This week, the Awards Committee brings you our scholarship and grant awards with the Founders Scholarship, J. Allen Oakum Scholarship, and OELMA/JLG Floyd Dickman Programming Grant.

Here’s the scoop on the OELMA/JLG Floyd Dickman Programming Grant. In 2018, Junior Library Guild (JLG) and OELMA partnered to bring the grant into being. The grant honors the life and contributions of Floyd Dickman, a Library Consultant at the State Library of Ohio who retired in 1999 and was recognized, up until his death in 2015, for his leadership, commitment, and passion for children’s literature and family literacy. The purpose of the programming grant is to fund programs that inspire children and youth to embrace the joy of reading.  The grant continues the work that Floyd was passionate about during his lifetime.

In 2023, Erica Mackley, Experiential Learning Specialist at Granville Intermediate School, received the OELMA/JLG Floyd Dickman Programming Grant to seed a collection of Spanish books for the school library.  Here is what Erica had to say about the importance of receiving the grant for GIS: “I loved the opportunity to partner with one of our related arts teachers (Spanish) for the JLG programming grant.  Teaming with ELA is obviously an easy fit when it comes to our jobs, but this was a perfect opportunity to remind our whole staff that there are so many ways we can work together across the curriculum.”

OELMA offers two scholarships for post graduates to pursue careers as school librarians - the J. Allen Oakum Scholarship and the Founders Scholarship.  Here is what to know about these two scholarship opportunities.  The Oakum Scholarship is awarded to an Ohio resident enrolled in an accredited library school program, who is pursuing licensure in school/library media. This scholarship is intended to help defray educational costs for future library media specialists as they complete their studies.  The scholarship was established in 1985 through the philanthropy of the late J. Allen Oakum, an OELMA Past President.  The Founders Scholarship honors OELMA founders and co-presidents (1977) Maxie J. Lambright and Isabelle Pratt for their commitment to the field of school librarianship.  It is awarded to an Ohio resident enrolled in an accredited library school program, who is pursuing licensure in school library/media.  This scholarship is intended to help defray educational costs for future library media specialists as they complete their studies.

In 2023, June Lucal was one of two recipients of the Founders Scholarship. Here is what June said about receiving the Founders Scholarship at this pivotal time. “I just wanted to thank you again for the OELMA Founders Scholarship I received last year!  It was the first scholarship I had received since my undergrad years, and for many reasons, I was incredibly happy to be chosen.  The process of applying, receiving, and accepting this award taught me a great deal about OELMA and school librarianship in Ohio, too. I attended the luncheon and awards ceremony in October 2023 in Dublin, OH, and found it quite enlightening to hear what other people are doing in this field.  I truly appreciate that the OELMA scholarship committee saw the potential in me, and I hope to get more involved with this group in the future.”

Receiving an OELMA award gives you a voice to lead regardless of where you are in your career! Lift your voice and nominate yourself or a colleague by April 1, 2024.  If you have any questions, please reach out to the OELMA Awards Committee. The email is oelma.awards@gmail.com.

Warmest regards,

The OELMA Awards Committee