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LAWRENCE — Researchers from throughout the United States and overseas are invited to use for a 2026 Spencer Research Library travel grant, designed to help in-depth analysis utilizing the library’s collections and facilitate direct entry to curator and librarian experience. The online application is open till Jan. 4, 2026, with candidates notified by Feb. 20. 

“These travel awards enable folks who live too far away to easily visit our reading room to immerse themselves in our collections in a way that enriches and informs their projects far beyond what is possible remotely,” stated Beth Whittaker, director of Kenneth Spencer Research Library and affiliate dean for distinctive collections. “They also help fellow scholars who might be working on similar projects to be aware of the incomparable materials we hold here in Lawrence.”  

The three journey grants, every with a most of $1,500, could also be used for airfare, lodging or different bills incurred whereas touring to Spencer Library. Faculty, undergraduates, graduate college students or unbiased researchers dwelling outdoors a 100-mile radius from Lawrence, Kansas, might apply. The grants embody a common collections journey award, in addition to awards centered on Spencer Library’s African American Experience collections and Polish collections. 

“Every year, we have been able to bring in a wide range of scholars to explore our collections through the generosity of our supporters,” Whittaker stated. “Passionate donors have supported this kind of work, and it is very much appreciated by both the recipients and our own team.” 

Spencer Library Special Collections Curator Elspeth Healy stated the journey awards present a possibility for in-depth collaboration, which has confirmed priceless for each visiting researchers and the library. 

“Visiting scholars are often experts on the material they are here to see, so we at Spencer benefit immensely from the specialized knowledge they possess about the items in our collections,” Healey stated. “At the same time, our curators’ knowledge of the broader Spencer collections means that we are often able to alert the visiting scholars to related materials that are relevant to their research, but which they might not have considered without the more sustained conversational back-and-forth that the travel awards permit.” 

The reference to considered one of final 12 months’s journey award recipients, unbiased researcher Georgi Parpulov, was extremely priceless to Spencer and to the discoverability of Spencer’s medieval Greek manuscripts, stated Eve Wolynes, particular collections curator.  

“Dr. Parpulov added extensive bibliographic information about our materials, which he made publicly available, including identifying dates, authors, content and specific manuscripts from which our manuscripts were actually copied — also noting other parts of an original codex from which a fragment had been separated,” Wolynes stated. “His work will make our materials more discoverable and usable by future scholars, and I’ve been very excited to bring these materials to the attention of local faculty and even in some classes as well.” 

A full listing of earlier awardees and extra details about the grants is out there on the Spencer Library website.