FTRF Announces Conable Conference Scholarship Recipients

Freedom to Read Foundation Announces Two
Conable Conference Scholarship Recipients

Chicago, IL
June 17, 2023

This year the Freedom to Read Foundation will send two scholarship recipients to the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) annual meeting and the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference through the Gordon M. Conable Conference Scholarship. The purpose of the annual scholarship for library school students and new professionals is to advance two principles that Conable held dear: intellectual freedom and mentoring.

After receiving more applications than usual, staff and committee members made the decision to award two scholarships. The 2023 recipients are Paloma Barraza and Pamela Verfaillie. 

Paloma Barraza (she/her/hers) is completing her master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the  University of Arizona iSchool with a focus in academic libraries. She works as a Library Technician at the University of Northern Colorado Libraries as the course reserve specialist and works for High Plains Library District as a bilingual Substitute Librarian. Paloma also has a master’s degree in Art History from the University of New Mexico, where she specialized in colonial and pre-contact art of the Americas. After she graduates she hopes to become a specialized librarian in an academic setting. This is her first time attending the conference, and she hopes to meet academic librarians and others who are working with Latin American collections as well as accessibility for patrons. 

Pamela Verfaillie is the library associate at Valdez High School in Valdez, Alaska. She is past-president of the Alaska Association of School Librarians, and is currently studying to earn her MLIS at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. She has an undergraduate degree in political science from Bates College (ME) and a certificate in Information and Library Science from the University of Maine at Augusta. Her interest in intellectual freedom stems from watching friends and colleagues facing coordinated efforts to remove books from school libraries and seeing school districts set aside existing policies when confronted by these tactics. Mrs. Verfaillie believes that librarians and other educators need to work together to effectively support each other, educate school and city administrations regarding appropriate policies and procedures, prevent censorship, and ensure that the views of one individual or group does not restrict other patrons' freedom to read.

The annual scholarship provides for conference registration, transportation, housing (six nights), and a stipend for meals and other expenses and is available to students currently enrolled in an ALA-accredited library and information studies degree program or an AASL-recognized master’s programs in school librarianship and new professionals (those who are three or fewer years removed from receiving an LIS degree). To learn more about the scholarship, visit Conable Conference Scholarship - Freedom to Read Foundation (ftrf.org). 

The Freedom to Read Foundation is a non-profit legal and educational organization dedicated to protecting and defending each person’s First Amendment right to read. Since 1969 FTRF trustees, staff, and members have worked to protect First Amendment rights through education, litigation, and advocacy. Visit Freedom to Read Foundation (ftrf.org) or contact ftrf@ala.org to learn more.