CFP: Travel to Collections at University of Florida

Travel grants of up to $2500 will be awarded to undertake research activities in Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024.

Proposals are due on Monday, May 1, 2023. Submissions should be directed to the SASC Travel to Collections Grant Committee at lib-sasctravel@uflib.ufl.edu. Awardees will be notified of the outcome of the proposal review process by Thursday, June 1, 2023.

Proposals that include interdisciplinary research, the use of more than one collection, the use of holdings related to understudied people and topics, and a tangible outcome for an audience (academic or public scholarship) will be prioritized during the review of applications. Preference will also be given to researchers who must travel 100 miles or farther.

Grants must be used for onsite research and are available in any of the department’s collections (https://sasc.uflib.ufl.edu/our-collections/collections-a-z/). In addition to these general funds, dedicated funding is available for research on the following topics:

• Jewish culture, life, and religion in Florida, Latin America, and/or the Caribbean;
• African American experience and history;
• The Panama Canal, the Canal Zone, and the Republic of Panama;
• History of science, biomedicine and the humanities, and intellectual property.

Through separate applications, the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature also offers the Louise Seaman Bechtel Visiting Professorship Travel Grants, and the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History offers the Chase Family Award for Visiting Graduate Scholars. More information about these two awards and their applications can be found at https://sasc.uflib.ufl.edu/research-teaching/travel-grants/.

Guidelines

You are strongly encouraged to discuss your intended project with the relevant curator(s) before submitting your application. Contact information for the collections’ curators is available on the SASC website (https://sasc.uflib.ufl.edu/about-us/faculty_staff/). The dates of the research trip should be coordinated with appropriate curatorial staff. Research may be conducted between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024.

Each awardee is required to submit a brief report (~500 words) describing their research visit by the end of the award cycle (June 30, 2024). This statement may be used for promotions related to the collections. Each award is distributed after the report about their research visit and payment paperwork have been submitted.

Please direct submissions to the SASC Travel to Collections Grant Committee at lib-sasctravel@uflib.ufl.edu. Submissions must include:

• A cover sheet with applicant’s name, institution and rank (if applicable), postal address, telephone number, email address, and a one-sentence statement affirming applicant’s commitment to submit a report at the end of the travel cycle, with permission to publish or use the report in promotions;
• Title and description of your proposed research project (~500 words), with identification of relevant collection(s) and materials to be consulted;
• Two-sentence abstract of proposed project and tentative dates of your proposed research visit;
• Budget estimate for travel, lodging, and other expenses during your research visit;
• Two-page CV or resume.

If you have questions about the suitability of your proposal for a specific collection, please contact the curator of that collection. If you have questions about the grants or application process in general, please contact Ramona Caponegro, committee chair, at lib-sasctravel@uflib.ufl.edu or 352-273-2623.