Rachel SuntopLIS502D: Libraries, Information and Society

Ethnic Diversity in American Libraries: Where Do We Stand and Where do We Go From Here?

References

Main Issues

Lack of Diversity in the Library Staff

• Lack of role models for diverse populations and minorities

• Lack of interest, particularly in multicultural librarianship (Mestre 2010).

• The decline of affirmative action (Josey 1999).

Lack of Diversity Training

• This causes problems for librarians when faced with people of different cultures (Mestre 2010).

Lack of discussion

• Due to the notion that we are now a post-racial society .

• The belief that discussions on diversity have a “low impact on organization life” of libraries (Josey 1999).

• These are difficult and controversial subjects to discuss so people tend to avoid bringing them up.

• Lack of classes in multicultural librarianship in LIS programs.

 

 Introduction

What are the current issues regarding ethnic diversity in American libraries? How are libraries evolving to meet these challenges? This study examines specific challenges posed to minority students, librarians, staff and patrons and suggests ways to improve these situations.

Frequently Used Terms

Diversity: a complex subject with many definitions. This poster focuses on ethnic diversity. Diversity cannot be learned in one book or by one set of guidelines.

Cultural Competency: An individual’s ability to successfully interact with an among others whose values, behaviors and environments are different than one’s own (Mestre 2010).

Institutionalized Racism: any system of inequality based on race in an institution. Not blatant; rather it is subtle and deeply ingrained within the institution (Wikipedia).

White Privilege: Sets of societal privileges that whites benefit from beyond those commonly experienced by people of color in the same situations. These are unspoken advantages that whites may or may not be aware of, distinguishing them from overt bias or prejudice (Wikipedia).

Challenges unique to…

Minority Librarians and Staff

• The problem of the “token” minority librarian being put in every committee, meeting, etcetera to make the institution appear to be more progressive.

• Increased pressure and stress to represent their race/culture in a positive light and to “prove” their worth.

• Society not comfortable with certain minorities as librarians, in particular, African-American men (St.Lifer 1997).

Minority Students

• A lack of progress has been made in recruiting minority students to LIS programs

• Standardized tests tend to be biased toward English speakers (St.Lifer 1997).

• Minority students tend to encounter more obstacles.• Lack of representation of minorities as librarians leads

to lack of interest among minority students. • A lack of recruitment and outreach (Love 2010).

Moving ForwardRecruitment, Mentorship and Networking• Presentations at cultural houses• Collaboration with multicultural student centers• Employing effective outreach strategies to diverse

communities.• The University of Illinois is noted as having a

particularly strong outreach program (Love 2007).

Dialogue and Discourse• The importance of continuing to ask difficult questions

and not remaining silent (Balderrama 2000).

Education and Awareness• Helps to create trust and allied partners• The importance in questioning your own biases

limitations and identifying areas for improvement.

Leadership• Camila Alire offers advice for effective leadership

qualities, traits and skills among minorities.• Collaboration and team work are essential (Alire

2001).

Diversity Training• Particularly important due to the fact that whites will

become the minority in several decades (Love 2010).• Creates a workspace that is conductive to and

respectful of diversity (Balderrama 2000).

Additional Resources of Interest

University Libraries: Diversity Outreach Collaborativehttp://blog.lib.umn.edu/cgi-bin/mt-search.cgi?blog_id=11219&tag=diversity&limit=20

E.J. Josey: librarian and activisthttp://www.utimes.pitt.edu/?p=8804

American Indian Library Associationhttp://ailanet.org/

Asian/Pacific American Libraries Associationhttp://www.apalaweb.org/

Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Inc.http://lsgreview.com/bcala/

Chinese American Librarians Associationhttp://cala-web.org/

Reforma: the National Association to Promote Library and Information Sciences to Latinos and the Spanish Speakinghttp://www.reforma.org/

 Alire, Camila. “Diversity and Leadership: The Color of Leadership” Journal of Library Administration 32, no. 3-4 (2001): 95-109.

Balderrama, Sandra Rios. “This Trend Called Diversity.” Library Trends 49, no. 1 (2000): 194-214.

“Institutional racism.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 7 February 2014. Web. 1 March 2014.

Josey, E.J. “Diversity: Political and Societal Barriers.” Journal of Library Administration 27, no. 1-2 (1999): 191-202.

Love, Emily. “Building Bridges: Cultivating Partnerships Between Libraries and Minority Student Services.” Education Libraries 30, no. 1 (2007): 13-19.

Love, Emily. “Generation Next: Recruiting Minority Students to Librarianship.” Reference Services Review 38, no. 3 (2010): 482-492.

Mestre, Lori S. “Librarians Working with Diverse Populations: What Impact Does Cultural Competency Training Have on their Efforts?” Journal of Academic Librarianship 36, no. 6 (2010): 479-488.

St.Lifer, Evan, and Corinne Nelson. “Unequal opportunities: Race does matter.” Library Journal 122, no. 18 (1997): 42-46.

“White Privilege.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 15 February 2014. Web. 1 March 2014.

Image:“ Leadership in Libraries: a Focus on Ethnic-Minority Librarians.” Book available from ALA.org

.

Image: A series of programs sponsored by the

Greensboro Public Library and the Guilford Anti-

Racism.

Image: Library Diversity Quilt at the University of Michigan’s MLibrary

Unfortunately, racist attitudes towards minorities go on, as illustrated by this UCLA student who was infamous for her “Asians in Libraries” rant on Youtube.

Image: Joint Conference of Librarians of Color in Kansas City, 2012

©2014