With a $600,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, SOLINET and the HBCU Library Alliance will expand the HBCU Library Alliance Leadership Program, which provides staff training in person and on the web to enhance services to students and faculty.

Two previous Mellon-funded programs of leadership development have been completed, involving senior library staff at 44 HBCUs,” said Kate Nevins, SOLINET executive director. However, the program has reached only part of the HBCU library community.

The new Leadership Program will involve a new multi-part, nine-month leadership development and education program offered to HBCU librarians through both in-person and web-based classes, according to Loretta Parham, Chair of the HBCU Library Alliance and CEO of the Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center. “We also plan to continue the successful staff exchange program with the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) and provide focused programming on advocacy and networking for senior librarians.”