1. a) A grant will be awarded to up to 15 applicants per calendar year who:

2. 1) possess the best academic performance as indicated by:

   1. A) grade point average, in comparison to the other applicants and to the applicant's peers in his or her undergraduate school;
   2. B) the personal interview by the State Library staff and the Illinois State Library Scholarship Grant Program Committee appointed by the Director of the Illinois State Library;
   3. C) whether the answer to the essay question on the application form shows the applicant to be a person genuinely interested in becoming a librarian in Illinois (for example, by identifying their personal goals and by demonstrating their intellectual curiosity, initiative, leadership ability, flexibility, punctuality, dependability, creativity and resourcefulness);
   4. 2) participated in extracurricular activities in college that show the applicant to be a student with interests that can contribute to his or her success as a librarian;
   5. 3) produce personal references that recommend the applicant for the grant;
   6. 4) exhibit positive attitude and demeanor toward his or her work, indicating that the applicant will work well in the library community; and
   7. 5) are likely to succeed academically in the master of library and information science program based upon past academic and extracurricular performance.
3. b) Only applications postmarked by May 1 of each calendar year will be considered.
4. c) The successful grant applicants will be notified by August 1 of each calendar year.
5. d) The final decision regarding each applicant will be made by the Director of the State Library.
6. e) Grant applications are subject to the conditions stipulated in Section 3035.135 of this Part.

(Source: Amended at 36 Ill. Reg. 12385, effective July 18, 2012)