The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is funding fellowships for the project "Educating Stewards of the Public Information Infrastructure" or ESOPI². This project seeks to prepare the next generation of public information stewards by building on the existing dual degree program and developing fellowships, curricula, courses, and experiential components designed specifically for the needs of public sector information professionals. This fellowship provides graduate students interested in both public information and public policy with the skills needed to become leaders in public information curation and public policy administration.

What the Fellowships Offer:

• A 15-hr/wk position as Fellow in Public Information Stewardship
• An annual stipend of $16,000
• In-state tuition and health coverage
• Opportunity to meet experts in public information curation via symposia, conferences and workshops

Fellows have worked on:

• creating the State of North Carolina Best Practices for Using Social Media policy
• authoring an article on eDiscovery software capabilities at NARA
• creating a policy document on text messaging policy for the North Carolina State Archives
• revising and developing new online training modules for the University Archives and Records Management Services (UARMS) at UNC Chapel Hill
• developing an email policy for the University Archives and Records Management Services at UNC Chapel Hill
• advising local and state government energy efficiency and water quality programs on possible financing options and institutional arrangements

Fellowship Application Process

The ESOPI² Fellowship is provided to masters level students who are pursuing the dual degree program offered by SILS and the SOG. Thus, acceptance into both programs is a requirement for the award. To apply:

• Apply to SILS via the regular admissions process found at http://sils.unc.edu/programs/graduate/admissions. Students are encouraged to apply by December 13 as this ensures consideration of the greatest amount of university funding, but we accepting applications for admission to SILS up to April 10.
• Apply to the SOG via the regular admissions process found on the MPA Admissions page at http://www.mpa.unc.edu/node/20. Students must apply by January 10. It is possible to apply for this program after acceptance into the SILS program.
• In addition to the required written statement of your intended research focus, please write a separate essay elaborating on how these goals are related to those of ESOPI2. Email the essay to Dr. Helen Tibbo or Dr. Christopher (Cal) Lee no later than February 15, 2012. Earlier applications are encouraged. Please note that we are only able to accept applications from United States citizens at this time.

Prospective students may make appointments with faculty and staff members to discuss admission requirements, program schedules, and curriculum content. The school office arranges appointments within its normal business hours (8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday).

Interested applicants may direct correspondence to:

School of Information and Library Science
Campus Box 3360, 100 Manning Hall
216 Lenoir Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3660
P: 919-962-8366
E: info@ils.unc.edu

Are you interested in learning about selecting, preserving, maintaining, collecting and archiving Public Information and in engaging in Public Policy and Administration? You can do this while also earning a dual Master of Information Science/Master of Public Administration (MSIS/MPA) degree or Master of Library Science/Master of Public Administration (MSLS/MPA) degree. The School of Information and Library Science (SILS) and the School of Government (SOG) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) are seeking applicants for the dual degree programs.

About the Degrees

The stewardship of public information is a fundamental responsibility of a democratic society. Public information serves as evidence of governmental activities, decisions, and responsibilities as well as legal contracts at the city, county, state, and federal levels. Providing appropriate access to public information promotes accountability, the rights of citizens, effective administration of policy, and a continuing memory of our social heritage.

Archivists, records managers, librarians and other information professionals are often directly charged with ensuring that public information is accessible and meaningful over time. However, the distributed nature of government and modern information systems places responsibility for caring for public information into the hands of many other professionals, including those who develop, implement and interpret public policies.

Public officials and public servants must increasingly make and enact decisions related to information systems; this requires an understanding of the ways in which people, information and technology can best complement each other. At the same time, information professionals are increasingly required to engage in policy discussions and processes, in order to carry out their duties responsibly and effectively. This requires an understanding of the history, principles, processes and methods of public administration.

The MSIS/MSLS and MPA dual degree program integrates policy development, issues of legal compliance, and extensive knowledge of government structures and information with principles, values, methods and technologies of the information professions. This dual degree opportunity is designed as a three-year, full time program.

Application Process

Information about the graduate programs in the School of Information Science can be found at http://sils.unc.edu/programs/graduate. Information about the graduate program in the School of Government can be found at http://www.sog.unc.edu/uncmpa/. Steps for application into the dual degree program are:

• Apply to SILS via the regular admissions process found at http://sils.unc.edu/programs/graduate/admissions. Students are encouraged to apply by December 13 as this ensures consideration of the greatest amount of university funding, but we accept applications on a rotating basis throughout the year.
• Apply to the SOG via the regular admissions process found on the MPA Admissions page at http://www.mpa.unc.edu/node/20. Students must apply by January 1st. It is possible to apply for this program after acceptance into the SILS program.

Prospective students may make appointments with faculty and staff members to discuss admission requirements, program schedules, and curriculum content. The school office arranges appointments within its normal business hours (8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday).

Interested applicants may direct correspondence to:

School of Information and Library Science
Campus Box 3360, 100 Manning Hall
216 Lenoir Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3660
P: 919-962-8366
E: info@ils.unc.edu

The IMLS-funded project "Educating Stewards of Public Information in the 21st Century," (abbreviated as the ESOPI-21 project), seeks to prepare the next generation of public information stewards by building on the existing dual degree program offered jointly by UNC-CH's School of Information and Library Science and its School of Government. By developing fellowships, curricula, courses, and experiential components designed specifically for the needs of public sector information professionals, this project provides graduate students interested in public information curation and public policy the skills needed to become leaders in public information curation and public policy administration.