Photo by: Megan Westervelt

DU has received almost $1 million to fund scholarships for graduate students studying library science.

DU’s Library and Information Science (LIS) Program received $917,891 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The funds were generated by Laura Bush’s 21st Century Librarian Program.

The money is earmarked for support of 10 students in the master’s degree program in library science.

The program will also prepare the librarians for work with children and will require that degree participants specialize in early childhood literacy education.

“The community need addressed by this project is the demand for more public librarians to help very young children acquire early literacy skills,” said Mary Stansbury, director of the LIS program.

Stansbury explained that the primary goals of the program involve creating more specialized librarians who would focus on literacy education in the future.

Students receiving support would be expected to work in public libraries and preschools, study child psychology and demonstrate Spanish-language proficiency as part of their degree training.

The LIS program at DU will collaborate with various libraries and preschools in the state to ensure the most effective education for the students in the program.

This is the second grant received by DU. Nearly $1 million was received in 2008 for 10 students participating in the master’s program.

Since the national program’s beginnings in 2002, it has trained 3,220 master’s students, 186 doctoral students, 1,256 pre-professionals and 26,206 continuing education students.