ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 962 / C& RL News Minority recruitment: A success story By Tami Echavarria Reference/Instruction Librarian, Undergraduate L ibrary University o f California, San Diego Studies have suggested that librarians choose the profession because o f significant role models. TT he dem ographics o f th e U nited States J&. population are changing as we move to ­ w ard th e 21st century. O u r society is becom ing m o re cu ltu rally diverse w ith g re a te r m inority com position. “D em o g rap h ic projections o f th e year 2000 indicate th a t nearly on e-th ird o f th e U.S. population will be black, Hispanic, Asian o r Pacific Islander, o r native A m erican.”1 As this transform a­ tion in o u r society occurs, education and librarian- ship have recognized th a t as professions we n e e d to respond to these changing dem ographics. C u rren tly th e library profession is p re d o m i­ nantly w hite in ch aracter, lacking in sufficient m in o rity r e p r e s e n ta tio n to re s p o n d to th e s e changes. Only about one in nine librarians is a m e m b er o f a m inority group.2 M any efforts are being m ade to recru it m inority group m em bers to librarianship and to hire and retain m inority librari­ ans in o rd er to rem edy this im balance. Scholar­ W illiam E. M oen and K athleen M. H eim , “T he Class o f 1988: Librarians for th e N ew M illennium ,” E d ito r’s N ote, Am erican Libraries 19 (N ovem ber 1988): 860. 2Ann Knight Randall, “M inority R ecruitm ent in Librarianship” in William E. M oen and K athleen M. H eim , eds., Librarians f o r the N ew M illennium (Chicago: A m erican Library Association, Office for Library Personnel Resources, 1988), 18. ships, m entoring program s, postgraduate in te rn ­ ships, and affirmative action hiring practices are am ong th e techniques th a t are being effectively utilized to increase th e n u m b e r o f m inority librari­ ans and p ro m o te a culturally diverse workforce. H owever, th e pool o f m inority librarians re ­ mains small. T h ere is a very real n e e d to funnel m ore m inority students into th e pipeline o f gradu­ ate school program s in library science in o rd e r to p ro d u ce m ore m inority librarians. M inorities, im ­ m igrants, an d w om en m ake up m ore th an half o f th e U.S. workforce and “w hite males will m ake up only 15% o f th e increase in th e w orkforce over th e next te n years.”3 As th e ethnic com position o f the available workforce changes, we m ust discern ways to attract m em bers o f this available w orkforce into librarianship as a career. But th e pool o f m inority college graduates from which graduate program s in various professions recru it still rem ains small. Salaries in lib rarian sh ip do n o t c o m p e te well against m any o th e r professions offering m ore rem uneration. W hat factors are th ere, th en , th a t positively influence those ethnically diverse stu ­ dents who do e n te r library schools to make this caree r choice? “N um erous studies o f librarians 3R. R oosevelt T hom as Jr., “F ro m Affirmative Action to Affirming Diversity,” H arvard Business Review 68 (M arch-April 1990): 107. November 1 9 9 0 1 963 have suggested th a t we choose th e profession b e ­ cause o f significant role m odels— people we know and respect who are librarians.”4 A nother im por­ tan t factor in this decision appears to be th a t th e experience o f working in a library environm ent has a stronger positive influence on m em bers o f m inor­ ity groups than on w hite em ployees to make a career choice in library science.5 T he University o f California, San Diego, has begun a program w hich uses these influences to attract ethnically diverse un d erg rad u ate students to select librarianship as th e ir career choice. Unlike m entoring internship program s or o th e r recru it­ m en t efforts th a t com pete for a lim ited n u m b e r o f new or experienced m inority librarians, th e U n d e r­ g ra d u a te S tu d e n t In te rn s h ip P ro g ram (U SIP) brings m inority students into th e pipeline o f train ­ ing to becom e professional M L S -degreed librari­ ans, th e re b y increasing th e fu tu re m inority candi­ date pool from w hich libraries will be able to r e ­ cruit. It is not a rep lacem en t for institutional re ­ cru itm en t n o r graduate school recru itm en t, b u t offers an o th er avenue to increase fu tu re m inority rep resentation in th e profession. Undergraduate Student Internship Program This program is a work o f m any hands th a t arose out o f a general concern at th e University o f Cali­ fornia, San Diego, for increasing m inority re p re ­ sentation am ong its professional staff. W hile e n ­ gaging in active recru itm en t efforts for m inority librarians, th e n e e d for g reater m inority candidate pools rem ained evident. Some m em bers o f th e U C SD U ndergraduate Library staff co n trib u ted to th e inception and early developm ent o f th e idea into a program , w hich has b e e n b rought to fruition u n d e r th e direction o f th e coordinator for USIP. W ith th e encouragem ent and support o f A dm ini­ stration and th e advice o f th e library’s Affirmative Action C om m ittee, th e U n dergraduate S tudent In tern sh ip Program has achieved excellent results in its first year. U SIP focuses on some o f th e key areas o f co n ­ cern articulated by th e 1988 Library and Inform a­ tion Science S tu d en t A ttitudes, D em ographics, and Aspirations (LISSADA) study, co n d u cted by th e Louisiana State University School o f Library Science. According to th e study, larger libraries n e e d to b e concerned because 1) very few new 4M oen, 860. 5K athleen M. H eim and William E. M oen, Oc­ cupational Entry: L ibrary an d Inform ation Science S tu d e n ts’ A ttitudes, D emographics an d A spira­ tions Survey (Chicago: Am erican Library Associa­ tion, O ffice for L ib rary P erso n n el R esources, 1989), 116. library school graduates p re fe r to seek working situations in large library systems defined as em ­ ploying m ore th an 51 librarians, 2) m inority stu­ dents still com prise a very small p ercentage o f fu tu re librarians, and 3) technical services work receives scant consideration am ong graduates and is not viewed as a very desirable specialization w ithin th e field.6 T hese concerns are o f vital in te r­ est to large academ ic and research libraries. U SIP provides an opportunity for m inority stu­ d e n t library em ployees to examine th e field o f librarianship on a close-up and personal basis, observe professional functions, and discuss librari­ anship as a potential career choice. A broad over­ view o f libraries and th e role o f librarians is p re ­ sen ted to provide an understanding o f th e different aspects o f th e profession and to lay a foundation for future library and inform ation science study as well as professional practice. Although all types o f li­ braries and positions are covered, career o p p o rtu ­ nities in academ ic libraries and in technical services are em phasized in an effort to guide students to ­ w ard th e areas w here th e re is greatest n eed in th e profession for m inority librarians. T argeting th e stu d en t em ployees already work­ ing w ithin th e UC-San D iego Library, a call was p u t out in th e spring o f 1989 to all librarians asking w h e th e r any o f th e m inority stu d en t em ployees working in th e ir units enjoyed working in th e li­ brary, and eith er had no specific career goals in m ind o r w ere already in terested in librarianship. T he librarians talked with th e students to see if any w ere in terested in pursuing a program in which th ey w ould have th e opportunity to learn m ore about librarianship and d eterm in e if it was a viable career option for them . It was im portant to assure th e students th a t th e workload o f this program w ould not in terfere o r cause a b u rd e n on th e ir academ ic studies. F o u r students w ere recruited. D uring th e 1989-90 academ ic year, a librarian m et w ith th e students as a group once a w eek for two hours in addition to th e ir norm al work hours. T he students w ere paid at th e ir regular hourly rate as if they w ere working at th e ir assigned job in th e library. E ach w eek different aspects o f th e profes­ sion w ere em phasized w ith several librarians p a r­ ticipating to share th e ir areas o f expertise. Sessions included an overview o f th e field, discussion o f opportunities in th e field in a variety o f traditional and non-traditional settings, explanation o f th e MLS and schools th a t offer it, hands-on experience in reference and technical services, readings, and field trips to o th e r types o f libraries. Since th e n u m b e r o f students in th e initial group was small, m entoring was a strong factor in th e program . As th e year progressed, and th e students 6M oen, 885. 964 / C&RL News learned m ore about librarianship as a profession, they becam e in terested in how it m ight fit into th e ir own lives, interests, and plans. In this respect th e guidance o f a m inority librarian was m ost advanta­ geous. Tim e was spent with each student, as they req u ested it, talking about how making it in a m ainstream cu ltu re differed from th e environ­ m ents and cultures in which they had b een raised. A m inority librarian was a role m odel to which th e students could relate and they w ere able to see th a t they could accom plish a satisfying career along a similar track. This program is effective at a small cost to th e institution. T he cost for th e first year was about $850, based on th e attendance o f th e four students for two quarters and th re e students for one quarter. O ne stu d en t did not participate W inter Q uarter. A few brochures w ere p urchased from th e A m erican Library Association which are included in this fig­ ure; however, th e librarians’ tim e is not com puted in this cost. In addition to th e two hours p e r week, about thirty hours o f preparation tim e is req u ired in th e first year to create th e program . T he success o f th e program is m easured by th e n u m b e r o f students who saw librarianship as a viable career option. O f th e original four students, th re e decided to choose librarianship as th e ir ca­ re e r choice. T he fourth stu d en t rem ains u n d e ­ cided, and has chosen to take a paraprofessional library position before going on to a graduate p ro ­ gram. T he first o f th e students graduated at th e en d o f th e 1989-90 academ ic year and has b een ac­ cep ted into a library school. O f th e o th e r th re e students who have not yet graduated, one is p re p a r­ ing to apply to library schools, one has accepted a paraprofessional position, and th e th ird plans to apply to library schools in h e r senior year. O ne o f th e students has selected technical services as h er specific area o f interest in librarianship. In the evaluations o f USIP, th e students rem arked that they w ould not have known how to acquire this inform ation any o th e r way. T he U ndergraduate S tu d en t Internship Program has definitely m ade a difference in th e lives o f these students. F u rth e r evidence o f the success o f this program is th e n u m b e r o f new students who have expressed in ter­ est in participating in this program . To date, one m onth prior to th e start o f th e next cycle, eight students have com m itted to participate for th e 1990-91 academ ic year. Conclusions Although not an im m ediate solution to th e short­ age o f m inority librarians, th e U ndergraduate Stu­ d e n t Internship Program makes a significant con­ trib u tio n to the problem , and does so in a relatively expeditious and cost-effective m anner. It is one am ong many solutions which will add m inority students to the pool o f students going on to library schools and em erging as librarians w ithin a very few years. T he continuation o f this program will con­ tin u e to increase directly th e n u m b e r o f minority librarians. U SIP is very easily m anaged and contributes to th e profession as a whole, ra th e r than to any p a r­ ticular institution or type o f library. Costs, both m onetary and personal, are low. T he ch ief re q u ire ­ m en t is a librarian with a genuine interest in th e c a re e r plans o f m inority students to act as a role m odel, th e rew ard for which is trem endous p e r­ sonal gratification. And m ost im portantly, th e im pact o f this type o f program on th e profession can easily be com pounded if replicated in o th er academ ic institutions. ■ ■ Harvard’s Tozzer Library hosts special exhibit H arv ard U niversity’s T o zzer L ibrary, fo r­ m erly th e library o f th e Peabody M useum and one o f th e best anthropological collections in th e U nited States, is hosting a special exhibit, “Cay- oni: Traditional C reek W oodcarving,” through January 27, 1991. Cayoni, known to many by his English nam e Joseph Johns, has b een artist-in-residence at th e Peabody M useum for th e past 15 years and was th e first recipient o f th e M assachusetts Arts Council’s Native American Artist fellowship. A C re e k In d ia n fro m th e A lth a m a h a R iv e r/ O kefenokee area o f Georgia, Cayoni began his apprenticeship with his grandfather, a locally re ­ now ned C reek carver, w hen he was eight years old. Today, Cayoni is th e sole surviving tradi ti o n a l C r e e k w oodcarver. T he display was cre a te d and m oun­ te d by th e staff of th e Peabody M u­ seum o f Archaeol­ ogy a n d E th n o l­ ogy, C a m b rid g e , M a s s a c h u s e t t s . F o r in fo rm a tio n , c o n t a c t F r e d J. H a y , T o z z e r L i­ b rary , (617) 495- W oodcarving by Cayoni 2253. entitled Altamaha.