IRDW Signature Institutions

The ARL Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce (IRDW) was established in 2000 when over 50 ARL libraries created a fund in support of this important member-driven scholarship program. This fund was leveraged considerably over the ensuing decade with generous and consistent support provided by grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) totaling over $1.4 million.

Once again, in 2012, a call was made to the ARL membership to provide support for this effort, in order to sustain it for a minimum of three academic years. Well over 50 member institutions have pledged support to the IRDW, ensuring that this vital work continues as a complement to other IMLS-funded diversity recruitment programs including the ARL/Music Library Association Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, the ARL Career Enhancement Program, and the ARL/Society of American Archivists Mosaic Scholarship Program.

The signature institutions that support the IRDW play a major role in attracting more library and information science (LIS) professionals from traditionally underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups into careers in research and academic libraries and archives. This is accomplished not only through providing scholarship funds in support of LIS education, but through a robust suite of developmental opportunities that include leadership development (provided through the annual ARL Leadership Symposium), mentorship, a research library site visit (hosted since 2005 by the Purdue University Libraries), and career placement assistance.

The development of this fund and the continued support of and commitment to ARL diversity programs is a hallmark of these signature institutions and their directors.

Signature Institutions

Partners