Diversify or Perish

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Diversify or Perish!

• Minority Recruitment and Retention in Libraries

By Doris Dejwakh
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Reasons for Recruitment

• By 2050 minorities will be the majority.
• They should be represented in staff.
• Minority staff can best choose materials to
  interest new groups.

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As Lakeshia Darby (2005) notes in Abolishing
Stereotypes Recruitment and Retention of
Minorities in the Library Profession,

• When people of color do not see themselves
  represented in libraries, they may not approach
  librarians.
• The library can
• act as a catalyst, bringing ethnic groups
  together.
• provide information and research resources about
  the various ethnic communities.

4
Statistics 12.8 of staff are in a Minority
group

• 5.8 are Asian/Pacific Islander
• 4.5 are African-American
• 2.2 are Hispanic
• .03 Native American/ Alaskan Native
• (Johnson, 2007) Statistics are for ARL member
  libraries.

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General Library Statisticsin U.S. Census 2000

• Out of a total of 109,958
• Credentialed Librarians
• Under 35 12,082 (11)
• 35 - 44 21,106 (19.2)
• 45 54 50,139 (45.6)
• 55 64 21,922 (19.9)
• 65 older 4,710 (4.3)
• Men 19,463 (18)
• Women 90,495 (82)
• (ALA, 2007)

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A Historical Perspective

• Laws passed by Congress 1900 -1950 that
  discriminated against minorities
• Social Security left out farm workers and maids
• New Deal administered by local agencies
• GI Bill few colored colleges

Ira Katznelson
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Issues involved
I want you for my library!

• Recruitment
• Retention
• Advancement

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What is being done on the national level?

• Scholarships -- Spectrum (ALA Office of
  Diversity) Knowledge River (U of A)
• Grants from Federal Institute of Museum and
  Library Sciences
• ALAs five member Associations
• Joint Conference of Librarians of Color

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A L A member associations for minority groups

• American Indian Library Association (AILA)
• Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association
  (APALA)
• Black Caucus of the ALA (BCALA)
• Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA)
• National Association to Promote Library and
  Information Services to Latinos and the
  Spanish-Speaking (REFORMA)

10
Activities on the university level

• Residency and Internship programs 1 2 year
  positions for beginner minority librarians
• Mentoring institutes such as the University of
  Minnesota Institute for Early Career Librarians
  from Groups Underrepresented in the Profession
  
• Week-long forum for leadership development with
  a community of peers to explore practical
  skills in key areas.

Peggy Johnson, Univ. of Minn.
11
UM institute Noteworthy Aspects

• Emphasizes Mentoring
• one-on-one and as a group
• psychosocial and career enhancing aspects
• Group mentoring -- new concept akin to
• learning communities and
• communities of practice
• Participants serve as peer mentors to each
  other, mutually supporting and encouraging each
  other.

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But, these are mostly for retention what about
recruitment?

• What can the individual do?
• Lakeshia Darby lists ten things we can do
• 1) Personal commitment to recruitment and
  diversity
• 2) Positive vision, think creatively to excite
  potential students.
• 3) Reach out, encourage, coach, and counsel
  potential students.
• 4) Support and assist library school students.

Lakeshia Darby
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Encouragement Mentoring

• 5) One-on-one relationships with staffers and
  others, -- encourage them to consider
  librarianship as a career.
• 6) Flexibility for subordinates pursuing the MLS.
  
• 7) First-rate mentoring program at your
  institution.
• 8) Work closely with library school dean and
  staff.
• 9) Branch out to capture the attention of
  potential library school students.
• 10) Recruit actively, not passively.

Key concepts Encouraging, Role
modeling, and Mentoring Also Be
positive creative!
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What about the library as an institution?

• Institutions must change too!
• Carla Stoffle gives us the picture of a
  multicultural organization
• necessary social climate
• valuing and working with diversity.

Library of Philadelphia
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The Multicultural Organization

• Administrators work with staff to define
  diversity and set clear goals
• Program reflects the contributions and interests
  of diverse groups
• Sensitive to possible violation of interests of
  all groups
• Members of diverse groups are full participants,
  especially in decision-making
• Supports efforts to eliminate all forms of social
  oppression

Carla Stoffle, U of A Dean of Libraries
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How to transform a monocultural organization

• Five steps between the exclusionary club and
  the redefining organization
• Change from dominance of one group towards a more
  open policy.
• The nondiscriminating organization
• actively recruits women and minorities,
• still remains committed to the majority groups
  worldview.
• Final step
• explore new approaches and organizing methods
  that
• guarantee inclusion, participation and
  empowerment of all members.

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Multiculturalism Embracing diversity

• According to Stoffle, Diversity
• Social (not legal) construct,
• Not a melting pot
• Differences are to be accepted and encouraged
• Valorizes all cultural backgrounds and
  experiences
• Unleashes creative forces in the institution
• Reaps benefits for itself and its workers.

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References and further reading

• American Library Association. (2007). The state
  of America's libraries report Scholarships
  awarded to 69 prospective minority librarians.
  Retrieved June 25, 2007, from http//www.ala.org
  /ala/pressreleases2007/March2007/statenewpublibs.h
  tm
• American Library Association Office for Research
  and Statistics (2007). Diversity counts.
  Retrieved June 18, 2007, from http//ala.org/ala/o
  rs/diversitycounts/DiversityCounts_rev07.pdf
• Darby, L. (2005) Abolishing stereotypes
  Recruitment and retention of minorities in the
  library profession. Rural Libraries, 25(1), 7-17.
  
• De las Carolinas. (2006). More on the Joint
  Conference of Librarians of Color. Retrieved
  June 24, 2007, from http//delascarolinas.blogspo
  t.com/2006/12/more-on-joint-conference-of- librari
  ans.html
• Gomez, L. M. (2006). Minority librarians needed.
  Retrieved June 25, 2007, from http//www.my
  sanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/
  MYSA102606.01B.Librarians_of_Color.2fe5699.html
• Grady, J., Hall, T. (2006). The world is
  changing Why aren't we? Recruiting minorities
  to librarianship. Electronic version. Library
  Worklife HR E- News for Today's Leaders, 1(4)

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More references

• Johnson, M. (2007). Retaining and advancing
  librarians of color. College and Research
  Libraries, September 2007, 685, 405-417.
• Katznelson, I. (2006). When is affirmative action
  fair? On grievous harm and public remedies.
  Electronic version. Social Research, 73(2),
  541-568.
• Minority librarians seek to update image of white
  "bun lady". (2006). Electronic version.
  "Diverse" Issues in Higher Education Current
  News, 07(56). Retrieved June 24, 2007, from
  http//www.diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/ar
  ticle_67
• National Association to Promote Library and
  Information Services to Latinos and the
  Spanish-Speaking (REFORMA). (n.d.). REFORMA
  Mentoring Program. Retrieved June 28, 2007, from
  http//www.reforma.org/mentoringprogram.html
• Stoffle, C. J. Tarin, P. A. (1994) No place for
  neutrality The case for Multiculturalism.
  Library Journal, July 1994, 46-49.
• Weissinger, T. (2003). Competing models of
  librarianship Do core values make a difference?
  electronic version. Journal of Academic
  Librarianship, 29(1), 32- 40.

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References for photos/graphics
(all
photos retrieved Oct. 13 15, 2007)

• Photos on pp. 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,10(a),11,13,14, 16,
  and 17 purchased from 123rf.com stock photos.
  (http//www.123rf.com)
• P.6 photo of Ira Katznelson taken from Columbia
  University faculty site http//www.columbia.edu/c
  u/polisci/fac-bios/katznelson/faculty.html
• P. 9 Logos of the five Associations, from their
  websites
• 1.AILA http//aila.library.sd.gov/
• 2. APALA http//www.apalaweb.org/
• 3. BCALA http//www.bcala.org/
• 4. CALA http//www.cala-web.org/
• 5. REFORMA http//www.reforma.org/
• P. 10(b) Photo of Peggy Johnson from U. Minn
  website http//www.lib.umn.edu/about/profiles/m-j
  ohn.html
• P.12 Photo of Lakeshia Darby from UC South
  Carolina Forming a Friends of the Library
  Group the Miller F. Whittaker Library
  Experience Powerpoint presentation retrieved
  from HBCU Libraries website hbculibraries.org/pre
  sentations/southcarolina.ppt
• P. 15 Photo of Carla Stoffle from U of Arizona
  intranet, accessed through old SIRLS website
  http//intranet.library.arizona.edu/users/cstoffle
  /homepage.html