In September 2013 the library was awarded a 2013 Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program Grant, to create the Institute for Research Design in Librarianship (IRDL), to be held each summer for three years on the LMU campus. Under the direction of Kristine Brancolini, Dean of the Library, and Marie Kennedy, Serials & Electronic Resources Librarian, we launched the first Institute this past month, hosting 25 librarians from around the United States for two weeks.
The scholars checked into LMU’s O’Malley apartments on June 15 and worked intensively every day in the library with three instructors until June 26, each honing a research project of their own design. They participated in lectures and hands-on activities in a workshop environment and left the Institute having built a strong peer network of like-minded researchers as well as having completed a research proposal that is ready to implement when they return to their home institutions.
The IRDL Scholars are very active on twitter. Over the next twelve months the Project Directors and instructors will follow the progress of the Scholars as they implement their research, offer support as they analyze findings and write results, and celebrate with them as they complete their projects.