Each year, the Grolier Club Library offers a fellowship in the art and history of the book, named in honor of late Grolier Club benefactor and former president William H. Helfand (1926-2018).
This year, which marks the 20th anniversary of the program, the Club is pleased to re-launch its annual fellowship. Due to the COVID pandemic, the Grolier Club Library paused its Helfand fellowship program from 2020 through 2023. Awards of up to $3,000 are again available for research in the Library’s areas of strength, with emphasis on the private collecting of books and prints, antiquarian bookselling, and the book and graphic arts. Fellowship awards may be used to pay for travel, housing, and other expenses. A research stay of two weeks is desired, and Helfand Fellows are expected to present the results of their research in a public lecture at the Grolier Club, or in an article submitted to the Club’s journal, The Gazette of the Grolier Club.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Members of the Grolier Club are not eligible, nor are students enrolled in undergraduate degree programs, but all other interested persons are encouraged to apply. There is no application form. Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae and a proposal, not to exceed 750 words, stating necessary length of residence, historical materials to be used, relevance of the Grolier Club Library collections to the project, a proposed budget, and two letters of recommendation. More information on the Library and its holdings can be found at www.grolierclub.org, under “Library” in the navigation menu.
The deadline for applications and letters of support is December 29, 2023, and announcement of awards will be made by mid-February, 2024. Research terms can take place any time in the calendar year of 2024, but please note that the Club is closed, and library access is not offered, during the month of August.
Applications should be emailed to Grolier Club Director Eric Holzenberg: ejh@grolierclub.org.
Specific questions about Grolier Club library collections may be addressed to Grolier Club Librarian, Jamie Cumby, jcumby@grolierclub.org.
A list of past Helfand Fellows is available at https://www.grolierclub.org/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=384867&ssid=322488&vnf=1
