For immediate release:
December 8, 2008

For more information, contact:
Jerome Offord Jr.
Association of Research Libraries
jerome@arl.org

ARL Diversity Scholars 2008–10 Selected

Washington DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Diversity Initiatives Working Group has selected 17 MLS students to participate in the 2008–10 Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce as ARL Diversity Scholars.

The ARL Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce offers leadership development and a stipend of up to $10,000 over two years to MLS students from underrepresented groups who are interested in careers in research libraries. The initiative is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and by voluntary contributions from 52 ARL member libraries. This funding reflects a commitment to create a diverse research library community that will better meet the new challenges of global competition and changing demographics.

The 2008–10 Diversity Scholars are:

Nicole Branch,* San Jose State University
LaBae Daniels,* Drexel University
Camille Chesley, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Yesenia Figueroa, University of Pittsburgh
Andrea Gagliardi,* University of Toronto
Sorrel Goodwin,* University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Harriett Green, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Michelle Guittar, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Jameka Lewis, University of Oklahoma
Jennifer McDaniel,* Catholic University of America
Shaneka Morris, University of North Texas
Yujung Park, Catholic University of America
Elliot Polak,* University of Wisconsin–Madison
Mukhtar Raqib, North Carolina Central University
Ayman Shabana, University of California, Los Angeles
Jennifer Thompson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Linh Uong,* University of North Texas

* funded under IMLS grant to attract science majors

The 2008–10 Diversity Scholars will receive:

• leadership development via ARL’s annual Leadership Institute;
• a hosted visit to an ARL member library to learn more about the advanced operations of a research library;
• professional mentoring from an ARL librarian or an alumnus of either ARL’s Leadership and Career Development Program or the Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce;
• paid membership in a major professional association and in the American Library Association’s five ethnic caucuses; and
• a stipend of $10,000 over two years to help defray the cost of graduate school.

For more information about the Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce, see http://www.arl.org/diversity/init/.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 123 research libraries in North America. Its 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, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the Web at http://www.arl.org/.