The Massachusetts Library System (MLS) launched a new Library Juice Academy Grant program on April 12th. This program allows staff from MLS member libraries to take courses with Library Juice Academy at no cost to them. Library Juice Academy offers a wide range of online professional development courses for all types of library staff, including support staff. There are courses for staff at various stages in their library career and the courses focus on practical topics to build new skills. These courses:
- Are taught asynchronously (which means that you do not have to be online at a particular time)
- Involve about 3.75 hours of work per week
- Typically begin the first Monday of the month and last 4 or 6 weeks
You can see all of the courses that Library Juice Academy offers or you can browse the courses by topic.
MLS created a Library Juice Academy Grant LibGuide page, which has all of the grant program details, including an application form. Library staff should read the conditions of the grant before applying.
In the first week and a half after launching the program, MLS approved 45 grant applications. A majority of the applications came from staff at public libraries (56%), followed by academic libraries (27%), and school libraries (18%). Library staff held a variety of positions, including librarian (53%), paralibrarian (16%), manager/supervisor (13%), director (7%), or another type of position (11%). Most were full time (87%). Approved library staff came from 31 municipalities in 10 countries across the Commonwealth.
The most popular courses that library staff applied to attend were:
- Python for Librarians (11%)
- Introduction to Cataloging (9%)
- Curriculum Mapping Information Literacy for Academic Librarians (7%)
- Foundations of Early Literacy (7%)
The Library Juice Academy Grant program supports Initiative 1 Goal 3 and Initiative 2 Goal 2 of the MLS Strategic Plan. We hope that the Library Juice Academy helps you in achieving your learning goals!
