ARL Recruits for Diversity Program Officer

Washington DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) invites applications and nominations for the position Program Officer for Diversity.

Purpose

North American research institutions are being transformed by an increase in the diversity of scholarly and learning communities with profound implications for how these institutions support international, interdisciplinary, and intercultural learning and research. To engage effectively in this environment of change and innovation, research libraries need a diverse workforce of professionals who thrive in and are actively engaged with these new scholarly communities.

Reflecting this need, ARL conceptualizes diversity issues broadly and encourages attention to them within all three of the Association’s strategic directions: scholarly communication; public policies; and new library roles in research, teaching, and learning. Within this broad framework, ARL has also adopted an action agenda that is focused on the development of a diverse research library workforce. Specifically, the Program Officer for Diversity provides leadership for initiatives that increase the “pipeline” as well as the preparation and advancement of librarians from under represented racial and ethnic groups into leadership positions in ARL libraries.

Major Responsibilities

1. Promote, manage, enhance, and ensure funding streams for existing ARL initiatives that increase the number of individuals from under represented racial and ethnic groups pursuing careers in research libraries. These include:
• Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce (stipends for graduate work)
• Career Enhancement Program (fellowships for research library experience)
• Leadership and Career Development Program (midcareer enhancement)
• Annual Leadership Institute (held in conjunction with ALA Midwinter Meeting)
• National Diversity in Libraries Conference (next event, 2010 at Princeton University)
• ARL Career Resources Web site (http://www.arl.org/resources/careers/)
2. Serve as expert advisor and contributor to other ARL leadership and organizational development activities, looking for synergy between these and diversity initiatives, and as needed, provide oversight of administrative support for these projects. For example:
• Research Library Leadership Fellows (RLLF) program (to develop executive leadership).
• ClimateQUAL™ and, in particular, Organizational Climate Improvement Service (OCIS), a consulting service based on follow up activities from the ClimateQUAL™ survey protocol (a tool for collecting library staff perceptions about how well the library is achieving a climate for diversity and organizational health).
3. Support the work of the ARL Diversity Initiatives Working Group, a group of directors of research libraries charged by the Association to:
• Advise on strategies to increase the number of librarians from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in the research library workforce;
• Serve as a review panel for applications for the Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce and the Leadership and Career Development Program; and
• Monitor the environment of research institutions to identify diversity issues or initiatives beyond the scope of “pipeline” issues that may warrant discussion with any ARL Strategic Direction steering committees or with all ARL members at Membership Meetings.

Nature and Scope of the Position

A. Organizational Relationships

Operates as part of the ARL Executive Office in the capacity of Program Officer for Diversity. This position reports to the ARL Executive Director. Works with directors of ARL member libraries and library staff to assess needs, promote, and deliver services. Provides direct support for the ARL Diversity Initiatives Working Group. Collaborate with other program officers on opportunities to infuse diversity issues into ARL strategic directions and contribute expert advice to other leadership and organizational development activities. Expected to reach out and network with ethnic caucuses in professional associations and the leadership of LIS graduate programs and minority serving institutions. Works with organizational representatives of foundations, government agencies, and educational institutions and associations.

B. Supervisory Responsibilities

Coordinates consultants and supervises 1.5 FTE staff (includes a grant-supported position) and others assigned to diversity programs and projects. Works with support staff to maintain files; to prepare routine correspondence, reports, mailings, and promotions; and to support institutes and other training events.

C. Skill Requirements

Project management, budget administration skills, entrepreneurial fund-raising and cost-recovery skills are core components of this position. Establishment of successful relationships with a wide variety of academic and research library administrators, professional staff, and support staff is a requirement of this position. The ability to evaluate needs and the judgment to determine appropriate responses is essential. An understanding of research libraries within the context of the higher education community is also required. This is a professional position with both management and administrative components; it requires energy and flexibility to balance and adjust competing priorities. Well-developed written and oral communication skills, as well as interpersonal skills, are necessary.

D. Problem Solving and Decision Making

Most problems and decisions faced by this position relate to the conduct of ARL diversity initiatives, matching needs with resources and services (either available or to be designed). Considerable flexibility is available for design and operation of new products and services. New programs and design efforts are developed in consultation with other program staff and Executive Director.

E. Authority/Independence

Position operates at a professional level with major program responsibilities. In dealing with member libraries, participants in events, and professional colleagues, this position is autonomous. This position is expected to secure, by grants or cost recovery, revenue sufficient to support diversity initiatives; this includes a minimum of $50,000 annually. Requires extensive travel and time away from home and office. In contact with other organizations, position may represent and speak on behalf of ARL. Executive Director conducts annual performance review.

Requirements

1. A master’s degree and a minimum of three years experience in a higher education or related nonprofit setting advancing recruitment, diversity education, leadership development, and/or fund raising;

2. Experience in program or project management or training;

3. Ability to communicate and work effectively with senior leadership;

4. Enthusiasm and commitment to increasing the diversity of the research library workforce;

5. Proven public speaking, writing, and interpersonal skills.

Preferred:

1. MLS degree and/or experience in higher education and academic or research libraries in particular;

2. Prior facilitation or consulting experience.

Institution

ARL comprises the 123 largest academic and research libraries in the US and Canada. It operates as a forum for the exchange of ideas and as an agent for collective action.

Compensation

Salary is in the range of other professional staff at ARL and commensurate with experience. ARL offers standard benefits including sick leave, 22 days vacation, TIAA/CREF.

Applications

Screening of applications will begin immediately. Applications will continue to be accepted until the position is filled. Send letter outlining interest and experience in the areas of diversity and broader facilitation and consulting, a resume, and a list of three references to:

Mary Jane Brooks
Executive Officer
Association of Research Libraries
21 Dupont Circle, NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20036-1118

E-mail address: maryjane@arl.org

Nominations are actively sought and will be given serious consideration.

ARL is an Equal Opportunity Employer Committed to Diversity in the Workplace.

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The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 123 research libraries in North America. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the Web at http://www.arl.org/.

NEW 2009 DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS IN ARCHIVAL STUDIES

http://aeri.gseis.ucla.edu/Doctoral Fellowships in Archival Studies are currently available through a new eight-campus initiative for individuals who are interested in pursuing careers as educators and scholars and who would be entering doctoral programs in Fall 2009. Applicants must apply for both the Fellowship and admission to one or more of the eight participating doctoral programs: University of California, Los Angeles; University of Michigan; University of Maryland; University of Texas, Austin; Simmons College; University of Wisconsin, Madison; University of Pittsburgh; and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Each Fellowship will provide full tuition and annual stipends of $20,000 to Fellows for the first two years of their doctoral study at partnering academic programs. Those academic programs will provide full tuition and stipends to their Fellows for two additional years of study.To underscore the Fellowship initiatives‚ emphasis on strengthening archival education and scholarship, all Doctoral Fellows will attend, expenses-paid, annual Archival Education and Research Institutes (AERI). These weeklong summer institutes will be held each year for doctoral students and faculty in Archival Science from academic institutions nationally and around the world and will address a broad range of research methodologies, pedagogical techniques, and curriculum development. The first institute will be held at UCLA during the week of July 6th, 2009. A limited number of additional scholarships to attend the institutes will be available each year for doctoral students who are enrolled in any U.S. Program. Further information about the AERI is available at http://aeri.gseis.ucla.edu/.The Fellowship application deadline is January 9, 2009. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident in the U.S. Persons of minority racial and ethnic backgrounds are particularly encouraged to apply. Further details on the Fellowship and how to apply may be found at http://aeri.gseis.ucla.edu/fellowships.htm. Information on each participating university’s specializations in Archival Science as well as contact information may be found at http://aeri.gseis.ucla.edu/institutions.htm. For questions about the Fellowship application process, please contact Joshua Sternfeld: joshuas@ucla.edu.This initiative is directed by the UCLA Center for Information as Evidence [www.gseis.ucla.edu/cie] and is made possible in part by support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services [www.imls.gov].

A Survey for African American Male Librarians

Dear Colleagues:

As noted at ALA-Anaheim*s program on Black (African American) male librarians, the significant dearth of representation in this group is critical.

In order to more accurately inform future LIS advertising, recruitment, marketing  and education efforts, I invite you, the African American male librarian with an ALA- accredited Master*s degree in Library and Information Science/Studies/Service to participate in an online survey that seeks

1. To find out the internal and external factors that influence African American male librarians choose librarianship as a career;
2. To understand their career path plans and the factors that influence their career planning efforts; and
3. To find out to what degree African American male librarians are satisfied in their jobs.

Take a step to impact and change the future of librarianship!  Please visit
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB2282GNA94M9 to learn more about or take
part in the study. Your participation and interest is very important and is sincerely appreciated!

* See
http://www.presentations.ala.org/index.php?title=Saturday%2C_
June_28#Saturday_8am_Start_Time

Please forward to colleagues who may be interested in this study...thank you!

Sincerely,
Kaetrena D. Davis, MSLS
Learning Commons Librarian
Principal Researcher

REFORMA National Conference III

The El Paso Chapter of REFORMA will be hosting the third REFORMA National Conference in El Paso, Texas from September 18 - 21st. The theme of this year's conference is "Bridging the Gaps - Juntos @ the Border". The theme is very appropriate given the location of the conference. The population along the El Paso/Cuidad Juarez border nears two million. The majority of who are Hispanic, Spanish speaking individuals coming from diverse backgrounds. Providing pertinent library service to this population offers many challenges. The conference promises to be an eye-opening dynamic affair, sure to provide a dialog on many issues facing REFORMA members in the years to come.

Along with the conference, El Paso offers many opportunities for social enrichment. El Paso has Missions, museums, galleries, a zoo, a casino and many other fun things to do. Our restaurants offer a cornucopia of multicultural experiences. The local arrangements committee has planned several events showcasing our lovely city and providing a wealth of entertainment including tours of local libraries, the Missions and Cuidad Juarez.

Information about the programs, keynote speakers, registration and more is available on the RNC III web site accessible through the REFORMA web site at www.reforma.org. The conference hotel will be the beautiful and historic Camino Real in downtown El Paso, half a block from the convention center. Room rates for the conference will be $105 single/double; $120 triple; and $135 quad. per day. Reservations can be made by calling 1-800-769-4300 or 915-534-3099, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 pm. MST. Please register as soon as possible and spread the word!

New Diversity Fellowship Opportunity

New Diversity Fellowship Opportunity

The State Library of Indiana has received a $1 million grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services for recruiting and educating 30 ethnically/racially diverse students for the Indiana Librarians Leading in Diversity project. The application process will go live next Monday, August 4, by noon. Potential candidates must apply to the Indiana University School of Library and Information Science (IU SLIS Application – Indianapolis / Bloomington) by September 15, 2008. The application process is open until 4:00 p.m. on Monday, October 3, 2008.

Ten candidates a year for three years are eligible to be selected for this Master of Library Science Degree Fellowship program. Applicants must have a primary self-identification as American Indian/Alaska Native; Asian; Black/African-American; Hispanic/Latino; or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. In addition to applying to the library school, candidates will be required to complete a fellowship application which includes an essay and two letters of recommendation from non-relatives.

Successful candidates will be required to sign a fellowship agreement, attend an orientation week in Indianapolis in early December, and begin classes full time with the spring semester on January 12, 2009. Candidates also must commit to work two years in Indiana libraries upon graduation.

The fellowship award will cover tuition for up to 36 credit hours completed within 18 months. Stipends up to $15,500.00 will be available to cover room, board, and travel expenses.

This grant opportunity was given as part of the Laura Bush 21^st Century Librarian Program. Additionally, the project is supported by the Indiana State Library's Diversity Advisory Council, Academic Libraries of Indiana, Administrators of Large Public Libraries in Indiana, the Indiana Black Librarians Network, the Indiana Library Federation, and the Indiana Special Libraries Association. For more information, contact Marcia Smith-Woodard at mwoodard@library.in.gov, (317) 232-3719 or (800) 451-6028.

Survey For Librarians of Color

To All Librarians of Color:

Myself (Kawanna Bright) and two of my colleagues, Deborah Lilton with
Vanderbilt University and Pambanisha King with Auburn University, will
be presenting a session at the National Diversity in Libraries
Conference in October 2008, entitled “When Diversity is Too Much: New
Librarians of Color and Expectations for Involvement in Library
Diversity Initiatives”. The focus of this program will be to discuss
diversity initiatives utilized to recruit and retain librarians of color
into academic libraries and how they can sometimes have a negative
impact on the librarians they are designed to support. As part of this
session we will be presenting information from published research, but
the main focus of this session will be to present the results of a
survey of librarians of color and their opinions on how these programs
impacted them.

This is where you come in! If you are a librarian of color who works in
an academic library (or has ever worked in an academic library during
your career) we need you to complete our survey. This is your
opportunity to share your thoughts on the different diversity
initiatives that have been a part of your career, whether it was a
recruitment scholarship to help you earn your degree, a residency
program to launch you into the field, a leadership institute to prepare
you for upward movement, or programs that happened internally in the
libraries that you worked in, including diversity committees, diversity
training programs, or cultural enrichment programs. We would also be
interested in hearing about other experiences that affected you
specifically as a new librarian of color.

The goal of this survey is not to collect information to “bash” these
programs. The researchers agree that on the whole these programs are
positive for the librarians who participate in them as well as the
libraries that host them and the field itself. However, the possible
negative impacts of these programs need to be discussed as well in order
to help programs improve and to better prepare new librarians of color
for careers in academic librarianship.

This survey is completely anonymous – no identifying information will be
collected. We will not be collecting information on specific programs,
and are asking participants to respond with generalities (the survey
instrument reflects this request to not include identifying information).

The survey is available at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=obT9ro6gb8sztIvaWtz4PQ_3d_3d and
takes between 15 and 25 minutes to complete, depending on the number of
experiences that you have had.

Your participation is greatly appreciated. Please also feel free to
share the survey with colleagues that you feel would be interested in
participating. All questions concerning the survey, the presentation or
the project as a whole can be directed to Kawanna Bright,
kmbright@ncsu.edu, Pambanisha King,
kingpam@auburn.edu, or Deborah Lilton,
dlilton@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

Kawanna Bright, Pambanisha King, and Deborah Lilton

Diversity Events at ALA

For those heading off to sunny Anaheim, here are some diversity events that you may want to be sure to check out!

• Many Voices, Many Nations Anaheim (Friday 6/27, 5:30 - 9:00 pm; Mariott Anaheim - Marquis Northeast): Registration requested but not required: http://ala.org/annual; $10
• Leaders Wanted: Is an LIS Doctoral Program Right for You? (Saturday 6/28, 9:00 - 11:00 am followed by Options Fair until 5pm; Hyatt Regency Orange County - Grand B and Grand E/F)
• Diversity Currents! Weighing the Balance: Affirmative Action Update (Saturday 6/28, 1:30 - 3:30 pm; Hyatt Regency Orange County, Harbor Room)
• Diversity 101 (Saturday 6/28, 4:00 - 5:30 pm; Hyatt Regency Orange County - Harbor Room)
• Beyond White Privilege 101: Continuing the Discussion (Sunday 6/29, 1:30 - 3:30 pm; Hyatt Regency Orange County - Grand B/C)
• Charting Courses: Diversity Research Grants (Sunday 6/29, 4:00 - 5:30 pm; Disney's Grand Californian - Wisteria Room)