The ATBL’s Transatlantic Fellowship Program supports research projects that make use of collections in any department in the British Library as well as those housed with a partner institution in the United States.
The term “transatlantic” has two meanings in the context of this Fellowship. “Transatlantic” refers both to projects that are “transatlantic” in subject, and to this Fellowship Program’s unique relationship between research collections on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. For the purposes of the ATBL-William L. Clements Library Transatlantic Fellowship Program, it is important that applicants consider both their topic’s fit within the parameters of transatlantic subject matter, and their demonstrated equal use of the collections at both the British Library and at the William L. Clements Library.
The Program especially targets graduate students, recent PhDs, early career scholars, adjunct faculty, independent scholars, librarians, or curatorial staff who otherwise do not have access to departmental research funds.
The 2024–2025 ATBL and the William L. Clements Library Transatlantic Fellowship Program
This 2024–2025 Transatlantic Fellowship is designed to support at least four weeks of research between both the British Library and the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan, with at least one week of research time at each institution. A projected schedule of study will be outlined as part of the Fellowship application. The successful applicant, hailing from any academic discipline, will propose a research project that makes equal use of primary source material found in any collection of the British Library as well as in the William L. Clements Library and that constitutes a project addressing a transatlantic subject.
For the Transatlantic Fellowship Program, collections intended for consultation should be those not currently digitized by either organization, thereby requiring the applicant’s in-person use of the holdings. We appreciate that some projects concerned with object materiality may require in-person consultation of holdings currently digitized. In this instance, we ask applicants to explain the need to conduct on-site research using already digitized resources in their research proposal.
Applicants may wish to reach out to reference and research staff at both the British Library and at the William L. Clements Library prior to application to determine the feasibility of proposed collection access. For subject area expertise inquiries at the British Library, please consult the Library’s expertise page. For general field inquiries at the British Library, please consult the Library’s reference contact information. For inquiries regarding the William L. Clements Library’s collections, please reach out to Maggie Vanderford at mhappe@umich.edu.
The amount of the Fellowship will be $5,000 USD and will be awarded by the ATBL following the successful Fellow’s confirmation of research appointments at both the British Library, and at the American institution. The Fellowship is open to graduate students at a doctoral level or post-doctoral or equivalent experience applicants 18 years or older, resident in the US or abroad.
In addition to the $5,000 USD award, the Fellow will join the ATBL as a complimentary one-year Library Fellow and will receive a membership in the Modern Language Association (MLA) for the calendar year following completion of the Fellowship Program.
Fellows will be required to produce a brief written report (750 words) at the conclusion of the research period, geared towards a general knowledge audience, that will be published and promoted on the ATBL’s website and shared with the Houghton Library. Throughout the Fellow’s term, the Fellow will be invited to present on their work at public opportunities, should they become available, including at the ATBL’s Annual General Meeting. Fellows may also be asked if they wish to provide additional multi-media content (i.e., brief interviews or short summary copy) for the ATBL website and for newsletter publications, though participation in any or all of the above presentation opportunities is not a condition of Fellowship acceptance. Partner organizations may, at their discretion, provide other opportunities for Fellows to participate in the life of the organization or showcase the Fellow’s work.
The Fellowship is open to graduate students at a doctoral level or post-doctoral or equivalent experience applicants 18 years or older, resident in the US or abroad. Fellowships will not be open to students or faculty at the University of Michigan.
The American Trust for the British Library and its Transatlantic Fellowship Partner Organizations do not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, height, weight, physical or mental ability, veteran status, military obligations, and marital status when considering Fellowship applicants. Any demographic information related to the above may be voluntarily provided by the Fellowship applicant on the online application form, but this information will be collected solely for internal recordkeeping and will neither be available or accessible to the review committees of the American Trust for the British Library and Partner Organizations, nor be considered in relation to the applicant’s submitted materials as part of their formal Fellowship application.
The review committees of both the American Trust for the British Library and the William L. Clements Library will abide by a conflicts of interest policy which recuses review committee members from evaluating candidates with whom members directly work or share current institutional affiliations, or of whom members have direct and personal knowledge. All applications will be assessed in relation to the applicant’s demonstrated connections between the proposed research topic and the collections to be consulted at both the British Library and the William L. Clements Library according to the criteria specified by each individual Fellowship Program.
How to Apply
Applicants should apply via the application portal (accessed via button below) and by emailing noted application materials to fellowships@atbl.us (see instructions below).
All applications must include the following:
- Cover letter.
- Curriculum vitae.
- Research Proposal of 1,000 – 1,200 words. Research proposals must indicate the collections at both the British Library and the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan to be consulted and must indicate that their research question is transatlantic in subject.
- Two confidential academic letters of recommendation, emailed directly to fellowships@atbl.us, that speak specifically to the import and significance of the research project proposed in relation to the respective institutional collections. Applicants may use digital dossier services (such as Interfolio, ChronicleVitae, or others) to submit letters of recommendation if desired. Recommenders or dossier submissions MUST include the name of the applicant in the subject line of their email.
- Proposed research schedule.
- List of materials to be consulted both at the British Library and at the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan.
Except for the letters of recommendation, the potential Fellow must upload all application materials to the application portal as ONE pdf file.
- The Fellow’s application PDF should be entitled as follows: [FIRST INITIAL][LAST NAME]_ATBL2024
- The email subject line should be ATBL_Clements_2024.
- The deadline for submission of a completed application is January 15, 2024.
- Incomplete applications will not be considered for the Fellowship.
The review of applications will be conducted jointly by the ATBL and the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan.
Notification of award will be emailed by mid-April 2024.
The Fellow will be responsible for securing housing as well as for coordinating the research visits with both the British Library and the William L. Clements Library.
Research must be completed at both organizations within one calendar year of the date of receipt of Fellowship funds.