KU Libraries Sprints Week, research and teaching collaboration open for 2024 applications

Wendy Conover

Faculty and academic staff of the University of Kansas are encouraged to submit applications for Sprints Week 2024, a five-day intensive collaboration with KU Libraries that enriches research and teaching projects and provides financial support for selected participants. Applications are open now through March 3, with all applicants notified by March 25.  

Sprints Week activities, to take place May 13-17, will pair selected faculty and staff with a customized team of librarian experts to find solutions to research or pedagogical challenges, producing a tangible outcome or product during the spring-summer intercession. Selected participants receive a $1,000 stipend.

Areli Marina in a working session with librarians during Sprints Week.  

Last year, KU Libraries selected two Sprints participants: Areli Marina, associate professor of art history, and Sam Yates Meier, multi-term lecturer in visual communications. Marina’s project focused on organizing a large and multi-format data set to solidify and illustrate research findings, while Meier’s project centered around redesigning a course syllabus and assignments.  

Before participating in Sprints Week, Marina had almost given up trying to wrangle the sprawling, multi-format data set that was stalling the momentum of her project. Over a decade of research, she had amassed thousands of photos, many notebooks teeming with handwritten field notes, and an expansive bibliographic archive. She was teamed with three KU librarians and the library’s geographic information systems analyst who brainstormed solutions and ultimately helped her structure the information effectively.  

“[KU Libraries] have changed my life in five short days,” Marina said during a presentation of her project on the last day of Sprints Week 2023. “That is astonishing.”  

“Sprints projects come from a wide variety of disciplines and research and teaching projects, while consistently providing a unique opportunity for dedicated and focused time to work with a libraries team with wide and deep expertise to significantly advance challenging work,” said Michael Peper, Head of the Center for Faculty & Staff Initiatives and Engagement with KU Libraries. 

Full information and a timeline are available on the KU Libraries website. Interested applicants are invited to an information session on Wednesday, February 14, from 3-4 p.m. in Watson Library, room 455. Members of the selection committee and previous Sprints winners will be available to discuss the application process and explore project ideas. Email sprints@ku.edu for questions or to connect with the resources and librarian expertise applied to Sprints projects, available year-round.