Compass Award

Internship Description

The Compass Award supports a project-based internship which provides financial and professional support to new and early-career colleagues in the arts information field. The award is open to individuals who identify as racialized and/or Black, Indigenous, Person of Color (BIPOC). The internship will broaden their perspectives and experience in the field of art, architecture, special collections, and museum libraries and archives. While eligibility does not require a degree in an arts-related field, the internship experience must focus on information in the arts.

The award will support the completion of a project-based internship as proposed by the applicant. The project may be research-oriented or fall in the scope of a creative endeavor and may be conducted in-person, virtually, or hybrid. 

The proposed work will be carried out under the guidance of a supervisor. The supervisor is expected to advise the awardee and help establish a network of support. Applicants are not required to have a predetermined institution or arranged supervisor. The Compass Award Subcommittee is not responsible for matching candidates with an institution or supervisor, but can assist with the process by providing the applicant with resources (such as connecting them with a professional colleague or an institution) to strengthen their application, if requested. Ideally, the applicant will identify a supervisor, and if relevant to the project, an institution. The award cannot be used for an internship that is already in progress.

The internship will entail a minimum of 100 hours of work to see a project through to completion. Responsibilities for the project-based internship experience, including its scope, distribution of hours, and product, will be finalized by the awardee in collaboration with the supervisor and/or the supporting institution. The Compass Award Subcommittee is available to answer questions throughout the duration of the internship and for consultation, should challenges arise.

The award also includes a one-year membership to ARLIS/NA, an ARLIS/NA chapter membership, and subsidized attendance to the annual ARLIS/NA conference. 

Application and Deadlines

The open call for applications will be released each year no later than August, with a deadline of early-mid September. The award recipient shall be selected by early/mid November. The awardee must accept the award within a month of being notified. The internship will be carried out in the following calendar year.

The deadline for submission of the letter from the intern and supervisor indicating completion of the internship will be within 30 days of completing the internship.

A Town Hall information session will be held on August 20th.

Evaluation

The committee will evaluate the applications based on eligibility and an established criteria for evaluation, including

  • thoughtfulness, thoroughness, and clarity of the goals/objectives of the project 

  • enthusiasm for the project and the impact of the project/experience on progressing the applicant’s career, 

  • the feasibility of the proposed project, timeline, and progress points, 

  • and how their project contributes to filling gaps and advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility (DEIA) research and scholarship in the field of art librarianship.

How to Apply

On or before September 15 (11:59pm Eastern Standard Time), please prepare the following documents to apply for the 2024-2025 Compass Award. All documents should be submitted as a single, multi-page PDF document using the intake form here: ARLIS/NA Compass Award (google.com) or compass@arlisna.org. Please organize and merge your documents so they are in the order listed below: 

Required Documents:

  1. A Statement of Eligibility and Purpose (500-600 words max), that shares how you self-identify as a member of a racialized group or BIPOC, your status as an ALA graduate student, recent graduate, or early career information specialist (within three years of graduation), as well as your proposed project, project goals/objectives, how you envision the internship will impact your career, and how the project contributes to filling gaps and furthering DEIA within the field of art librarianship. Please also include your institution (if appropriate) and supervisor (if known) of choice for your project, as well as a short timeline or plan indicating the desired dates of the internship and expected progress points.
    **** Please address your letter to: The ARLIS/NA Compass Award Subcommittee

Examples of deliverables or outcomes that you may wish to explore in your project: 

    • Skills (e.g., cataloging, instruction, data visualization)

    • LibGuides 

    • Relationships (e.g., community outreach or community engagement)

    • Conference Poster (e.g., ARLIS/NA conference) 

    • Research for an article (e.g., Art Documentation)

    • Zine creation or alternative forms of publishing

    • Exhibition (physical or digital) 

  1.      A 1-2 page resume outlining your education, related work experience, and skills. 

  2. An unofficial transcript or letter from your University’s Registrar confirming your attendance/graduation from an ALA-accredited information studies program or equivalent. 

  3. Fill out the survey/assessment 

***Please note that ARLIS/NA cannot support work visas. Therefore, an in-person internship must be completed at an institution situated within the applicant's country of residence, or applicants can propose a project that can be conducted virtually.

Optional Documents: 

  • A brief letter of availability and support from your project-based internship supervisor, if you have liaised with one already. 

Contact Information

Please contact compass@arlisna.org for any questions or assistance about the Compass Award.