Professional Development Grant
Professional Development Grant News
About the Professional Development Grant
The VRA Professional Development Grant awards up to $2,000 to support professional development in the field of visual resources and cultural heritage information management. The grant can be used to participate in a professional development opportunity of the grantee’s choosing (e.g., a conference, symposium, or workshop), or to enroll in relevant research activities (e.g., hands-on field work or a site visit for scholarly purposes). Priority will be given to applications that
enable a leadership role at an event, including, but not limited to, giving a paper, teaching a workshop, or chairing a committee;
support research that shows promise to lead to publication and contributes to the visual resources and cultural heritage information management community; and
provide evidence that receiving the grant will benefit the applicant as well as an institution, community, or region.
Who May Apply
Applicants should have a professional interest in visual resources and cultural heritage information management, and may include retirees, the currently unemployed, or students seeking educational and training opportunities in support of broad access to cultural information. Membership in the Visual Resources Association is not required. Former recipients of the Professional Development Grant are not eligible for a period of two years following their most recent award. Other applications for funding for the same professional development event must be disclosed.
The VRA has United States Internal Revenue Service status as a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity. All elements of proposed professional development must be performed within the legal parameters of United States local, regional, and federal government requirements. International applications are welcome provided individuals have a similar non-profit, educational purpose.
Grant Description
The professional development event must be completed within one year from the time the grant is formally accepted. A report, including a financial statement, on how the funds contributed to the recipient’s professional development is due within one month of the event’s completion. Failure to complete the proposed professional development event may result in the grantee returning the funds.
Grant monies may not be used to cover indirect costs and generally do not fund the purchase of office and other/related equipment. Grant monies may be used for:
Transportation costs to and from the event venue
Registration fees and tuition
Required course materials
Lodging
Meals – including meals in transit to and from the event
Research expenses
Other appropriate expenses (as approved by VRA)
Grant recipients also agree to all of the following:
The activities for which the grant is sought will be carried out by the applicant.
The funds granted will be spent solely for described professional development.
No professional development changes will be made without consulting the VRA.
A final report outlining the use of the grant (including financial accounting) will be completed and provided to the VRA.
In all publicity, press releases, and programs, the grant will be credited to the VRA.
How to Apply
To apply for the grant, please provide the following information in the order listed. Applicants that have distinct, non-related professional development proposals must fill out separate applications. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Primary Contact Information
Please include your first and last name, mailing address, email address, and phone number.
Resume/Curriculum Vitae
Please include your current resume or curriculum vitae.
Professional Development Proposal
Provide a brief description of the professional development event you are seeking funding for.
Describe the outcomes of the professional development event and how it will benefit your professional growth.
Describe any potential contributions the professional development event may allow you to make beyond your own professional development.
Outline the expected timeline for the professional development event.
Professional Development Budget
Provide a comprehensive budget and breakdown of any proposed registration, travel, lodging, meal, and other expenses.
Please explain any estimated costs (e.g., “my lodging costs reflect an estimate for a shared room based on current rates”) and include supporting screenshots, if applicable. If your institution requires you to use a specific airline, or has set a corporate airfare rate, please note this too.
List other funding support you will receive or are applying for, such as from your home institution, or other grants and awards.
Additional Information
Please include any additional information that will assist us in evaluating your application. Statements of financial need will be strongly considered.
Please combine your application materials into a single PDF file. Spreadsheets may be submitted as separate files if needed. Email applications to grants@vraweb.org with the subject line “2025-2026 VRA Professional Development Grant Application.” Applications will be accepted February 3rd—March 14th, 2025.
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2024-2025
Jung Soo Bae, Electronic Resources Librarian & Metadata Specialist at the National Gallery of Art Library, attended the 10th International Conference of Art Libraries. Soo presented her project titled "An Experiment with ChatGPT to Expedite Subject Cataloging for Electronic Art Publications," which introduced foundational concepts of AI and explored the advantages and challenges associated with AI-driven subject cataloging.
2022-2023
Yolanda Bustos, Museum Archivist and Library Resources Manager at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, used professional development funding to attend a Grant Writing course and a XML for Libraries course from Library Juice Academy as well as a two-month course, Taxonomies and Controlled Vocabularies, taught by Heather Heden.
Fall 2021
Sureshkrishnan R, MLIS, is continuing his studies at the Indira Gandhi National Open University. He used the grant funds to attend a three day workshop on “Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning” through INFLIBNET in Gandhinagar, India.
Spring 2021
Brian Watson, Doctoral Student at the University of British Columbia’s School of Information, used grant funds towards a Certificate in XML and RDF from the Library Juice Academy. These languages are necessary to build compatibility between Homosaurus—an international, community-maintained LGBTQ linked data vocabulary system intended to function as a companion to broad subject term vocabularies, such as the Getty or LCSH—and other major thesauri used in GLAMS cataloguing. After completing the certificate, Brian will work to complete mapping of Homosaurus to LCSH and Getty, as well as expand the number of terms in Homosaurus specifically connected to visual resource description. This work would allow the vocabularies used in the GLAMS sector to more ethically and inclusively represent intersectionality in their holdings, which would have the additional benefit of making intersectional identities more visible within cultural heritage institutions.
Spring 2021
Steffi Terasaki, Curatorial Assistant/Assistant Registrar at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, wishes to gain a foundational knowledge in digital visual resource management, including born digital material; become an active participant in the museum and archives community around digital asset management in order to learn from/collaborate with her colleagues; and gain hands-on experience with managing a project through workshops. To accomplish these goals, Steffi used the grant funds to attend: the Society of American Archivists Basics of Managing Digital Collections Online course, the 2021 Visual Resource Association conference, and the Summer Educational Institute for Digital Stewardship of Visual Information.
Fall 2020
Ashlea Green, Metadata and Cataloging Librarian for Appalachian State University, a branch of the University of North Carolina system, attended the Wikidata Institute November 2020
John Burns, Electronic Resources Librarian for Dixie State University, spoke at and attended the 2021 VRA Annual virtualChicago Conference.
Spring 2020
Meghan Lyon, a MSLIS Student Graduate Assistant at the Pratt School of Information’s Semantic Lab and a NYARC Web Archiving Fellow at the Frick Art Reference Library, co-presented at a session, “Digital Access and preservation in Artists’ Archives: Challenges, Strategies, and Solutions” during the 2020 Society for American Archivists (SAA) National Conference.
2019
Malkia Okech, Augmented Reality Developer for the Penn & Slavery Project, Penn Libraries Digital Scholarship, UPENN, Philadelphia, PA, participated in a four-day workshop with African Digital Heritage in Nairobi and Kisumu, Kenya, Africa.
Claudy Op den Kamp, Senior Lecturer in Film at the Faculty Member Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management, Bournemouth University, attended the Visual Resources Association Conference in Los Angeles, CA.
2018
Karly Wildenhaus, Research Assistant, Getty Research Institute
Attended Museum Computer Network Conference in Denver
2017
Sali Underwood, Curator of Natural History, Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas
Attended Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections in Denver
2016
Audrey Sage Lorberfeld, Account Manager, SocialCode
Attended Library and Information Technology Forum, Fort Worth, TX
Chris Strasbaugh, Digital Resource Archivist and Curator, Knowlton School, The Ohio State University
Attended 2+3D Photography — Practice and Prophesies at Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
2015
Lauren Paustian, Associate Librarian, Leo Baeck Institute
Lauren used the grant to attend the 2016 ARLIS/NA-VRA Joint Conference
Kanako Iwase, Visual Resources Librarian, University of Hawaii, Manoa
Kanako used the grant to attend the 2016 ARLIS/NA-VRA Joint Conference
2014
Courtney Baron, Visual Resources Curator, Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA.
Attended and participated at the 2015 Visual Resources Association Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado.
Mark Pompelia, Visual + Material Resource Librarian, Fleet Library, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI.
Supported his participation at the October 2014 conference of the Art Libraries Society of Australia and New Zealand in Auckland, NZ.
2013
Sara Piasecki, Photo Archivist, Bob and Evangeline Atwood Alaska Resource Center, Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, Anchorage, Alaska
Attended Gawain Weaver’s course, Care and Identification of Photographs in Los Angeles, CA.
Vicky Brown, Curator of the Visual Resources Centre in the History of Art Department, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Attended the 2014 Visual Resources Association Annual Meeting in Milwaukee, WI.
2012
Heather Lowe, Visual Resources Specialist for the Department of Art, Cal State San Bernardino
Attended the 2013 Visual Resources Association Annual Meeting in Providence, RI.
Anne Young, Manager of Rights and Reproductions for the Indianapolis Museum of Art
Anne attended the 2013 American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education (ALI CLE) Legal Issues in Museum Administration course. Her attendance was crucial in the production of Rights & Reproductions: The Handbook for Cultural Institutions, an indispensable resource. About the grant, Anne wrote, “The Grant funded a portion of my course tuition and associated travel costs to attend the program. It is my belief that this Grant was also a contributing factor to my receiving a partial-scholarship, half of the course tuition, from ALI CLE that further supported my attendance… Without my attendance at ALI CLE’s LIMA and the VRAF’s Grant support, I would not have been able to make the vital connections to make the Handbook contributors and legal review panelists as robust as they are today.” The Handbook is now available and can be downloaded from the American Alliance of Museums website.
2011
Amy Bowman, Photographs Archivist, Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.
Attended Gawain Weaver’s “Care and Identification of Photographs” workshop
Karen Kessel, Visual Resources Specialist, Sonoma State University
Attended the 2012 VRA Conference and present a workshop on cataloging images of the Art of the Americas
2010
Carrie Salazar, Art Institute of Boston
Attended the 2010 ACRL Conference
2009
Natalie Milbrodt, Queen’s College Library Studies Program
Attended the 2010 VRA Conference in Atlanta, GA