The fellowship will be awarded to a female librarian or female student of librarianship for an outstanding original paper of no more than 5000 words on any aspect of librarianship. The fellowship is named in honour of the late Jean Fleming Arnot, MBE, FLAA, a former staff member of the State Library of New South Wales, who retired as head cataloguer in 1968 after a distinguished career of over 47 years of service. Miss Arnot was active in women's organisations and a pioneer in the campaign for equal pay for women.
The Jean Arnot Memorial Fellowship is funded by a generous donation from the National Council of Women of New South Wales and the Australian Federation of Business and Professional Women's Associations to commemorate Miss Arnot and her achievements.