ERIC EJ1073549: Diversity: Then Is Now. Commentary on Carter, J. R. (1978) Multicultural Graduate Library Education. (Journal of Education for Librarianship, 18(4), 295-314)

2015·0.24 MB·English

by  ERIC

Diversity: Then is now. Commentary on Carter, J. R.
(1978) Multicultural graduate library education.
Journal of Education for Librarianship, 18(4), 295–314.
Lorienne Roy
School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin, Email: [email protected]
Robbins Carter’s portrait of the librar- versity often coincides with the awarding
ian workforce is still true. According to of federal funds through programs such as
the latest American Library Association the competitive grants available through
(ALA) demographics, the profile of to- the Institute of Museum and Library Ser-
day’s librarian is that of a white (87.1 vices’ (IMLS) Laura Bush 21st Century
percent) woman (80.7 percent) of middle Library Program. Note that international
age (57.1 percent, age 45 or older) (ALA, students are usually excluded from this
2013). Despite these data, support for in- targeted funding.
creased diversity is strongly present among Some IMLS grants launched demon-
LIS faculty and within professional orga- stration grants that tested approaches for
nizations, “motivating certain initiatives limited periods of time, resulting in gradu-
such as site-specific funding, site-specific ates who created ripples of influence in
curricular foci, and national accreditation the workforce. Other grant-funded efforts
standards.” The continuing challenge is reenacted earlier diversity initiatives and
recruiting potentially successful students supported these earlier initiatives through
of color into LIS graduate programs when a more secure presence, a legion of gradu-
the entry-level salary for library positions ates, and continual reporting through pre-
is less than $50,000 per year. The question sentations and publications. A third cat-
remains: if the workforce demographics egory of diversity support directly funds
are relatively unchanged, how may diver- students. The most visible example is
sity be better supported in master’s level ALA’s Spectrum Initiative Scholarships
LIS education? that have provided $5,000 in funding, a
In 1978, Robbins noted that there were leadership institute, and networking sup-
four categories of barriers likely obstruct- port for over 800 students from underrep-
ing recruitment of students of color into resented groups since the late 1990s. Giv-
LIS programs: financial, educational, psy- en the current costs of higher education,
chosocial, and cultural. most funding sources require additional
Financial barriers. Robbins observed commitment from the LIS programs to
that support for diversity within LIS pro- provide students with a package of support
grams was dependent on receiving exter- and, often, student employment.
nal funds. This may indicate a less than The educational barriers are still seen.
sincere commitment to diversity and more American Indian students, for example,
of a preference for seeking convenient, are overrepresented nationally in the num-
and sometimes temporary, opportunities. ber of two-year degree holders. A lower
Overall, this still seems to be the case. percentage of bachelor degree completion
National attention toward increasing di- means that their entry into master’s degree
J. of Education for Library and Information Science, Vol. 56, No. 1—(Winter) January 2015
ISSN: 0748-5786 © 2014 Association for Library and Information Science Education
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
programs is more challenging, requiring often alerted to the Spectrum opportunity
recruitment through long-standing per- through mentoring moments: this attention
sonal contacts and the availability of dis- often came from a previously-unnoticed
tance-delivery course offerings. Schools senior colleague (Roy et al., 2006). Suc-
continue to require application processes cessful mentoring can be informal and
that students of color, especially first- somewhat fleeting but still useful as long
generation graduate students, find overly as mentors provide personal attention and
complex and dependent on the quantita- mentees are receptive to advice.
tive measures of GRE test scores and GPA Recruitment of students of color is the
calculations. LIS education remains sol- most obvious, challenging, and measurable
idly in graduate education, although some reflection of the profession’s support for di-
LIS programs now offer undergraduate versity. It requires not only continual fund-
concentrations. In addition, there are li- ing, but also advocacy of one’s own pro-
brary technical programs awarding certifi- gram and of the profession. I am convinced
cates, two-year or four-year undergraduate that faculty shares a concern for diversity
degrees and the ALA-Allied Professional and is committed to the accreditation stan-
Association (ALA-APA) offers the Li- dards that call on programs to have “policies
brary Support Staff Certification Program. to recruit and retain students who reflect the
Robbins Carter’s psychosocial and diversity of North America’s communi-
cultural barriers are still present, some ties” (ALA, 2008). Since all graduates of
of which are tied to the image issue of li- LIS programs will potentially serve com-
brarianship. While some of these barriers munities of color, curricula should prepare
may have been ameliorated over time with all students for this eventuality. Innovative
more parents supporting graduate educa- curriculum design is the area of greatest
tion, other barriers—such as the lack of potential and can be reflected in targeted
role models—continue to be challenging. course plans or through service learning
Still, according to a study of the first five opportunities, providing students with the
years of Spectrum Scholarship recipients, option to specialize in services for cultural
prior work in a library was the greatest communities. It is only through a curricu-
predictor of whether a student of color lum with an embedded diversity worldview
would enroll in an LIS program (Roy, et that LIS can take steps away from Robbins
al, 2006). Potential students who have Carter’s charge that institutional racism ex-
worked in libraries are more aware of the ists within our LIS programs.
many satisfying aspects of work that values
intelligence, flexibility, versatility, and that
References
provides the option for continual learning.
Recruiting from, and socialization with- American Library Association (2008). Standards
in, the LIS programs and professional orga- for accreditation of master’s programs in li-
nizations could provide support for students brary & information studies. Retrieved from
www.ala.org/accreditedprograms/sites/ala.org.
to rely on in the face of psychosocial and
accredited programs/files/content/standards/stan-
cultural barriers. While selective programs
dards_2008.pdf.
provide pipelines to usher undergraduate
American Library Association (2013). ALA De-
students into graduate LIS programs, these mographics Studies. Retrieved from http://ala.
efforts have remained localized and spo- org/research/sites/ala.org.research/files/content/
radic. Similarly, although mentoring has July13report.pdf.
received much discussion, these efforts are Roy, L., Johnson-Cooper, G., Tysick, C., & Waters,
D. (2006) Bridging boundaries to create a new
intermittent and confused by non-uniform
workforce: A survey of spectrum scholarship re-
approaches to mentoring structures. The
cipients, 1998–2003. Retrieved from http://www.
study of the Spectrum Scholarship recipi- ala.org/offices/diversitiy/spectrum/spectrumsu-
ents found, for example, that students were veyreport/spectrumsurvey.