The American Library Association and EBSCO are partnering to offer five scholarships for librarians to attend the 2012 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas. The meeting takes place Jan. 20 - 24, 2012, and offers an opportunity for continuing education, meetings and interaction with colleagues.

Each EBSCO scholarship will be in the amount of $1,500, and one of the five scholarships will be awarded to a first-time conference attendee. The scholarship money is to be used for conference registration, travel and expenses.

Deadline for entry is Nov. 1; scholarship recipients will be notified no later than Dec. 12. To apply, candidates must complete the application criteria and submit an essay that addresses the following topic: "If you could change anything about your current workplace or job responsibilities, how would you position them to meet future needs?" Essays and applications will be judged by a jury designated by ALA.

If you're a student, you can join HLA and ALA for just $35 from now through Aug. 31, 2012.

To apply for membership, fill out the HLA-ALA joint student membership form and mail or fax it to the ALA Chapter Relations office at 50 E. Huron Street, Chicago, IL, 60611, fax 312-280-4392.

For more information, visit the ALA Student Membership blog.