IUB-Carla Funk Health Information Sciences Library Scholarship

The Carla J. Funk Health Sciences Fellowship is a paid, one-semester opportunity ($4,500) with the IU Bloomington Libraries’ Sciences Department. The successful candidate will be passionate about the intersection of health disparities and equity of information access and how these may be woven into Interprofessional Practice and Education (IPE) to serve the IU Libraries’ Mission. Junior and Senior level Undergraduates and Graduate Students in IUB Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering degree programs with current or previous course-work and/or projects focused in health-related fields are encouraged to apply.

The goal of the Funk Fellowship is to help support collaborative care with the corresponding schools and departments housed in the Bloomington Regional Academic Health Center (RHAC) through the lens of an academic library.

What is Interprofessional Practice and Education (IPE)? IPE refers to occasions when all learners are systematically prepared to collaborate across professions and with people living in communities to improve population and individual health outcomes through high-quality interprofessional care. (IU IPE updated curriculum). The involved people include: health professionals, health workers, students, residents, patients, families and communities. IPE ensures that these folks learn together every day to enhance collaboration and improve health outcomes while reducing costs. (About NEXUS IPE).

What is the Bloomington Health Sciences Building? The IUB Health Sciences Building is attached to the new IU Health Bloomington Hospital and houses many health science disciplines, including: Nursing, Social Work, Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences, and the Bloomington Program of the Medical School. Within the RHAC, the Health Sciences Research Center is a new space managed by the IU Libraries Sciences Department and will serve as the hub for meeting with students, faculty, and staff in these disciplines.

Fellowship Details
Compensation: $4,500 to be paid during the Spring 2027 semester.

Position description: Fellowship recipient agrees to work 180 hours (approximately 12 hours/week) during the Spring 2027 semester: January 12-May 8, 2027.

This work involves:

• Shadowing the Health Sciences Librarian, Amy Minix, in the IU Libraries Research Center Office in the Health Sciences Building (4-6 hours/week; 45/46 Bypass in Bloomington) during the Spring 2025 semester.
• This time will primarily be used as a learning experience to discuss and plan the proposed project. Some time will be spent assisting with library services as needed (research consultations, small projects, etc.)
• Self-directed tasks that build on the student’s project.
• Completing a written reflection on the Fellowship and project experience to the Libraries’ Sciences Department at the end of the semester.

We currently anticipate these activities to be conducted in person, but we are monitoring the health and safety of our staff and will change direction as appropriate and in concert with the IU administration.

We are providing citations that speak to these concerns in a Zotero Bibliography: https://www.zotero.org/groups/2802399/ipe_iubloomington. Applicants are encouraged to consider these sources.

Qualifications

• Junior or Senior Undergraduate status OR Graduate Student status in degree programs in the IU Bloomington Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering.
• Strong interest in pursuing professional or research opportunities in health sciences information-intensive field(s).
• Receptive to learn and participate in a collaborative, team-based environment.
• Ability to prioritize tasks based on time sensitivity.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills.
• Demonstrated interest to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DEISJ). For context, academic libraries have expressed their commitment through statements like the following: Medical Library Association Core Values, and the Association of College & Research Libraries Diversity Alliance Program Principles, of which IU Libraries is a member.