This page lists the major programs of our 2018–2021 Mellon Foundation grant (“Building Leadership and Capacity for Digital Liberal Arts across AMICAL”), which has been extended to 2023, as well as other initiatives supporting AMICAL’s mission of collaboratively advancing libraries, technology and learning across our member institutions.
The best way to stay informed of latest development and opportunities is to sign up for an AMICAL account, which will you give access to our forum (AMICAL Connect).
If you have questions about any of these activities, contact us.
Table of contents
AMICAL-organised professional development events
AMICAL Conference
Our annual conference on libraries, technology and learning at international American universities, hosted by a different of member institution each year.
Events
All our events, including our in-person workshops and online events. Find out how to propose an online event.
Funding opportunities
These programs may fund activities that support AMICAL’s mission – in particular in the following priority areas: library or technology leadership, information or digital literacies and the digital liberal arts.
Small Grants
Aimed at individuals or small groups at member institutions, the Small Grants program funds training, staff exchanges and projects.
Elisabetta Morani Library Staff Development Grants
Small financial awards for the professional development of library staff at member institutions.
Workshop Grants
Financial support for the organization and delivery of thematic professional development events targeting participation by multiple member institutions.
Other programs or initiatives
Digital Liberal Arts (DLA) Programs
Programs aiming to raise the faculty and staff capacities of member institutions for localized, digital approaches to liberal arts education.
OCLC programs
Membership in the OCLC cooperative & access to core WorldCat-based library services (RESPOND program) and group pricing on other OCLC services.
AMICAL Keeps Current
An event series for discussing a recent publication, selected by a different Committee or Interest Group.
Information literacy
Online events, workshops, surveys, and other projects organized by our Information Literacy Initiatives Committee.
Institutional research & assessment
- Cooperative participation in ECAR (EDUCAUSE) and other surveys related to technology use and information literacy.
- Coordinated studies of library user communities at member institutions, using ethnographic methods, surveys, etc.
- Collection and sharing of institutional research data for benchmarking.
- See our archive of past studies & surveys and library satisfaction surveys.
Licensed resources
The E-Resources Committee negotiates group pricing for members on licensed products that cater to their needs. These products may include full-text collections, bibliographic/factual data, library service technologies, and educational software.
Library Juice Academy partnership
AMICAL has partnered with Library Juice Academy to provide our members with a 20% discount on course registration fees.
Community
In addition to our events, we help bridge AMICAL members across institutional, geographic and professional boundaries through AMICAL Connect, our community forum.
Past projects
Library partnerships in international liberal arts education
A joint project—coordinated by Jeff Gima, AMICAL Director and Kara Malenfant, senior staff member at the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)—to support AMICAL members in sharing, with each other and with colleagues in the U.S., their experiences of library collaboration with faculty and technologists. The project resulted in the publication of a book in April 2020.