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Kaleidoscope Program


The ARL Kaleidoscope Program is a two-year commitment that aims to prepare BIPOC graduate students for purposeful and consequential careers in research libraries and archives through enriched leadership development and community building opportunities. Kaleidoscope Scholars receive financial support for tuition and professional development, mentoring, and access to educational experiences, and signature events. Through the Kaleidoscope Program, ARL acknowledges the systemic inequities that exist in the field and the imperative to pursue and advance inclusive and just research information environments.

The Kaleidoscope Program aims to:

  1. Create a scholars-centered community of BIPOC leaders in research libraries & archives
  2. Support the persistence of Scholars in memory & information graduate programs
  3. Facilitate connections between scholars and emerging and established leaders in research libraries & archives
  4. Prepare Scholars to navigate post-degree professional settings
  5. Provoke critical inquiry and action toward just and equitable research information environments

The Kaleidoscope Program is funded by ARL member institutions. It was established in 2000 as the Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce (IRDW) and was renamed Kaleidoscope in 2019.

The Kaleidoscope Program is supported by the Kaleidoscope Program Task Force and Kaleidoscope Program Selection Working Group.


Kaleidoscope Program Current Scholars

Below are rosters of the 2023 class and 2022 class of Kaleidoscope Program Scholars:...


Affiliates