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Carolina Academic Library Associates

About the CALA Program:

The librarians and staff of the University Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill value highly the relationship with the faculty and students at the School of Information and Library Science (SILS).

In the Fall Semester of 2000, the University Library introduced the Carolina Academic Library Associates (CALA) program for graduate students in the School of Information and Library Science interested in preparing for careers in academic librarianship. This program is a paid, practice based supplement to academic coursework. Our goal is to provide an enhanced graduate experience that introduces students to key issues in academic librarianship and to the culture of the profession. This program assists in preparing students for their first job and gives them opportunities for professional networking and activity during their graduate work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Each year, the University Library offers eleven two-year CALA appointments to first year SILS students. A selection committee is composed of the SILS Associate Dean, SILS faculty, and the University Library Director of Personnel selects students for this program based on interest in academic librarianship and academic achievement.

CALAs work twenty hours per week and are assigned to departments throughout the UNC-Chapel Hill University Library system in departmental libraries, technical services, special collections, and the library systems department. They are compensated in earnings by the Library and supplemented by funding from SILS. CALAs also receive tuition remission, health insurance, vacation leave, sick leave, and holiday leave. Additional benefits of CALA participation include membership in the Librarians' Association at UNC-Chapel Hill (LAUNC-CH), paid registration for the annual LAUNC-CH conference, and a competitive professional development travel stipend.

For more information on the Carolina Academic Library Associates Program,

Please contact the University Library Personnel Office at (919) 962-8027.