Grant bolsters scholarship for ECU librarian program

GREENVILLE, NC  —   East Carolina University’ Department of Library Science and Instructional Technology received a $737,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to increase the number of trained school librarians in eastern North Carolina.

The federal grant will fund ECU’s Community Oriented Librarian Recruitment Scholarship program, directed by College of Education faculty John Harer and Larry White.

“These scholarships offer an innovative opportunity to meet a strategic critical need of school library media specialists in our local schools while allowing people in eastern North Carolina to have a rewarding career in school libraries in their home communities,” Harer, a professor of library science and instructional technology, said.

In the next three years, the program will provide 45 full tuition scholarships for an online master’s degree in library science. The grant is one of 35 funded nationally.