IALL began its scholarship or “bursary” program in 2001; its purpose is to provide financial assistance in the form of bursaries to enable law librarians “to attend . . . [IALL’s] Annual Course in International Law Librarianship that forms the annual conference of the Association.” (Jules Winterton. “Law Librarianship Around the World: Introduction.” In IALL International Handbook of Legal Information Management, edited by R.A. Danner and J. Winterton, 135. Surrey: England, 2011.) The bursaries, in the amount of up to USD$1500, help defray the costs of attending the annual course by helping to cover accommodation and travel expenses; bursary recipients also receive free registration for the annual course and optional day. IALL awarded two bursaries per year from 2001-2004 and increased the number to three per year in 2005 (Winterton, 2011, 136). In 2013 and 2014 IALL also awarded “special bursaries” to librarians from the Annual Course host countries of Spain and Argentina in light of the serious financial crises in these two countries.
This year IALL is delighted to inaugurate a new type of scholarship in addition to the “Regular” bursaries offered in the past. The new bursaries are “Members-Only Bursaries.” Five such scholarships will be awarded annually. The Members-Only Bursaries are available only to IALL members who have been dues paying personal members for the current year and the two immediately preceding years. These bursaries provide a grant of up to USD$1500 to help defray travel and accommodation costs and registration and optional day registration fees are also waived. Guidelines for Members-Only Bursaries are found here. We hope that our members who might otherwise not be able to attend the annual course will apply.
Applicants for the original “Regular Bursaries” are not required to be members of IALL, although it is hoped that by attending the Annual Course bursary recipients will be encouraged to become IALL members to take advantage of and add to the global networking and educational opportunities IALL provides. These regular bursaries also include a one year free personal membership in IALL.
Bursary recipients who attend IALL’s Annual Course also benefit from the rich legal, cultural and intellectual content of the courses. The Annual Courses on international law which began in 1966 have been held in Luxembourg, England, Germany, the United States, Hungary, Japan, Australia, The Netherlands, Austria, Canada, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Russia, India, Turkey, Malaysia, Spain, and Argentina. A full list of the jurisdictions and conference topics is available here. The 34th Annual Course – IALL 2015 will be held in Berlin, Germany from September 20th to 24th, 2015; the course is entitled “Within and in between: German Legal Tradition in Times of Internationalization and Beyond.” The conference website provides details about the course, including the preliminary academic program and registration information.
IALL’s Scholarships Committee accepts and reviews applications and awards bursaries following the eligibility and selection guidelines found on the IALL website. Since 2001, thirty-seven Regular Bursaries have been awarded, with recipients from twenty-nine countries including Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Haiti, Hungary, India, Kenya, Korea, Malawi, Malaysia, Moldova, Nigeria, Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Uganda, USA, Vietnam and Zimbabwe (updated from Winterton, 2011, 136). The chart below demonstrates in color the diverse countries IALL’s bursary winners represent.
The application period for the 2015 Berlin Annual Course began on Monday, 4 May 2015 and was announced by the Chair of the Scholarships Committee on the IALL website and Facebook page as well as in various listservs. The deadline for applying is Friday, 5 June 2015. Interested applicants may apply for a Regular Bursary or a Members-Only Bursary using new online application forms that will be found on the Scholarships page of the IALL. We encourage potential annual course attendees to take a look at the outstanding program for the Berlin course and consider attending. Those who may need financial assistance to attend the course are encouraged to review the eligibility and selection guidelines for the Regular Bursaries and Members-Only Bursaries and, if eligible, to apply.
Barbara Garavaglia