The George Atiyeh Prize was founded by the Middle East Librarians Association (MELA) in 1999 to honor George N. Atiyeh, retired Head of the Near East Section of the Library Congress for his many contributions to Middle East librarianship and scholarship. Dr. Atiyeh was a founding member of MELA and is the first and only honorary member of MELA. The George N. Atiyeh Prize offers financial aid to attend both MELA and MESA (Middle East Studies Association) annual meetings. This year, MELA conference will take place in person at Stanford University and online (Nov. 7-9), and MESA will be held virtual (Nov. 11-16).
Awardees receive a cash award in addition to their registration fees for both the MELA and MESA conferences. Awardees must agree to attend both conferences in their entirety, to allow their names and photographs to be used in any publicity by MELA or other organizations contacted by MELA, and to write a report on their conference experience, to be published in MELA Notes.
Eligibility:
Students interested in Middle East/Islamic Studies librarianship who are currently enrolled in a Library and Information Science or Archival Science program accredited by the American Library Association or any equivalent accrediting body.
Criteria for application:
- Applications should be submitted via this form.
- Applications shall include the following:
- Name, E-mail address, Institution name, Location, Name of the program and Links to website/ Social media (optional)
- Current resume or C.V.
- Personal Statement of maximum 800 words that includes a description of your academic, work related or other background in librarianship, a statement of your career goals, including a description of your current course of study, a statement of why you wish to attend these meetings (all documents should be in PDF format)
Applications review & award notification:
- Awardees who will attend MELA conference in person will be granted the amount of $400 USD; in addition, registration fees for both MELA and MESA conferences will be paid for by MELA (please note that travel expenses are not covered). Awardees who will only attend online will get the registration fees paid for MELA and MESA conferences.
- Awardee(s) will be notified by e-mail and the Committee will also send a written letter to the Dean of the program in which the awardee is currently enrolled, announcing the Prize. Each awardee must return a written statement that they agree to:
- Attend MELA and MESA in their entirety (exceptions will be granted only by the Committee)
- Allow their names and pictures to be used in any publicity by MELA or any organization which MELA contacts regarding the Prize
- Write a report immediately after the conference for publication in MELA Notes reporting on their conference experience
- The Committee will announce the name(s) of the awardee(s) as soon as confirmation of Prize acceptance has been received, and will direct the Secretary/Treasurer to send checks as quickly as possible.
- Awardee(s) will be recognized at the MELA conference and business meeting. They should attend most sessions of MELA, some of the panels/sessions of MESA, and any other meetings being held during the conference period that relates to libraries, archives, etc. (e.g. OCLC)
Application deadline:
Application deadline: August 16th, 2024
Announcement of the award: September 13th, 2024
Committee members:
Imad Abuelgasim (University of California, Berkeley)
Mahdi Ganjavi (University of Toronto)
Mohamed Hamed (University of California, Berkeley), Chair
For more information and past awardees:
Thank you, and please do not hesitate to contact the committee if you have any questions or need for more information.