LAS Library School Scholarship

The LAS Library School Scholarship aims to support and encourage individuals to attain higher education in the library profession. It provides financial support to an individual for graduate study in a recognised school of library science, leading to an MLS, M.Sc. (Information Studies) or equivalent, who has the potential to have an exceptional career as a librarian. For recognition of library science degrees from overseas, the Council states in the Membership application that all first degrees and post-graduate qualifications that are accredited by the respective library and information professional bodies of Australia, Canada, NZ, UK, and USA are recognised by LAS as professional qualifications for librarians.

Award

S$5,000 to partially cover tuition in a school of library and information science or equivalent.

Selection Criteria and Terms

Accepted degree candidate, in a graduate school of library and information science, working towards an MLS or its equivalent
Applicants with, at least, one quarter/semester remaining AFTER scholarship is awarded
Quality of personal statement (500-1000 words) discussing your interest in librarianship, reasons for applying for the scholarship, career goals, and any other pertinent information you would like the LAS Awards Panel to know about
Strength of recommendations describing personal character and likelihood of academic and professional success in the library field
Applicant is a Member of LAS at the time of application
Applicant is a resident in Singapore
Successful recipient shall volunteer in the LAS (Council or Committee) for a period of two years. This will start from the date of receipt of the scholarship.

Who is not eligible

Previous LAS scholarship recipients
LAS Council Members and their immediate family members
LAS Awards Panel Members and their relatives
Recipient of sponsorship/scholarship from any organisation for current studies
Recipients of LAS Library School Scholarship in the past 5 years.

Submission Procedures

Please complete and submit the application form along with the required supporting documents to awards@las.org.sg.

Nominations must be received by 15 Mar 2024 by 12 PM.

Download Application Form

Selection Process

The successful Scholarship recipient will be contacted in March within the awarded year and the funds will be made available soon thereafter. Early submission of the application packet is encouraged to ensure that all parts of the application are included. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. The LAS Awards Panel shall evaluate applications. The selection panel’s decision will be final.

Presentation

The Scholarship will be presented at an annual LAS event.

Required Outcomes

Successful recipient shall volunteer in the LAS (Council or Committee) for a period of two years. This will start from the date of receipt of the scholarship

Past Recipients

Priscilla Lee Kai Ning joined Nanyang Polytechnic Library in February 2017 as a Librarian and plays a key role in the development of information literacy training curriculum, and the promotion and teaching of information literacy to students. She is now completing her MSc in Information Studies at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information in NTU.

Technologically savvy, Priscilla has contributed immensely by exploring and leveraging on technology to enhance library services. She has created learning journeys using Augmented Reality (AR) and game-based learning to enrich students’ experiences during orientation programmes. Priscilla understands the needs of students and is therefore able to create user-centric E-learning content and facilitate engaging information literacy sessions for students.

The Team Excellence Assessment is a closed-door assessment platform that allows teams to present their Team Excellence projects to a panel of judges. Priscilla and her team were awarded gold for their project on introducing the advisory service Expert Review that was implemented in the library’s Smart Learning Hub in 2018. This project by Priscilla and her team was also awarded Gold for Nanyang Polytechnic’s EXCEL day in 2018.

Besides reaching out to students through the libraries, she also coordinates and promotes library programmes; extending her reach by leveraging on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Priscilla has also been instrumental in other key projects. She has been involved in the library’s strategic planning under the Future of Work initiative, for example.

Priscilla takes the initiative to discover innovative ideas. She practices and selflessly shares her knowledge with fellow colleagues to foster an active learning community. An interested and keen learner, Priscilla keeps herself abreast of emerging trends and developments in the library industry.

In recognition of her accomplishments and in view of her potential for making further contributions to librarianship in the years ahead, LAS is delighted to award Priscilla Lee Kai Ning with the LAS Library School Scholarship.

Mardhiah Binte Mahamood joined National Library Board (NLB) in 2011 as an Associate Librarian in the Children Services section. After several internal restructures, Mardhiah returned to the Early Literacy section in 2018 as an Associate Librarian. The Early Literacy section focusses on serving and creating content for children aged six and below, their parents, and pre-school educators.

She is part of the Early Read programme that aims to furnish educators with proficiencies to inculcate reading habits in children as well as providing support and guidance to parents who wish to have their children adopt early reading habits. Since its inception in 2013, Early Read has reached out to about 410,000 participants and 12,500 children from lower-income families yearly through their various projects and via the READ@Community bulk loan service to reach out to preschools, especially to children from lower-income families.

Mardhiah was involved in the 2017 edition of the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC) project where she liaised with the then National Book Development Council of Singapore (currently known as the Singapore Book Council) with logistic matters. Mardhiah has also curated a bibliography on Indonesian Children’s Literature for this project.

She is also part of the team for “NLB’s Babies can be Members, Too!” programme that was launched in an effort to make reading an essential part of families’ lives. Mardhiah contributed by creating content and packages for parents to bond with their babies over books.

As the current Project Manager for the NLB’s Activity Toolkit project, her team curates content for the Activity Toolkit. The content for the project covers activities to promote reading amongst children and aims to introduce educators to the different kinds of genres in children’s literature varying from ages six and below.

Last year, Mardhiah was also part of the annual signature event “2019 edition of The Early Childhood Conference and Exhibition” (ECC) organised by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA). Being in the team has allowed Mardhiah to contribute ideas on how parents and pre-school educators can make outdoor learning fun, exciting and developmental for children. The team has also planned for mini roadshows to be run at selected Public Libraries. Being an active member of the ECC since 2018, Mardhiah has been given the role of Project Manager for ECC 2020.

In the words of her reporting officer, “Mardhiah is a valuable member and is an asset to National Library Board. She has exhibited excellent professionalism in her relations with her fellow colleagues as well as to patrons at the library. Her effectiveness and efficiency, and responsibility has made her well-liked amongst library staff of all levels.”

Mardiah is currently pursuing the Master of Science in Information Studies at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) since July 2019.

In recognition of her accomplishments and in view of her potential for making further contributions to librarianship in the years ahead, LAS is delighted to award Mardhiah Binte Mahamood with the 2019 LAS Library School Scholarship Award.

Carmen Wang joined National Library Board (NLB) in 2016 as an Associate Librarian and is with the Children and Teens department promoting the love and joy of reading to 7-17 year olds in schools and the public libraries in Singapore. She is now completing her MSc in Information Studies at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information in NTU.

Being very customer centric, Carmen is able to actively engage children in schools through her storytelling and book buzz sessions. She was once invited by a school to be a special guest to their school library opening in view of her contributions to improve the school’s reading culture.

Carmen is also an integral part of the project team that conceptualised NLB’s loveable mascots, a quartet of monsters, to promote reading to children. These monsters also promote awareness of the different genres in children’s literature and library etiquette to NLB’s young patrons. Carmen has curated and designed the content and book recommendations for children in an attempt to encourage them to read more and to read widely. She also conceptualised the idea of the Monster Scavenger Hunt game for children for the National Reading Day. These initiatives have greatly motivated children to read and have also helped to promote the libraries as a fun place for the children.

The “Information Sessions for Schools” is an annual event that showcases the suite of NLB’s services to schools. As the Project Manager for the 2017 event, Carmen brought in new sharing segments from the Reading Excellence Award winners and the Junior and Teen Reading Ambassadors which led to an increase in the number of participants. Teachers were highly appreciative of the event and her contributions.

Carmen is also actively involved in the training of the Junior Reading Ambassadors from primary schools. These children are trained in creating book displays, conducting book talks and putting up performances in their school and public libraries. These ambassadors also promote reading to their peers in schools. By mentoring these ambassadors, Carmen has helped them spark an interest in reading and have also helped them become confident public speakers.

Besides reaching out to patrons through the libraries, she also extended the department’s reach through the online portal, discoveReads, the NLB blog targeted at parents, children and teachers. Carmen came up with novel ideas to make reading more attractive and relevant to the tech savvy youth. She has curated reading recommendations in the form of blog articles and created digital banners for the site, and sourced and put up pertinent videos. These have resulted in an increase in the visitorship to the blog and has also increased participation at the various events at public libraries.

Carmen has also been instrumental in many of the key projects and initiatives and has been able to engage the young children, teachers and other key stakeholders.

In recognition of her accomplishments and in view of her potential for making further contributions to librarianship in the years ahead, LAS is delighted to award Carmen Wang with the LAS Library School Scholarship.

Noverinda Bella Ratmelia joined Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Libraries as a full time para-professional while studying part-time for her bachelor degree in Information Technology from the University of Wollongong, Australia. After receiving her degree in 2015, she was offered the position of Assistant Librarian at NTU Libraries. She is now completing her MSc in Information Studies at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information in NTU.

Bella started her career at NTU Libraries as a key member for the campus wide blog service on WordPress which houses some 300 blog projects in 4 key areas – Academic & Research, Administrative, Course & Teaching, and Library blogs. She played a major role in the administration of the WordPress platform, research project consultation, training of undergraduates, project officers and faculty, and designing training materials and guides. In her work, Bella made significant contributions to many projects that serve the diverse needs of the university community. In her new role on the Advisory and Consultation Team since December 2017, Bella continues to exemplify a spirit of initiative, drive, and collaboration and strives to learn and acquire new skills on her own accord.

Bella was also involved in conducting a workshop for IFLA delegates in 2013 and organising the WordCamp Conference in 2016 and 2017. In addition, she volunteered in the 2016 LAS Annual Conference “Libraries for the Future” as a member of the IT Committee. She continues to volunteer on the LAS Website/IT Committee.

Both inside and outside of the NTU Libraries, Bella has demonstrated her passion for the information profession and a desire and capacity to acquire new skills. In her MSc in Information Studies, Bella’s supervisor highlighted her motivation, aptitude, analytical and communication skills in her course work and success in interacting with team members in the programme.

In recognition of her accomplishments to date and her potential for making significant contributions to librarianship in the years ahead, it is a privilege to award Noverinda Bella Ratmelia with the 2017 LAS Library School Scholarship.

Eunice Anthonyraj has made significant contributions to bilingual literacy programs for the young in Singapore as an Associate Librarian with the Public Libraries (Singapore).

Since joining the Public Libraries in 2013, Eunice has been instrumental in rolling out new Early Literacy initiatives, specifically in the Tamil Language. She kick-started the Book Ninjas’ Club, which is a bilingual reading intervention programme aimed at cultivating a love of reading in the mother tongue language among pre-schoolers, in the libraries. She has nurtured strong and strategic partnerships with organisations, such as the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) and People’s Association (PA), to add variety to the suite of Tamil language programmes that cater to public library customers.

Eunice demonstrates a strong commitment to promote reading among the young as can be seen from her diverse portfolio. In addition to conceptualising and executing programmes, she is a Selector of Tamil books for children at all the Public Libraries. She goes the extra mile to capitalise on her knowledge of Tamil children’s literature by curating content for library publications such as Timeless Tales, Early Literacy Toolkit and Little Explorer Lost At Sea and by building awareness of the collection among a wider audience.

Committed to promoting a love of reading in children and at the same time cognizant of the need to slowly help them become familiar with new technology, Eunice introduced eDevices for children and their families at some of the Public Libraries. Eunice’s efforts were successful in helping to encourage reading and learning through eContent and enhancing digital interaction through eDevices among her intended audience.

For her accomplishments, thus far, and with high expectations for even greater achievements in the years to come, LAS is delighted to award Eunice Anthonyraj with the 2017 LAS Library School Scholarship.

Sheryl Valerio has had a short, but inspiring career in the library field. In August 2013, following a twenty-year career as an English teacher, initially in the Philippines, then in China, and finally in Singapore from 2007-2013 at the Hillside World Academy (previously known as Chinese International School), Sheryl Valerio experienced a life and career changing moment.

The Principal at the new Hillside asked Sheryl to switch from being a teacher to running the library. She found a library with empty shelves, heaps of books and no systems. She realised that she had to rebuild the library from scratch, but had no knowledge about how to start or manage a library.

Sheryl embraced the challenge and found a mentor who guided her for months, took free online library science courses, visited and observed how libraries operated, joined the Library Association of Singapore (LAS) and attended LAS training where she was encouraged to apply to the MSc Information Studies programme at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). She also attended the LAS Virtual Reality Workshop as well as International Baccalaureate (IB) workshops.

In August 2015, Sheryl matriculated as a part-time student at NTU and immediately put what she learned at library school into practice by providing research skills development for students, including using the Internet for research and information discovery, designing spaces, collaborating with teachers across the school, prioritizing the acquisition of resources, and transforming the library into an effective space for teaching and learning.

Additionally, Sheryl established ties with NLB through the DEAR and DIY program and encouraged students to volunteer in public libraries in the CrossBooks, to shelve books, the Library Ambassadorship program, to help out at special events, and even in digitising and indexing tributes to PM Lee Kwan Yew. She also oversaw the onerous process of transferring the library resources to a new campus. In a very short period of time, Sheryl’s efforts made her library one of the most popular places to visit on the school campus.

In recognition of her initiative and impressive accomplishments to date and her potential for making significant contributions to librarianship in the years ahead, it is a privilege to honour Sheryl Halalee P. Valerio with the 2015 LAS Library School Scholarship.

Dong Danping is the 2014 LAS Library School Scholarship Award recipient in recognition of her superior academic achievement in the Master of Science (Information Studies) programme at the Nanyang Technological University.

Danping completed her Bachelor of Engineering (Environmental Engineering) with Honours from the National University of Singapore in June 2013 and started the NTU Master programme. She was awarded the Certificate of Excellence as one of the top 10% of her cohort in Semester 2 of Academic Year 2013/2014 and received strong recommendations from her professors.

Since joining the Singapore University of Technology and Design Library (SUTD) in August 2013, Danping has made significant contributions. She developed and customised Library Resource Guides, provides a research alert service and conducts training sessions for the SUTD community. She was also appointed a Pillar Librarian, supporting one of the four main Pillars at SUTD, and served on the Tender Evaluation Committee for the new library management system.

Jacky Wong is awarded the 2013 LAS Scholarship Award in recognition of his superior academic achievement in the Master of Science (Information Studies) programme at the Nanyang Technological University.

After obtaining a BA in Computer Science, an MBA from the University of Melbourne, and a Professional Diploma with Distinction from the National University of Singapore’s Institute of System Science, Jacky enrolled in the Master of Science (Information Studies) program at the Nanyang Technological University in 2012. He was awarded the Certificate of Excellence in recognition of being among the top 10% of his cohort in Semester 2 of Academic Year 2012/2013 with strong recommendations from his professors.

In addition to academic success, Jacky has built an impressive library career with increasing responsibilities as a Systems Librarian at Temasek Polytechnic Library, Singapore Management University Library, Ngee Ann Polytechnic Library and currently, at the National Institute of Education Library. Throughout his library career which began in 2002, he has implemented numerous software programs leading to innovative library services, increased productivity and significantly enhanced user experiences.

He received the inaugural Scholarship from Professor Tommy Koh on Friday, 16 October during the LAS Annual Dinner. The scholarship is in support of Herman’s pursuit to attain a Master of Science in Information Studies degree from Nanyang Technological University.