Scholarships

AALL Scholarship Program

AALL is committed to providing opportunities for professional growth. Each year, the Association awards scholarships to assist individuals in meeting their educational goals in the field of legal information. Individuals should apply for all of the scholarships for which they qualify.

Degree Candidate Scholarships

Scholarships are available to assist individuals studying to become law librarians as either a library or law school student, or to library school graduates seeking an advanced degree in a related field. Candidates should apply for more than one scholarship when appropriate. Preference is given to AALL members, but scholarships are not restricted to members. Applicants with law library experience are also given preference, but it is not required. Evidence of financial need must be submitted.

AALL Scholarship

This scholarship is funded through donations from AALL members, and is awarded annually to individuals seeking a degree from an accredited library or law school, and who intend to have a career in legal information, or to a library school graduate seeking an advanced degree in a related field.

LexisNexis John R. Johnson Memorial Scholarship

This endowed scholarship was established by LexisNexis in honor of John R. Johnson, who served as the director of the law library segment at LexisNexis. The scholarship is awarded annually to individuals seeking a degree from an accredited library or law school, and who intend to have a career in legal information, or to a library school graduate seeking an advanced degree in a related field.

Application Categories

College graduate seeking library degree. Awarded to a college graduate with meaningful law library experience who is a degree candidate in an accredited library school with the intention of having a career as a law librarian.

College graduate seeking dual law/library degree. Awarded to a college graduate working toward a dual degree in an accredited law school and library school with the intention of having a career as a law librarian.

Law school graduate seeking library degree. Awarded to a law school graduate working toward a degree in an accredited library school with the intention of having a career as a law librarian.

Library school graduate seeking law degree. Awarded to a library school graduate working toward a degree in an accredited law school with the intention of having a career as a law librarian.

Library school graduate seeking non-law degree. Awarded to a library school graduate who is a degree candidate in an area, other than law, which will be beneficial to the development of a professional career in law librarianship.

Download the Degree Candidate Scholarship Application (deadline is April 1, 2024)

Continuing Education Scholarship

Marcia J. Koslov Scholarship

Jointly established by AALL and member Marcia J. Koslov, this scholarship supports AALL members who work in a government law library, by providing funding to attend continuing education programs.

Download the Marcia J. Koslov Scholarship Application (deadline is April 1, 2024)

George A. Strait Minority Scholarship & Fellowship

The endowed scholarships and fellowships honors the memory of longtime AALL member, and distinguished law librarian, George A. Strait. The endowment was established by Thomson Reuters in partnership with AALL.

Scholarships and fellowships applicants must:

  • Be enrolled in an ALA accredited library graduate school program; or law school in the U.S.
  • Be a member of a recognized minority group (as defined by current U.S. guidelines).
  • Intend to pursue a career in law librarianship.
  • Complete the Strait Scholarship/Fellowship application, indicating their interest in either the scholarship or the Fellows program, or both.
  • Submit all required documents in one pdf by the deadline (including letters of recommendation).

Download the George A. Strait Minority Scholarship & Fellowship Application (deadline is April 1, 2024)

  • George A. Strait Minority Scholarship & Fellowship Selection Process

    Scholarship

    Scholarship recipients will receive a lump-sum award, based on available funds and the number of awardees for a given year.

    Fellowship

    In the George A. Strait Fellows Program, each fellow will receive:

    • A paid fellowship in a law library. The fellowship stipend will be awarded directly to the recipient in two installments. The first installment would be at the commencement of the fellowship and the second would be at its’ conclusion.
    • A mentor assigned by the host institution during the fellowship
    • AALL membership for one year
    • Registration paid for AALL Annual Conference that year

    Each fellow will complete a work syllabus or journal of their fellowship experience at a law library. The host institution will confirm the fellow’s participation and the completion of the fellowship. The information of their experiential learning would be submitted to the Strait Fellows Committee for approval before the final installment of the stipend award is distributed.

    Each fellow will select a host from the list of possible participating institutions  or may make arrangements with any other law library in the U.S. or Canada. Each fellow needs to indicate (1) geographic preference, (2) type of law library (e.g., public, private, law firm, court, or corporate counsel), and (3) type of project or area of interest (e.g., public service, technical service, digital, information technology). The fellowship and the time commitment would be determined by the host institution and the fellow. However, the fellowship should be completed within a semester or four months, depending on the project.

    Each fellow will be assigned a mentor by the host institution. The fellows and mentors will meet and develop a partnering relationship. Mentors will assist and provide support to fellows as they begin their transition into the professional workforce.

    During the fellowship, a journal or a work syllabus will be completed by the fellow. The work syllabus or journal will be a 250-500-word self-reflection on what work was required in the way of projects and learned in the internship. Also, the fellows will complete a formal evaluation of the fellowship upon completion. Feedback from these documents will be shared with the host institutions.

    The fellowship, journal document, and formal evaluation are to be completed within one year of the original award.