In 2023, the Ex Libris Association created a bursary for Indigenous students in library and archival studies! The award is made on an annual basis. You can begin your application by registering and applying at this link on the Indspire website for bursaries and scholarships beginning May 1.

With approval from our membership to create the bursary, we now have an agreed-upon set of criteria and processes with our partner, Indspire. Indspire is listed as a very highly rated impact charity by Charity Intelligence.

■ Annual award to an Indigenous student in library or archival studies programs.
■ $2,500 annually for 10 years to be awarded each year

■ Financial need (as identified by Indspire)
■ Academic achievement (as identified by Indspire)
■ The award is open to students in the first or second year of the program in which they are registered.
■ Alternate award to a student in a technician program one year with a graduate program the next year. If there are no qualifying candidates for the program assigned in a particular year, Indspire may recommend awarding a student in one of the other programs.
■ If no candidates in any of the identified programs come forward in a given year, two awards may be given in the following year at the discretion of the ELA Board.

■ Interested Indigenous students must register with Indspire to create an account before completing an application at this link.
■ There is one application for all of Indspire’s bursaries and scholarships. You only need to complete the application once to be considered for all applicable bursaries and scholarships.
■ Deadlines for applications are August 1, November 1, and February 1.
■ Applicants are assessed based on criteria established by Indspire and Ex Libris Association.

■ The Ex Libris Association will receive donations and transfer them to Indspire when our goal has been reached, by or before August 1 each year.
■ Candidate selection and distributing funds will be done by Indspire which has experience in identifying suitable candidates and navigating any problems that may arise (such as an award winner withdrawing from a program).

■ Indspire and the Ex Libris Association will jointly promote the bursary, each organization leveraging its own networks and skillsets.
■ We would like to acknowledge a generous gift of $500 toward the 2024 bursary from Library Bound, Inc. a Canadian wholesale supplier to public libraries.
■ Members and non-members are invited to donate! If you are interested in donating to the bursary, you can contact our Treasurer, Bob Henderson. You can also contact our President, Deb Thomas, if you have questions about any aspect of the bursary.

Ex Libris Association is a registered charity. Donors will receive a charitable tax receipt for contributons to this bursary.

Donate by cheque to
Ex Libris Association
c/o Bob Henderson
66 Walkerton Drive
Markham,ON, L3P 1H8

Donate online using Canada Helps
Click on Canada Helps
Provde your donation amount
Select “Indspire” under the dropdown heading “Apply your donation to a fund set up by this charity”
Continue and complete donation procedure

Donate using e-transfer
Right click and copy this email address
Bob Henderson
Indicate your donation is for the bursary