Applications are invited for the 2016 Special Collections Centre Visiting Scholar Awards at the Sir Duncan Rice Library, University of Aberdeen. These awards are available to academic researchers wishing to travel to Aberdeen to make use of materials held in the Special Collections Centre. They provide financial support towards the costs of travel and accommodation up to 2,000 to cover expenses incurred over a period of two to four weeks, while pursuing a research project directly relating to the University's collections.

The Special Collections Centre is home to the University's historic collections of books, manuscripts, archives and photographs. Housed in climatically controlled facilities, the holdings comprise over 230,000 rare printed books, and 5,000 archival collections, with material dating as far back as the 3rd century BC. For information about our holdings and facilities please see: www.abdn.ac.uk/library/about/special/

Visiting scholars will be granted access to library facilities at the Sir Duncan Rice Library, including access to the Wolfson Reading Room in the Special Collections Centre. Information on previous award recipients can be found online: www.abdn.ac.uk/library/about/special/visiting-scholar-awards/

Deadline for applications: 1 February 2016

• Value of award: 2,000
• Eligibility: The award will be granted to scholars for a project relating to materials held in the Special Collections Centre. Applicants will be in possession of a PhD but the award is open to researchers at any stage of their academic career. Independent and emeritus scholars may also apply. University of Aberdeen staff may apply on behalf of a visiting scholar, in which case the scholar is to be invited to share research findings through a seminar, lecture or workshop.
• Duration: two to four week period of study to be undertaken any time between 1 April and 20 December 2016.
• Residence: Scholars should normally be resident in the Aberdeen area for the duration of the award.
• Expenses: Funds may be claimed against travel, subsistence and other reasonable research expenses. Scholars will make their own arrangements for travel and accommodation and will be expected to submit receipts in order to claim expenses up to the value of 2,000.
• Schedule: Applications will be peer-reviewed under the supervision of the International Advisory Board of the Aberdeen Humanities Fund. Awards will made by a selection committee composed of Library staff, members of the Humanities Fund Board and representatives of the Friends of Aberdeen University Library. Applicants will be notified of decisions by 29 February 2016.
• Outputs: This award should be acknowledged in any future publications arising from the research undertaken during the time of the award. Visiting scholars will also be expected to provide a short report of their research findings which will be made publicly available on our webpages.

To apply: Please submit a project outline of 500-1,000 words, explaining the scope of the project and the relevance of the University of Aberdeen's library collections to this research, along with a two-page CV.

Enquiries and applications should be sent to: [email protected]

Funded by the Friends of Aberdeen University Library and the Special Collections Centre.