“For recruitment, the use of personal contacts, aggressive advertisement of the profession and LIS programs, and targeted recruitment are also frequently suggested. Targeted recruitment is related to the use of strategies effective to particular ethnic minority group, which requires a good understanding of the group.”
Kim, K., & Sin, S.J. (2008). Increasing ethnic diversity in LIS: Strategies suggested by librarians of color. The Library Quarterly, 78(2), 153-177.
At the time that I decided to pursue my graduate education in LIS after working for years as a newspaper reporter, there were many questions from those with whom I had shared my decision. The first one was normally “What do you do with a degree in that?” Then, once explained, the inevitable question/statement was “You need a Master’s degree for that?” Many assumed that those working in libraries were either volunteers or people who had not received a degree. Admittedly, these questions and comments often came from individuals who could be characterized as educated African Americans. Reasons that could be given for this lack of awareness include a lack of exposure to the profession as well as a lack of a representation of minorities in the profession.
This article aimed to address that lack of minority representation in LIS. The researchers sought out an ethnically diverse sample of librarians in an effort to identify effective strategies for the recruitment and retention of ethnic minorities in the profession. Some strategies that the article highlights include advertising in ethnic media, financial aid, and recruiting trips to historically black institutions. It also points to the need for diversity in faculty and library staff, role models and mentors.
Interestingly enough, the article mentions efforts being made in such fields as social work, journalism and nursing to increase minority representation. Having worked in journalism and attaining a journalism degree from a historically black university, these efforts were highly visible from that profession’s standpoint at Howard University. Many times, those working in the journalism field not only served as lecturers and guest speakers, but they also encouraged networking with them and their colleagues as well as kept students abreast of internships offered in the field. Sometimes, professionals offered tours of their workplaces to gain a greater understanding of their workplaces. Furthermore, various graduate schools recruited for their top-notch journalism schools there.
It should be noted that Howard University was home to a journalism department while it had no library and information science department or school. Nevertheless, it was located in the same city as Catholic University which has an ALA-accredited library science program and it is located near the University of Maryland which also has a program. However, between the years 2000 and 2004 when I attended, there is no remembrance of those schools recruiting at the many graduate school fairs that were held on the Howard University campus.
The article mentions that the closing of Clark-Atlanta University’s library science school in 2005 would create more difficulty in recruiting minorities. Clark-Atlanta University was one of the last historically black higher education institutions to offer such a program. North Carolina Central University is currently the only historically black university with an ALA-accredited LIS program. Nevertheless, the U.S. Department of Education categorizes more than 90 four-year institutions as historically black colleges or universities (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). Considering that LIS is often pursued as a second-career choice, it would benefit librarians to venture onto these campuses. LIS programs often embrace students with undergraduate degrees in other areas. Therefore, the lack of LIS programs at these institutions should not be a deterrent. If LIS professionals participated more in career programs and graduate school recruitment activities at these institutions, it would likely increase an awareness of the profession and its degree programs and could result in a greater number of African Americans being attracted to the profession.
U.S. Department of Education. (2010, January 14). List of HBCUS. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/list/whhbcu/edlite-list.html
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