The ARL Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and ARL member libraries, offers a stipend of up to $10,000 to attract students from underrepresented groups to careers in academic and research libraries.
The ARL Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and ARL member libraries, offers a stipend of up to $10,000 to attract students from underrepresented groups to careers in academic and research libraries. These stipends can be coupled with any other financial aid to provide an extra incentive for completing library school as well as providing the opportunity to work in an ARL library upon graduation. This initiative reflects the commitment of ARL members to create a diverse academic and research library community that will better meet the new challenges of global competition and changing demographics.
Funding is not the only issue that needs to be addressed in developing effective recruitment efforts. Data from the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) indicates that the numbers of racial and ethnic minorities graduating from library and information science programs are dropping. MLS students from underrepresented backgrounds are choosing careers in special and public library at higher percentages than they choose academic and research library careers, partly because of the relationships students build with special and public libraries while still in school. For many of these students, the recruitment process begins as an internship experience or a mentoring program. To combat this problem, ARL’s enhanced Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce consists of a mentoring relationship as well as leadership development training (held in conjunction with ALA Midwinter Meetings) and career placement assistance.
The ARL Initiative to Recruit a Diversity Workforce is charged with supporting minority recruitment efforts at ARL libraries. The implementation of residency programs and recruitment efforts targeted at new professionals increases the need and capacity of ARL libraries to recruit from recent graduate pools. Further, ARL members are committed to building a program that focuses specifically on recruitment, with measurable results, to complement other efforts like the Leadership and Career Development Program for midcareer librarians of color.