Libraries Fund will focus on school library research initiatives from 2018-2019. In 2020 the OLA Fund Development Committee will review the OLA Strategic Plan to identify another library sector that the fund could benefit.
Funding requests may range from $500-$2,000 depending on the scope of the project. The Fund will also consider supporting larger-scale research proposals which may be requesting and receiving funding from a variety of sources.
Margaret Scott
Margaret Scott was one of the century’s true icons in school library development. She influenced several generations of libraries who were at the frontier of school libraries in the 60s and 70s. Her untimely death in 1976 was a huge shock to the community. The OLA Board at the time launched this Fund totally on the individual donations of OLA members. For years, the Fund was used to subsidize travel of school librarians to other schools and to specialized learning programs.
The first awards were given in 1978.
Criteria/Eligibility
Applicants to this Fund must be OLA members in good standing or
recommended by OLA members in good standing.
Proposals must include:
- Clear, well-articulated goals and objectives for research that will identify best educational practices in school libraries, lead to the improvement of elementary or secondary school libraries and/or programming within school libraries, or enhance in other ways the understanding of the contributions of school libraries to student success (stipulation for 2018-2019);
- A plan to conduct qualitative and/or quantitative research and to provide a conclusion or summary of findings, following accepted research methods and ethical guidelines.
- The intention to share findings through one or more avenues such as publishing findings in The Teaching Librarian magazine (stipulation for 2018-2019) or presenting findings at OLA Super Conference.
Application Procedure
The application form can be completed online:
Applications accepted March – June
Must include:
- Individual or organization name and contact.
- Research scope.
- Description of research idea or project.
- Expected achievement of research idea or project.
- A description of the benefits to the school library community if the idea or project is pursued (stipulation for 2018-2019).
- A short statement on why the idea or project is deserving of the fund.
- An estimate on how the funds will be used such as:
o Costs associated with stakeholder engagement/outreach (e.g. travel, focus groups, participant incentives, survey costs, etc.).
o Costs association with conducting research, including external consultant fees.
o Research dissemination costs (e.g. website development, graphic design, publishing/printing costs, etc.)
o Other costs pertinent to the research project or initiative. - Applications will be accepted at any time of the year with no closing date.
Selection Process
- Eligible proposals will be assessed according to the set criteria and will be weighed for their vision, timeliness, and funding requested.
- Proposals will be scored against the rubric below. A minimum score of 9 points should be achieved for the proposal to be considered.
o If a proposal scores 8 points or less, the committee may request additional information to see if the score can be raised. - A subcommittee of OCULA and OSLA Council, and other solicited OLA members with a background in research will assess the proposal and make a recommendation to the Fund Development Committee.
o This committee will be struck within six weeks of a submitted proposal.
o The committee may select more than one successful proposal each year.
o The Fund Development Committee will assess the sub-committee’s recommendation and will approve the proposal at the following Fund Development Committee meeting. - The presentation of this fund is at the discretion of the Fund Development Committee and is not necessarily awarded every year.
Award Process
- Upon approval from the Fund Development Committee, the funding proposal will be awarded.
o The Committee will provide a report on the disbursement to the OLA Board. - The recipient will be contacted within two weeks of approval by OLA staff.
o Funding may not be the exact amount requested in the proposal form. This is at the discretion of the Fund Development Committee and the balance of the fund. - The recipient should provide a report on the use of the funds at the culmination of the research project or initiative.
- This report may include:
o Final allocation of expenditures.
o Successes and/or challenges experienced.
o Accomplishments made due to receiving the fund.
o Next steps for the research project or initiative. - Recipients of the fund will be documented on the OLA website and in the OLA annual report.
Donate!
If you wish to donate to the Research on Libraries Fund in its support for library research, please send your donation to the Ontario Library Association through Canada Helps or you can send a cheque to:
Ontario Library Association
2 Toronto Street, 3rd floor
Toronto, Ontario M5C 2B6
Attention: Research on Libraries Fund
Past Recipients
2019 People for Education
