Applications for the Ian Ledsham Bursary to attend IAML 2025 in Salzburg are now open. More information below.
The Trust has a regular programme of allocating grants in support of course attendance with a preference for supporting those who have been unable to receive financial support from elsewhere. Please note that applications for funding assistance with general undergraduate and postgraduate studies will not be considered.
Reports from recipients of awards in 2024 can be read in our Annual Bursaries Report for 2024.
“I left the conference feeling inspired and invigorated (which may already have been deduced from the number of superlatives I’ve used in my report)” - Emily Peart, 2024 ASW attendee, supported by Stainer & Bell and the Music Libraries Trust.
The Trust regularly provides bursaries for attendance at IAML and IAML (UK & Irl) events. Applications for bursaries for other events may be considered, but in these cases applicants in the first instance should contact the Bursaries Administrator.
SponSorship
We are as ever very grateful for the invaluable support of our sponsors, most recently to Stainer & Bell, for providing financial support for a full registration at the IAML (UK & Irl) Annual Study Weekend in April 2024.
Other recent sponsors include Oxford University Press, Academic Rights Press, Cramer Music, the Music Sales Charitable Trust and the Staypar Charitable Trust.
Bursary application procedure
To apply for a bursary, please download and complete our funding application form (web version or print version), and send it to the Bursaries Administrator. Do feel free to contact the Bursaries Administrator with any questions.
The IAN LEDSHAM Bursary for IAML International Conferences
The Ian Ledsham Bursary Fund exists to honour the memory of Ian Ledsham, a long-standing and much respected member of the UK & Ireland Branch of IAML, who died in September 2005. The fund offers financial support to IAML (UK & Irl) branch members* who wish to attend IAML's international conferences. Ian very much appreciated the opportunities provided by attendance at these conferences.
This year, IAML 2025 will be held in Salzburg, Austria, from the 6th to the 11th of July. Visit the congress website for more information. The award this year will be £400, covering registration (c. £270-£335) and some travel expenses up to the maximum amount. The successful candidate will be required to write a 1,000-word report about attending the conference that will be published on relevant IAML and MLT websites.
The funding application form can be found above.
The deadline for submitting applications is Sunday the 11th of May. To apply, please fill out the form and email it, with any other supporting documents, to the Bursaries Administrator, Richard Douglas, at bursaries@musiclibrariestrust.org.
*A portion of the awarded funds may be used to contribute to the first year of membership for new IAML (UK & Irl) members. Please contact the Bursaries Administrator for more information.
Music Libraries Trust bursaries for courses and IAML study weekends
In 2025, the IAML (UK & Irl) Annual Study Weekend is taking place online, free of charge. Bursaries for the 2026 Annual Study Weekend will be announced in late 2025.
The Trust is pleased to award a number of bursaries annually to allow students and library staff to attend IAML (UK & Irl) Annual Study Weekends (ASWs).
Full and part bursaries are offered, including some travel expenses. Priority is given to those who would otherwise be unable to attend and who have no other sources of funding, but all are encouraged to apply. Applicants are advised not to make travel arrangements until the outcome of their application is decided.
Successful candidates are expected to write a 1000-word report of attending the weekend, to be sent to the Bursaries Administrator. The Executive Committee of IAML (UK & Irl) reserves the right to publish all or part of the report on the branch blog.
The MLT (with support from its sponsors) awarded several bursaries to enable winners to attend the last IAML (UK & Irl) Annual Study Weekend held in April 2024 in Leeds.
Reports from previous years: