The issue of diversity within the library profession has become a topic of discussion in recent years. According to the article Racial and Ethnic Diversity of U.S. Library Workers the problem is not a lack of diversity amongst library staff, but rather the lack of racial diversity among those holding a masters degree in general. The need to hire and retain a diverse workforce will be important for the profession to thrive. Libraries can be a welcoming place to visit, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, etc, but to achieve this it helps to have a diverse staff.
When the question of diversity in libraries is raised, the focus tends to be in the discrepancies between the racial and ethnic composition of the community and that of library staff, especially librarians. Mr. Lance instead suggests the comparisons should be between the racial and ethnic composition of the adult population, those over 25 and those having the appropriate level of education within that population. He believes that educational goals need to be instilled in the Hispanic and African American populations at an early age. This would help each racial group to attain more educational degrees, which in turn would provide a more diverse pool of applicants to select from for library employment. Public libraries are essential to the education of all people.
In the article, Texas Librarian Promotes Diversity, Miriam Rodriguez came from Cuba in 1983; she could barely speak a word of English. She turned to the local library for help. Since then she has become a librarian and advocates for the multilingual and multiethnic community in Dallas, Texas.
In the book The Nexgen Librarian’s Survival Guide, by Rachel Singer Gordon, the author mentions that the library profession is pursing recruitment of new, young, and diverse professionals. It encourages libraries to appeal to their communities. Librarians need to become proactive with their community needs. For example, if city has a growing Hispanic population, they may want to consider ordering materials in Spanish for those patrons and create book discussion groups and other programs that would encourage these patrons to use the library. Furthermore, Gordon mentions that the ALA and other organizations are seeking to recruit diverse librarians through initiatives such as the Spectrum Scholarship program. As the profession of the librarian changes in the next few years, so will the publics concept about the profession.
How can ALA, local libraries, and other organizations encourage the education of all racial and ethnic groups?
References
Gordon, R. (2006). The Nexgen Librarian’s Survival Guide. New Jersey: Information Today.
Lance, K.C. (2005). Racial and Ethnic Diversity of U.S. Library Workers. American Libraries. 36, 41.
Ishizuka, K. (2004). Texas Librarian Promotes Diversity. School Library Journal. 50, 21.
2 comments:
Scholarships are definitely positive ways to encourage education among all racial and ethic groups, as well as others who fit in the spectrum because of a disability or even Veteran status. The ALA just released an opportunity for a diversity scholarship in order to support librarians with disabilities who are working on their degrees. Hiring someone with a disability helps promote diversity of the library staff and the library because it demonstrates that both the library and the staff within it are accepting and supportive of diverse needs. Ocean County's diverse library policy aimed to show patrons and staff that it was an all inclusive environment because of its efforts to include everyone, through staff hiring, patron programming and collection development.
Libraries can encourage education of all racial and ethic groups through outreach and programming as well. Outreach could include scholarship promotion (for ALA or area library funded scholarships) in schools and other community organizations, visits to hospitals or homeless shelters to bring in "roving" library services so that those who are unable to come to the library get the chance to see what types of services the library offers so that they know that the library is an available resource for the future. Once patrons have been exposed to library resources and librarians, they will know where to go for information about job searching,or, if they are immigrants, orientation and training services to help them adjust. (This was a major component of Ocean County's diversity programming iniative also). Education for/about different racial and ethnic groups can also come from programming once patrons come to the library. Libraries could sponsor a "Peace Day" program that helps celebrate cultures across the world, could, for example, have a children's program with the book Sadako and the 1000 paper cranes to celebrate Japanese culture and some of the history and art associated with it.
Also, librarians can promote education of all racial and ethic groups by their own awareness of these groups. Keep current by reading the newspapers (both national and local and specific ethic ones if your library population might read them), also make an effort to look within your library for those who might be interested in scholarships for an MLIS or other educational endeavors. This is a step toward familarizing your self with your community's diverse needs as mentioned in Rachel Singer Gordon's Next Gen Survival Guide. Writing grants for diversity and educational iniatives or publishing about library diversity (which, we know from the powerpoint lecture, is an area that needs more attention from our professional literature) also helps support education and inclusion for everyone. Mentoring is also a good way to promote education for everyone, not only specific racial or ethic groups. If we seek out a mentor so that we can be better librarians we promote our own awareness of the benefits of education, which includes educating and being educated about the diversity that we encounter. When we ourselves mentor, we promote the values of education by showing someone else that we care about how to help them succeed in educational or professional fields. These are all examples of ways that librarians, the ALA and libraries themselves can promote education for all diverse populations.
I agree with Susan, scholarships would really help encourage these groups. I think that going to the various communities and educating them about the profession would also help. A lot depends on their experiences with the libraries they visit. If it seems unwelcoming chances are they will expect the profession to be also.
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