Drexel University

Drexel University will develop the Library Education And Data Science (LEADS) program, a transformative doctoral training initiative grounded in library science foundations and integrating a new data science focus. The program will provide stipends for 18 library school doctoral students across the country. These LEADS Fellows will complete an online preparatory curriculum, an intensive 3-day data science boot camp at Drexel University, and a ten-week data science internship with a LEADS project partner in which the students will complete data science activities in a real-world library setting while conducting original research. The program will result in a cohort of future faculty members who can bring data science knowledge and skills into library graduate schools across the country. The chief outcome of the program will be a proven template for educating library data scientists, while also readying this first cohort to serve as educators and leaders in libraries and archives.