The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Fellowship for Digital and Inclusive Excellence Selection Committee has chosen 11 undergraduates from across North America to participate in the 2018–2019 fellowship cohort.

Among those selected is Stephanie Jones, a VCU undergraduate who will work as an ARL Fellow at VCU Libraries. Jones, a graduate of Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies in Richmond, is on schedule to graduate from VCU in 2019 with a major in political science. A dean's list student, she is minoring in African American Studies and Nonprofit Administration and Management. Her passion for history and civil advocacy began early as she acquired more than 200 volunteer hours at the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site and through various community groups that focus on fostering unity and communal power. Her research centers on questions of self-ownership in historical spaces, labor law and identity. During her fellowship, she will work alongside librarians in several departments to develop skills in technology and academic librarianship. VCU librarians will provide professional mentorship.

The ARL Fellowship  program introduces undergraduates from a variety of disciplines to digital stewardship and strives to promote diversification of the research library and archives workforce. Digital stewardship encompasses the care and management of digital information resources over their life cycle, including creation, collection, preservation, access and use. The program  is funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and by ARL member institutions.

"The pool of applicants this year was extremely competitive, and we were very impressed with their quality, the depth of their knowledge and their passion for the library profession,” said Giao Luong Baker, ARL Fellowship for Digital and Inclusive Excellence Selection Committee member and Strategic Digital Initiatives Librarian at USC Libraries. “This was a very inspiring process this year because it really drove home how much student interest in the creation of increasingly diverse digital resources is growing."

The fellowship provides  a paid internship in a partner ARL library or archive, participation by the Fellow in the ARL Annual Leadership Symposium, formal mentorship and oversight by an ARL institution (in this case, VCU Libraries), financial support for student membership in a professional organization, and attendance at a capstone institute.

The 2018–2019 fellows are:

• Stephanie Jones, Virginia Commonwealth University
• Jeremiah Azurin, Harvard University
• Turquoise Baker, Johns Hopkins University
• Tiffany Dinwiddie, Wayne State University
• Marilu Duque, New York University
• Livia Garza, University of Houston
• Jonathan Ji, New York University
• Yvonne Rivas, New York University
• Karla M. Roig Blay, University of Texas at Austin
• Bran Schaffer, Simon Fraser University
• Kaitlin Srader, Washington State University

For more information about the fellowship, see ARL Fellowship for Digital and Inclusive Excellence website.

A version of this article by Mark A. Puente was published on the ARL website July 27, 2018