Fellowships

The Lilly Library is accepting applications for fellowships to support travel during the 2025 calendar year. For all types of funding, the collections of the Lilly Library must be integral to your research. There are four types of funding available:

  • The Everett Helm Visiting Fellowships: Funds research on any topic.
  • The Mendel Visiting Fellowship: Funds projects limited to specific subject areas, see below for details.
  • The Pantzer Visiting Scholar in Descriptive Bibliography: Funds bibliographic research projects, see below for details.
  • The BSI Trust Research Fellowships: Funds research into Sherlockian studies that uses the papers of the Baker Street Irregulars (BSI). This fund is administered by the BSI Trust. See the application information.

If applying for the Helm, Mendel, or Pantzer funding, you may also elect to apply for:

  • The American Trust for the British Library (ATBL) Research Fellowship Program

Timeline

Application deadline: October 31, 2024

Notification to applicants: Before December 1, 2024

Funds must be used by:  December 20, 2025 

The Everett Helm Visiting Fellowships

The Everett Helm Visiting Fellowship program supports research in the collections of the Lilly Library for scholars residing outside the Bloomington area. 

Maximum award: $2500

The Mendel Visiting Fellowships

Established through a bequest by the estate of Johanna Lenz Mendel in 1998, the Mendel Visiting Fellowships are intended to support research in the collections of the Lilly Library by scholars residing outside the Bloomington area in subjects of particular interest to Johanna Lenz Mendel and Bernardo Mendel. These subjects include the history of the Spanish Colonial Empire; Latin American independence movements; European expansion in the Americas; voyages, travels and exploration; geography, navigation and cartography; German literature and history; and music, including sheet music. 

Maximum award: $5000

The Pantzer Visiting Scholar in Descriptive Bibliography

Established through a bequest by the American bibliographer Katharine F. Pantzer, the fellowship supports bibliographical research projects by scholars outside of the Bloomington area for which the Lilly Library collections are essential. Bibliographic projects may cover any time period or format as long as they include analysis of the physical object as historical evidence. Projects may include establishing a text, enumerative bibliography, or studying the history of book or manuscript production, publication, distribution, collecting, reading, or the history of bibliographical study itself.

Maximum award: $2500 

The American Trust for the British Library (ATBL) Research Fellowship Program

Researchers awarded a Lilly Library fellowship, may also choose to be considered for an American Trust for the British Library (ATBL) Research Fellowship to support research at the British Library. If awarded and if you elected to also be considered for an ATBL Research Fellowship, please note that you will be asked to provide a few brief, additional materials to support your application to this additional source of funding. Your application to the Lilly Library will not be impacted by your decision to select or not select this option. See the ATBL web site for lists of past fellows and current competition information. 

How to apply

Candidates are encouraged to inquire about the appropriateness of a proposed topic before applying. Our librarians can help you determine if the Lilly Library holds materials important to your research. Send us a message with your questions.  

There is no special application form. We ask for:  

  1. A research proposal (up to 3 pages in length)
  • emphasize the relationship of the Lilly Library’s collections to the project, 
  • include the length and preferred dates of any visit(s) to the Lilly Library and  
  • include a budget specific to this research proposal which includes travel costs, living and research expenses, and any other source of financial support for this research trip.  
  1. A résumé or curriculum vitae. For graduate students or other researchers whose résumés do not include a list of publications in their fields of research, please send two confidential letters of recommendation. 
  2. Indicate your interest in applying for an ATBL Research Fellowship, if awarded Lilly Library funding. 

Send your application by post or email to:

Director 

The Lilly Library 

Indiana University Libraries 

1200 East Seventh Street 

Bloomington, Indiana 

47405

Email: liblilly @ iu.edu