Applications open for ALCTS Online Course Grant for Library Professionals from Developing Countries

The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS), a division of the American Library Association, is accepting applications for the Online Course Grant for Library Professionals from Developing Countries to participate in online Fundamentals courses held between September 10 and December 21, 2018.

One free seat per session is available to librarians and information professionals from developing countries.

For full information about the grant, including eligibility criteria and a link to the application form, visit http://www.ala.org/alcts/awards/grants/onlinegrant
 
Applications may be submitted between July 31 and August 24, 2018

Fundamentals of Acquisitions (FOA)
Session 4: September 10-October 19
Session 5: November 5-December 21
The Fundamentals of Acquisitions (FOA) web course focuses on the basics of acquiring monographs and serials:  goals and methods, financial management of library collections budgets, and relationships among acquisitions librarians, library booksellers, subscription agents, and publishers.  In this course, you will receive a broad overview of the operations involved in acquiring materials after the selection decision is made.  Note that in FOA, we distinguish between collection development, which involves the selection of materials for the library; and acquisitions, which orders, receives, and pays for those materials.

Fundamentals of Electronic Resources Acquisitions (FERA)
Session 4: October 1-October 26
Session 5: November 26-December 21
The Fundamentals of Electronic Resources Acquisitions (FERA) web course will provide an overview of acquiring, providing access to, administering, supporting, and monitoring access to electronic resources.  It will provide a basic background in electronic resource acquisitions including product trials, licensing, purchasing methods, and pricing models and will provide an overview of the sometimes complex relationships between vendors, publishers, platform providers, and libraries.

Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management (FCDM)
Session 4: September 17-October 12
Session 5: November 12-December 14
The Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management web course addresses the basic components of these important areas of responsibility in libraries. Components include complete definition of collection development and collection management; collections policies and budgets as part of library planning; collection development (selecting for and building collections); collection management (e.g., making decisions after materials are selected, including decisions about withdrawal, transfer, preservation); collection analysis—why and how to do it; outreach, liaison, and marketing; trends and suggestions about the future for collection development and management.

Fundamentals of Collection Assessment (FCA)
Session 4:  October 1-November 9
This online course introduces the fundamental aspects of collection assessment in libraries. The course is designed for those who are responsible for or interested in collection assessment in all types and sizes of libraries. The course will introduce key concepts in collection assessment including the definition of collection assessment, techniques and tools, assessment of print and electronic collections, and project design and management.

Fundamentals of Cataloging (FOC)
Session 4: September 10-October 19
Session 5: October 29-December 14
Fundamentals of Cataloging (FOC) web course begins with a discussion of how cataloging assists users in finding resources and of the value of standardization of practice. These foundations are then given practical grounding in the work of creating bibliographic descriptions, the process of subject analysis, and summarizing content utilizing classification. Standards such as MARC bibliographic and authority formats, Library of Congress Subject Headings and Library of Congress Classification are discussed. The shift in focus from format-based cataloging to entity-relationship model cataloging is taken from the FRBR foundation to the RDA practical application, with a final look at RDF triples and BIBFRAME. In all areas, the value of standards is illustrated and discussed. There is a heavy reliance on examples from actual practice throughout the course content.

Fundamentals of Preservation (FOP)
Session 4: October 22-November 16 
The Fundamentals of Preservation web course introduces participants to the principles, policies and practices of preservation in libraries and archives.  The course is designed to inform all staff, across divisions and departments and at all levels of responsibility. It provides tools to begin extending the useful life of library collections.  Components include preservation as a formal library function and how it reflects and supports the institutional mission; the primary role of preventive care, including good storage conditions, emergency planning and careful handling of collections; the history and manufacture of physical formats and how this impacts preservation options; standard methods of care and repair, as well as reformatting options; and challenges in preserving digital content and what the implications are for the future of scholarship.

Fundamentals of Metadata (FOM)
Session 5: October 22-December 7
The Fundamentals of Metadata is an introduction to fundamental concepts of metadata, including: similarities and differences between cataloging and metadata; descriptive, technical, and administrative metadata schema; content standards and controlled vocabularies; approaches to metadata creation and transformation and metadata project design.