The Walter Gerboth Award was founded in 1984 by the Music Library Association to honor Past-President Walter Gerboth, librarian, teacher, mentor, leader in the Music Library Association, and pathmaker in music librarianship. The Walter Gerboth Award enables MLA to recognize promising work by its newer members (a group to which Walter Gerboth gave special encouragement) and new researchers, to support scholarship in music, music bibliography and librarianship, and to honor the memory of one of MLA’s most distinguished and loved members.
Preference will be given to newer MLA members (within your first decade), as well as to MLA members regardless of length of service who are new to research. If an award is offered, applicants must be MLA members in good standing in order to accept.
An award of up to $1,650 is available for 2019. NOTE: A second award for a similar amount may also be available for 2019, so don’t put off applying!
- Applicants should be prepared to submit the following with their initial application:
- A summary of the project including a statement about its significance, progress made thus far, future plans, and details about how requested funds will be used
- A detailed total budget, specifying the amount of funding requested from MLA (up to the award maximum) and its purpose. Indicate any other sources of funding you may have already secured.
- Two letters of recommendation written by two different people—
- One letter recommending the project
- One letter recommending the researcher (yourself)
- A curriculum vitae
- Names and contact information for two additional references (in addition to the letters provided)
- Additional documentation may be requested by the committee.
- Successful award recipients may be asked to provide a concise description of their project suitable for publicity purposes.
See The Walter Gerboth Award for full details, more information about eligible expenses, and sample applications and budgets.
Recipients will be notified in advance of the registration deadline for the MLA 2019 meeting. If you have any questions about the award or applicant eligibility, please contact Sonia Archer-Capuzzo, Chair of the Walter Gerboth Award committee, at smarcherdma@gmail.com. Other members of this year’s committee are Molly O’Brien and Lina Sheahan.
Applications should be submitted via the MLA website and will be accepted until July 16, 2018.