The Nancy Doutt and Friends of the Library Scholarship honors the Friends of the Library for their continuous work on behalf of the Library, and Nancy Doutt for her many years as organizer of the bi-annual Book Sales. These community events have been instrumental in providing monetary support for the Library’s vision of increasing community access to lifelong learning, removing obstacles to education, and building connections across the community. This Scholarship continues that vision.

Download a PDF of the guidelines here.

Guidelines for the two $1,500.00 scholarships are as follows:

Eligibility:
• The successful applicant will be entering as a first-year student at a college, university, institute, vocational or trade school, to begin a post-secondary course of study in the fall of 2024.
• In keeping with the library’s mission of removing obstacles to education, the successful applicant must demonstrate financial need.
• The applicant must have a minimum GPA of 3.0.
• The applicant must reside within the service area of the Southeast Steuben County Library.  This area includes the City of Corning, the Town of Corning, Hornby, Lindley, Erwin/Painted Post, Caton, and Campbell.  This area encompasses the Corning-Painted Post School District and any private schools or home-schooled students within these 7 municipalities
• The applicant may not be a dependent of a member of the Board of Trustees of the Southeast Steuben County Library.

Requirements:

Applications must include:
• A completed online Application form (below).
• An online essay of 250-300 words of which the topic is: “What do you consider the role of libraries in 21st century communities?” We recommend that you write the essay in another program, and then paste it into the space in the application.
• One Letter of Recommendation from someone familiar with your academic goals and aspirations. This person cannot be a family member. The candidate will submit the person’s name, email and relationship (teacher, coach, clergy, etc.) in their online application. The person writing the recommendation will be emailed a link to an online form for their letter, which they must complete and submit by Friday, May 10, 2024.

Deadline:
• Complete and submit the online Application form, including the Essay, by Friday, May 10, 2024.
• Letters of Recommendation must be received by Friday, May 10, 2024.

Notification:
• Scholarship winners will be notified in writing by Tuesday, May 28, 2024.

Online Scholarship Application