Dear Applicant:

Thank you for your interest in the Sheila Cates Scholarship. This letter is intended to help you through the process of applying for the scholarship.

History: The Montana Library Association instituted the Sheila Cates Scholarship in 1994 to provide financial support to Montana Library Association members seeking an ALA accredited graduate degree in library and/or information science. The scholarship fund was established in memory of Sheila Cates, who served as Library Development Coordinator at the Montana State Library from 1985 until her death from cancer in 1993. Sheila was named Montana Library Association's Librarian of the Year in 1993. Individuals selected to receive an award from the scholarship fund must show potential for emulating Sheila Cates' contribution to Montana libraries. In 2003 the Montana Library Association agreed to extend the scholarship to those librarians seeking an NCATE/AASL accredited graduate degree in school library media.

Criteria: Applicants must:

• Be currently enrolled in an ALA accredited graduate library and/or information science program or an NCATE/AASL accredited graduate school library media program;
• Be a member of good standing in the Montana Library Association [dues must be current];
• Be an active member of MLA [attends meetings, works on committees, etc.].

Scholarship Amount and Deadline:

• Amount: $2000.00
• Deadline: March 15 of even years.

Application: Application is available online at
http://www.mtlib.org/applications/catesscholappl2003.pdf OR
http://www.mtlib.org/applications/catesscholappl2003.doc

Application Process: On the application deadline, the chair of the committee will make copies of each application and scoring sheets and send these to the members of the Sheila Cates Scholarship Committee. Each member will individually score each application. The scoring sheets will be mailed/faxed to the chair of the committee. The chair will tally the scores and if there is a need, will contact the committee and applicants and schedule an interview.

A minimum score of 150 is required for the written portion of the application in order for a scholarship to be awarded.

Additional Information: Recipients who fail to provide verification of employment or attempts to obtain employment in a Montana library will be required to repay the scholarship amount in full (with interest) to the Montana Library Association's Cates Scholarship Fund. The committee is aware that school librarians can be reassigned to other locations within a school. We encourage school librarians to make their principals aware of the conditions of the scholarship. The committee will attempt to help scholarship recipients to the best of our ability.

Questions: Contact Tracy Cook at (406) 761-7120 or tcook@mtlib.org

Sincerely,

The Sheila Cates Committee