The Michigan State University (MSU) Libraries and their director, Cliff Haka, hosted the 2016–2018 class of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce (IRDW) diversity scholars for a site visit in mid-May. The two-day event, planned, hosted, and underwritten by the MSU Libraries, provided participants with an inside look at the operations and strategic priorities of a major research library as well as an introduction to professional roles and services in support of the campus community. This year’s program included sessions on digital scholarship; diversity, equity, and inclusion in descriptive metadata; perspectives on promotion, advancement, and tenure for librarians at various Michigan institutions; and many other topics. A highlight of the 2017 agenda was the opportunity for ARL diversity scholars to meet one-on-one with MSU Libraries departmental staff of their choosing to hear more about those functional areas of the organization. The site visit included tours of the MSU Libraries’ makerspace and special collections in addition to numerous social events and networking opportunities.
This was the third and final year that the IRDW site visit will be hosted by the MSU Libraries. A call for proposals for a new host (starting in 2018) will soon be released. The research library site visit has been a component of the IRDW since 2005. More information about the IRDW site visits and a full agenda of the 2017 event can be found on the ARL website.
About the Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 123 research libraries in the US and Canada. ARL’s 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, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the web at ARL.org.
