Getting Together To Go Forward: The Lessons of Diversity Initiatives and How To Implement Them At Your Library

Editor's Notes

• #9: PULSE was a library recruitment, leadership and training program specifically for urban public libraries PULSE was funded by a three-year grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. PULSE was a partnership between Brooklyn Public Library and Pratt School of Information and Library Science
• #10: Program participants were called PULSE trainees. Trainees were Pratt library school students. There were three cohorts. A cohort for each year, 2004-2006. There were a total of 21 trainees + a selection of Pratt students in PULSE internships each semester
• #11: Before we go into the program features, I want to talk about the reasons behind PULSE, besides it being a library recruitment, leadership and training program. Library Journal summed it nicely - "At LJ [Library Journal], we've long been railing against the disconnect between library education and practice, PULSE binds the two together."
• #12: Full-time salaried position (28-35 hours per week) Rotation-based structure (3-month rotations in various library locations and departments) Conference attendance support Tuition reimbursement (partial) Mentor and mentee pairing Monthly knowledge seminars (overview of various library departments, various library topics) Entry-level librarian positions offered after program completion/library school graduation – not mandatory to stay, just offered
• #13: Each trainee worked in over 12 library locations in addition to other departments such as: collection-development web-applications literacy government-affairs marketing the-childs-place-for-children-with-special-needs kidsmobile services-to-the-aging business-library science-and-technology art-and-music multilingual-center brooklyn-collection
• #14: PULSE did a great job of exposing trainees to various aspects of working in a library and being an information professional rather than focusing on the stereotypical things about being a librarian. The practical experience was invaluable and it led to three job offers upon graduation. I got a better understanding of the information profession and what areas interest me & the direction I want my career to go in.
• #15: A major downside to the program is the lack of training in certain areas and skills such as grant writing & project management that is essential to the profession. I would include multilingual and under-represented populations not just people of color. There should be a group project requiring trainees to use practical skills, project management skills, communication and networking. The program can be improved by providing continued networking opportunities.
• #16: As mentioned earlier, PULSE was a three year-grant funded program. The grant funding ended and Brooklyn Public Library decided not to pursue the renewal of the grant due to budget concerns. As part of the grant requirements, the library provides matching funds for the trainee salaries.
• #17: Since the program ended, where are the trainees now? Keep in mind that this is a partial list. 9 of the 21 trainees are still currently working at Brooklyn Public Library. Geographically – new-york california bahamas massachusetts boston ohio oklahoma washington-dc Job roles & titles - independent-information-professionals library-managers public-librarians school-librarians international-librarian correctional-services-librarian library-directors web-analyst information-commons-coordinator
• #18: What worked and what didn’t work about the PULSE program. Lessons Learned. Practical hands-on experience is invaluable Exposure to different areas of a library helps future librarians figure out their areas of interest and career paths Need for continuous networking opportunities during and after the program Lack of training in key areas such as grant writing and project management Need to include multilingual and under-represented groups in addition to people of color, including people with disabilities Takeaways from PULSE for you to keep in mind for current & future library diversity initiatives and programs.
• #25: http://datacite.org/purdue
• #26: http://datacite.org/purdue
• #28: http://datacite.org/purdue
• #33: Good Morning, Again My name is Edwin B. Maxwell and I am an information literacy instructor at ASA institute and a Senior Librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library. As mentioned earlier, I have had the distinct honor of participating in numerous diversity initiatives, including PULSE which Lisa spoke about earlier and MIP which Louis will speak about next, but I am going to speak about one that I particularly hold close to my heart and that is ALA’s Spectrum Iniative. How many people here are Spectrum Scholars, Are their any people here that are currently in Grad School?-If you are not graduating this is something you should seriously consider doing. There is so much I could talk about with Spectrum but I only have a few moments, so let me touch on a few points that I think are important and that we can use to further the discussion when we break into groups later on.
• #34: Spectrum is ALA’s national diversity initiative which was started in 1997 by ALA President Dr. Betty J. Turock. The Scholarship program and recruitment effort is ALA’s proactive effort to solve the issue of the lack of diversity and underrepresentation of ethic librarians in the library profession.
• #35: Official Read statement : I chose to highlight the phrase …. I don’t think we need to get into another big discussion with what that means. I think we all here get the point. How many of you feel like your staff is not reflective of the community you serve. Quick note to that point I work for brooklyn public library which is the 5 th largest library system in the US that serves over 2.5 million brooklnynites. 1.4 million or 56% of Brooklynites identify as non white or people of color. BPL has over 200 professional staff members, now I don’t know the offcial numbers on what percentage of the professional staff are people of color but what I can tell you is this. There are 3 of us up here right now and there is not whole lot more of us. I believe were are about on par with the national average. The Diversity counts Study said about 11% of professtionals working in the field are ethnic minorites. We are probably on par with that. I say mention that just to reiterate how critical these iniatives are and why we have to continue fighting for them.
• #36: Back to Spectrum So the benefits of Spectrum. Build toward having a workforce that more closely resembles the community you serve. Along with that comes Employees with an Unique skillset expertise that is beneficial and sometimes mandatory when serving these populations. And lastly and possible the most important you receive employees who are passionate, dedicated, future library leaders. Spectrum Institute- 3 day intensive leadership training. When I say intesive I mean Intensive.. 9am-9pm. It was the well constructed and most effective workshop I have ever participated in. No one wanted to go home. There was 3 major reasons for this 1) Refreshing to see so many other young, vibrant librarians of color. 2) filled with practical knowledge from people that were working in the field. We had workshops named 1.2.5 The Real Low-Down: LIS Education Vs. Your First LIS Job What You Need to Know Before You Get Out There, 1:30-3pm, Royal E/F Professional Options fair 3) We reallly got to know each other and other Spectrum Scholars. We were locked in a room with these people for 13 hrs a day. We forged relationship that last for a lifetiime.
• #38: 2) Similar experiences 4) Every aspect of informational service from typical reference Librarians to Managers of Special Collections, Digital Librarians Everyone
• #39: Now most important when we look at National recruiting effort. Recruit from people from a variety of disciplines. 50-80 are chosen from a field 150-300 applicants annually. There's a weighted system and those 3 factors make up the highest percentage of points. Leadership potential, academic achievement and quality of application are lower factors in the overall evaluation. Develop  
• #40: This may sound cliché but the key is in the people. Programs could end at the Institute. But Spectrum Scholars seem to go away. Constanstly A lot of credit has to go to Wendy Assistant Director Office of Diversity. But it leads to those three thing Recruit people Passionate Leaders 2) Develop- Put the time and effort into these people and inturn you will get that third-snd most crucial part Retention.
• #76: - Depending on group size, maybe have everyone do quick intro (name & library) or show of hands for library type - Panelist/presenter = facilitator, ask for a notetaker & reporter