ALA To Receive $25M Bequest for Library School Scholarships

On December 9, the American Library Association (ALA) announced that it will receive an approximately $25 million bequest from James W. Lewis, senior vice president and senior relationship manager of the Lewis Group, an investment company within the Washington, DC, office of Merrill Lynch, to fund library school scholarships for students with demonstrated financial needs. The bequest is the largest in ALA’s history.

James Lewis head shot
James W. Lewis

On December 9, the American Library Association (ALA) announced that it will receive an approximately $25 million bequest from James W. Lewis, senior vice president and senior relationship manager of the Lewis Group, an investment company within the Washington, DC, office of Merrill Lynch, to fund library school scholarships for students with demonstrated financial needs. The bequest is the largest in ALA’s history.

The gift will honor Lewis’s parents, J. Vance and Blanche B. Lewis, who inspired his lifelong regard for education and commitment to libraries. He first visited the public library in New Bern, NC, as a preschooler, and served on the Library Board of Visitors at his alma mater, Wake Forest University, in Salem, NC. Lewis went on to serve for 10 years on the Board of Trustees at the District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL).

Years ago, Lewis told LJ, he read that philanthropy has the greatest effect when concentrated, rather than dispersed: “Pick out a cause that you’re really passionate about and donate as much money, time, effort, and energy as you possibly can, rather than diluting your contributions among many well-deserving charitable organizations.”

Lewis took that advice to heart, and has focused on libraries—specifically, future librarians.

As he looked for organizations to administer the scholarship program, Lewis said, he realized that those outside the library field would not have the capacity or knowledge to distribute it appropriately for years to come. After much deliberation, at the suggestion of fellow DCPL board member Robert R. Newlen, interim director of the Congressional Research Service, Lewis turned to ALA, with its demonstrated funding capabilities and in-depth knowledge of MLIS students’ needs.

“This incredibly generous gift will transform our ability to provide scholarships to people who are interested in entering the field, and in particular to people who otherwise might not have the resources or means to pay for a library education,” said ALA Interim Executive Director Leslie Burger.

Upon Lewis’s death, his assets—which include the sale of investment properties and land—will be transferred to ALA to fund needs-based scholarships for Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) students across the country. While the liquidation itself will take several years, knowing about the gift well in advance will give ALA the opportunity to begin setting up and advertising the scholarship program and determining how the application process will work, and to roll it out quickly once the funding becomes available. The ALA Development Office will wait until the funds are in place to begin advertising the scholarships. As the monies are received, said Burger, they will be invested in an endowment fund to generate income each year.

The Lewis scholarship will augment programs such as ALA’s Spectrum Scholarships, which work to increase diversity in the field but are not entirely needs-based. A full scholarship will allow students who might otherwise need to earn a degree part-time while working the opportunity to immerse themselves in a full-time librarianship program, Burger told LJ . “This gives an opportunity for people who may have financial restrictions to look at library education in a different way.”

“I feel very strongly that libraries are the most democratic of public institutions,” said Lewis. “In the public library system in Washington, and I’m sure elsewhere, no matter which neighborhood library you walk into, you’re welcome. I just think it’s a wonderful thing that everybody can benefit from a public library.”

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Lisa Peet

lpeet@mediasourceinc.com

Lisa Peet is Executive Editor for Library Journal.

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