University of Texas at Austin (University of Texas at Austin, School of Information)

The University of Texas at Austin's School of Information, and its partners, the Library and Information Science Program at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa (UH-Manoa) and the School of Information (iSchool) at San Jose State University (SJSU), will conduct a two-pronged project to help more U.S. veterans to become librarians. The three-year project includes 1) scholarships for 12 veterans to attend LIS masters programs; and 2) research exploring how military veterans choose careers in librarianship and information studies. The research features surveys for veterans who are librarians and admissions staff/faculty at LIS programs and interviews with admitted students. Based on the research findings, the partners will develop guidelines for recruiting veterans; a tool to assess local LIS program efforts aimed at recruiting veterans; and a directory of potential partner organizations that serve veterans. The project will illustrate how veterans successfully navigate the college admission process and which strategies are most effective for recruiting military veterans into LIS graduate programs.