California Academic & Research Libraries

The CARL Research Grant was established to provide financial support to encourage CARL members to engage in research and/or publication efforts. A competitive cash sum will be granted to the successful applicant(s). Applicants may apply for grants in the range of $250 to $2000. Grant amount requested must be justified by a budget. Actual amount granted is at the discretion of the Research Grant Committee, as is the decision to award grants to any applicants in a given year. Grant recipients will be expected to present a summary of their research (or its progress) at the CARL Conference following reception of the grant.

Eligibility requirements

• Applicants must be current members of CARL, although an individual or a group may undertake the research. For group applications, all applicants must be CARL members. Please verify your CARL membership before submitting your application.
• Grants will not be given for research leading to an academic degree.
• The proposed research/publication should be significant to the objectives of CARL as stated in the CARL Bylaws.

Research Award Application

1. Part I: Contact Information [download as MS Word or PDF]
2. Part II: Research Proposal [download as MS Word or PDF]
3. Part III: Budget [download as Excel or PDF] — Please note that the CARL Research Grant may not be used to pay for any F&A (facilities and administrative) costs

Proposals will be submitted to the committee for anonymous review. To ensure an absolutely anonymous review, please do not include any identifying information (for example, your name, your workplace name, or citations of publications you've authored) in Part II or Part III of the application.

Criteria

The proposals will be scored using the following criteria:

• Objectives (1/3)—ideas are fully developed and supported and the desired results are clear
• Methodology (1/3)—there is an appropriate research design/plan and there is a realistic timeframe for completing the research
• Significance (1/3)—the research topic is interesting and original, makes a contribution to scholarship, and has an impact on librarianship, library services, and/or library users

Deadline

Proposals must be received not later than 5pm on the last business day of September (Friday, 30 September 2022).

Please send your application as an e-mail attachment to carlresearchgrant2022@gmail.com.

Research Grant Awardees

The CARL Research Grant recipient(s) will be announced and the award presented in November 2022. The CARL Research Grant will be disbursed to recipient(s) upon winning. Reporting requirements and deadlines are as follows:

1. A copy of the CARL Research Grant letter will be sent to the office of sponsored research or equivalent office of the recipient's home institution.
2. Final Expense Report—The Research Grant recipient(s) will provide a final accounting of expenditures to the CARL Treasurer. Recipient(s) may be asked to return any unused funds to CARL.
3. Public Presentation of Results—At the CARL Conference following award of the Research Grant, the Research Grant recipient(s) will be expected to present their research results to date.

Questions

For any questions about the Grant or the application process, please contact 2022 Research Grant Committee Chair Ken Lyons. For questions after submission, please contact carlresearchgrant2022@gmail.com.

Committee

Ken Lyons (UC Santa Cruz, retired), Chair

Sarah Dahlen (CSU Monterey Bay)
Norma Durian (University of LaVerne)
Brian Greene (Columbia College)
Jennifer Thompson (College of the Canyons)

Charge

The CARL Research Grant Committee shall consist of four at-large members appointed by the President. The President shall appoint a Chair and three members for one-year terms. The Research Grant Committee shall:

1. convene every other year, in the same years as CARL Conference; 
2. solicit proposals for the Research Grant; 
3. recommend a grant recipient(s) to the Board of Directors for its approval; 
4. arrange for the design and execution of the grant itself; and 
5. carry out other duties as assigned by the CARL Board of Directors.

Awardees

2018

Project Title: Ask Us How? Analyzing the Visual Appeal, Placement, and Language Used to Describe and Promote Different Modes of Reference Service
Researcher: Stephanie Alexander

Project Title: Disciplinary Standards for Undergraduate Student Education and Faculty Perceptions of Information Literacy
Researchers: Kendall Faulkner and Tiffanie Ford-Baxter

2014

Project Title: Defining the Archives to Enhance Collaboration Between Librarians and Archivists
Researchers: Diana Wakimoto

2012

Project Title: Ethnographic Study of Student Research Frustrations
Researchers: Sheree Fu, Char Booth, Mary Martin, Meg Garrett, and Natalie Tagge

2011

Project Title: Information Visualization and Keyword Searching
Researchers: Matthew Conner and Melissa Browne

2010

Project Title: Standardized Information Literacy Assessment: An Institutional Specific Approach
Researchers: Shannon Staley and Christina Peterson

2009

Project Title: Subjecting the Catalog to Assessment: Subject vs. Tags
Researchers: Jennifer Quinonez-Skinner, Danielle Skaggs, and Luiz Mendes

2006

Project Title: Are They Getting It: A Longitudinal Study of the Information Seeking Techniques of Undergraduate Students
Researchers: Joseph Aubele, Karin Griffin, Susan Jackson, and Cathy Outten

2001

Project Title: Developing and Field-Testing Valid Information Competency Assessment Instruments: A Collaboration of Bay Area Community College and CSU Librarians
Researchers: Bonnie Gratch Lindauer, Brian Lym, and Topsy N. Smalley

2000

Project Title: E-prints and Letters Journals: Continuing Co-Communicators of Scientific Research?
Researcher: Kate Manuel

1998

Project Title: The Definition of a Digital Library for California Community Colleges
Researcher: Dr. Anita Coleman

1997

Project Title: Success Factors for Technology Management In California Academic Libraries
Researchers: Marianne Afifi and Lucy Siefert Wegner

1996

Project Title: A Survey and Assessment of California Academic Library Fund Raising
Researchers: Leslie F. DiBona, Irene M. Hoffman, and Amy Smith

Project Title: Defining Academic Library Performance Outcomes For Assessment of Student Learning
Researcher: Bonnie Gratch Lindauer