ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Information exchange

Susana Hinojosa

ALA Midwinter Conference report

Racial and Ethnic Diversity (R&ED) Committee mem- bers were very busy at Mid- winter in Denver trying to cope with five R&ED Com- mittee meetings. Action items were:

• Discussion and en- dorsement of the action taken by the ALA Executive Board on the Colorado Amendment 2 situation and the vote taken to withdraw

Denver as the 1998 Midwinter Conference site.

• Review and recommendations on the draft script of a recruitment video drafted by members of the President’s Committee on Cultural Diversity. The video will focus on recruitment of minority librarians.

• Support initial planning of a LAMA Management Preconference for librarians of color to take place at the Miami Conference in 1994.

• Recommendation of the creation of a recruitment brochure including notable minority librarians; the committee will continue to explore publication in coordination with other committees or groups working on recruitment.

• Support of an initial review for diversity information of the statistics now gathered regularly by the ACRL Statistics Committee.

• Support of R&ED Committee activities as part of the 2nd National Conference of African- American Librarians sponsored by the Black Caucus of ALA. The conference will be held August 5-7,1994, in Milwaukee with the theme “Culture Keepers: Unity through Diversity.”

• Recommendation to the ACRL Board that support be given for a survey on retention and advancement of minority librarians in academic libraries.

ALA annual programs, 1993

The committee’s program, with a working title of “Crossroads: Researchers & Practitioners Working with Diversity Meet to Affect Change,” is specifically designed to show our strong support for Library School faculty and librarians now doing research and study on diversity in libraries. Three speakers will address the audience on topics such as: community assessment, information gatekeepers, diversity in or- ganizations, and the expe- rience of the minority librar- ian. The committee is also considering establishing an ACRL R&ED book award to honor and show support to those library school ethnic faculty doing research and publishing on issues of di- versity.

Susana Hinojosa, University of California, Berkeley, chairs ACRL ’s Racial and Ethnic Diversity Committee

ACRL R&ED Committee and the ALA Minority Concerns Committee

The R&ED Committee was very pleased to be invited to a breakfast meeting by the ALA Minority Concerns Committee on January 25. Most members of the committee were present at this very early meeting to join in a discussion of current activities concerning diversity and minority librarians within ALA and librarianship. Most importantly, it was an opportunity to share information and to highlight common areas of work and concern: recruitment, advancement and retention, and diversification of ALA committees. We hope that some coordination and support for projects can be made in the future.

ACRL R&ED resolution

The committee was informed that its resolution on ethnicity on membership forms (complete wording below) was discussed and approved for action by the ALA Membership Committee during Midwinter. The committee expects to work with the Membership Committee in the near future to affect the required changes.

Text of the resolution presented to the ACRL Board at the ALA Annual Conference in 1992: “As an outgrowth of the survey of ACRL committees and task forces by the ACRL Racial and Ethnic Diversity Committee and concern about representation of underrepresented group members in ACRL leadership, this Committee resolves that ALA should consider collecting information about ethnicity on its membership renewal forms. The Committee also resolves that all ethnic affiliates be consulted on this issue.” ■