A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Learning and Earning - January 1997

HEA TITLE II-B

Library Education and Human Resource Development Program

Fiscal Years 1985 - 1991 Funding Results

The Library Education and Human Resource Development Program, Title II-B of the Higher Education Act of 1965, is authorized to make awards for fellowships, institutes and traineeships for the study of library and information science.

These Fellowship awards consisted of stipends for the Fellow, which varied depending on their academic level of study (Master's, Post-Master's (a sixth year of specialized training) or Doctoral), and an equal amount of Federal funds for the academic institution to cover the cost of training. The grants were issued to institutions of higher education which had the sole responsibility for selecting the fellowship recipients . This selection process was based on the institution's normal admissions standards.

The first year of operation for the Fellowship Program was Fiscal Year 1966. For the next three decades, this program made grants to 91 institutions of higher education that had library education programs for more than $46 million and trained over 5,000 students. During the seven years covered by this study, 88 Doctoral, 17 Post-Master's and 223 Master's fellowships were awarded. The amount of Federal funds awarded to the 48 institutions of higher education covered in this seven-year study was $3,399,300. The usual length of training was one continuous, full-time academic year plus a summer session.

While it was not mandatory that trainees attain degrees as part of the award conditions, the purpose of the program listed within the definition of "Fellowship" was to assist recipients financially as they work toward or complete the requirements for a specific degree in some aspect of librarianship.

Objectives of the Study

The purpose of this study is twofold:

The study also summarizes funding results by fiscal year, identifying grantee institutions, numbers and levels of fellowship awards, sex and ethnicity of recruits, degree earned, and post-training status.

Legislative Background

The Rules and Regulations governing this program changed once during the period covered by this study. During Fiscal Years 1985 through 1987, the Fellowship Program operated under the Rules and Regulations that were in effect as of March 5, 1982. Under these regulations, applicant institutions were encouraged to design their projects to accomplish one or more of the following objectives:

The remaining years covered by this study - Fiscal Years 1988 through 1991 - were governed by the Rules and Regulations that became effective May 26, 1988. Priorities were established from which each year the Secretary would select one or more and allocate funds to each selected priority.

The priorities are:

  1. To train or retrain library personnel in areas of library specialization where there are currently shortages, such as school media, children's services, young adult services, science reference, and cataloging.
  2. To train or retrain library personnel in new techniques of information acquisition, transfer, and communication technology.
  3. To increase excellence in library leadership through advanced training in library management.
  4. To increase excellence in library education by encouraging study in librarianship and related fields at the doctoral level.
  5. To provide advanced training in the development, structure, and management of new library organization formats, such as networks, consortia, and information utilities.
  6. To train or retrain library personnel to serve the information needs of the elderly, the illiterate, the disadvantaged, or residents of rural America.

For FY 1988 and FY 1989, the Secretary chose priorities 1, 2, 3, and 5; for FY 1990 the Secretary chose priorities 1, 2, 4, and 6; and for FY 1991 the Secretary established priorities 1 and 4 as absolute.

Conclusions

In summary, this researcher deems the HEA II-B Graduate Library Fellowship Program to be highly successful in terms of recruitment, degree attainment by male and female, minority and non-minority, degree level comparisons, and post-training employment status.

Overall, 93 percent of all the 323 Fellows recruited during this seven-year period received or will receive their degrees. Master's enjoyed the greatest success rate (95 percent), followed by post-master's (94 percent) and finally doctoral (87 percent). Females and males were equal (93 percent) in their degree attainment success rate, while minority fellows fared 1 percent higher than non-minority fellows (93 percent and 92 percent respectively).


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[Definitions and Explanations] [Table of Contents] Table 1--Summary of Number of Fellows by Degree Sought, Gender and Race: FY 1985 - 91]