ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


November 1 9 9 0 1 973

Report from the President

By Barbara J. Ford

President, A C R L

Underrepresented minorities

At th e 1990 Annual C onference in Chicago th e 
ACRL B oard o f D irectors received th e final rep o rt 
o f th e ACRL Task F orce on R ecruitm ent o f U n d e r­
rep resen te d  M inorities. This Task F orce was estab­
lished by ACRL P resident Joseph Boissé and ably 
chaired by E d ith  M aureen F ish er from th e U niver­
sity o f California, San Diego. T he rep o rt will be 
reviewed at th e  fall m eeting o f th e  ACRL Executive 
C om m ittee and appear in th e D e cem b e r issue o f 
C & R L News. As we p rep are to act on th e  im portant 
recom m endations in th e report, I w anted to review 
th e ALA Policy M anual for relevant ALA policies.

U n d er ALA priority Area E (Personnel R e­
sources), Goal 8 states th a t “Librarianship recruits 
a racially and ethnically diverse group o f high cali­
b e r persons.” U n d er Priority Area F  (Library Serv­
ices, D evelopm ent, and Technology), Goal 11 
states th a t “Libraries are proactive agencies which 
m eet th e challenges o f social, econom ic, and envi­
ronm ental change.”

ALA has an official Policy on M inority Concerns 
(Policy 59). It states:

“T he A m erican Library Association prom otes 
equal access to inform ation for all persons and 
recognizes th e  u rg en t n eed  to respond to th e in ­
creasing racial and ethnic diversity am ong A m eri­
cans. A frican-A m ericans, H ispanic A m ericans, 
Asian A m erican, Native A m ericans, and o th e r 
m inorities have critical and increasing needs for 
inform ation and library access. T hey are affected 
by a com bination o f limitations including illiteracy, 
language barriers, econom ic distress, cultural isola­
tion, and discrim ination in education, em ploy­
m ent, and housing. T herefore, th e role played by 
libraries to enable m inorities to participate fully in 
a dem ocratic society is crucial. Libraries m ust util­
ize m ultivariate resources and strategies to e m ­
pow er m inority peoplé. C o n crete program s of 
recru itm en t, training, developm ent, and upw ard

mobility are n e e d e d  in o rd er to  increase and retain 
m inority personnel w ithin librarianship. W ithin th e 
A m erican Library Association, th e coordinating 
m echanism s for program s and activities dealing 
w ith m inorities in various ALA divisions, offices, 
and units should b e strengthened, and support for 
m inority liaison activities should be en h an ced .”

Policy objectives include:
“1. P rom oting th e removal o f all barriers to 

library and inform ation services, particularly fee 
charges and languages barriers.

“2. Prom oting th e publication, production, and 
purchase o f p rin t and nonprint m aterials th a t p re s­
e n t positive role m odels o f cultural minorities.

“3. Prom oting full funding for existing legislative 
program s in support o f m inority education and 
training, and to explore alternative funding sources 
for scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships to 
encourage m inority recru itm en t into librarianship.

“4. Prom oting training o pportunities for librari­
ans, including minorities, in o rd er to teach effective 
techniques for generating tripartite public funding 
for upgrading library services to m inorities.

“5. P rom oting th e incorporation o f m inority 
program s and services into th e  regular library 
budgets in all types o f libraries, ra th e r than th e 
tendency to support these activities solely from 
‘soft m onies’ such as private grants o r federal m o­
nies.

“6. Prom oting equity in funding adequate library 
services for m inority populations, in term s o f p ro ­
fessional and nonprofessional personnel, materials, 
resources, facilities, and equipm ent.

“7. Prom oting supplem ental support for library 
resources on cultural m inorities by urging local, 
state, and federal governm ent, and th e private 
sector, to provide adequate funding.

“8. Prom oting increased public awareness o f th e 
im portance o f library resources and services in all 
segm ents o f society, especially m inority com m uni­
ties.



974 /  C& RL News

“9. P ro m o tin g  th e  d e te rm in a tio n  o f o u tp u t 
m easures th ro u g h  th e  encouragem ent o f com m u­
nity needs assessm ents, giving special em phasis to 
assessing th e needs o f cultural m inorities.

“10. P rom oting in creased  staff d ev elo p m en t 
opportunities and upw ard mobility for m inority 
librarians.”

C om bating Prejudice, Stereotyping, a n d  D is­
crim ination (Policy 59.2): “T h e Am erican Library 
Association actively com m its its prestige and re ­
sources to a coordinated action program  th a t will 
com bat prejudice, stereotyping, and discrim ina­
tion against individuals and groups in th e library 
profession and in library service because o f race, 
sex, creed, color, or national origin.”

Goals f o r  Indian L ibrary an d  Inform ation Serv­
ices (Policy 59.3):

“1. All library and inform ation services m ust 
show sensitivity to  cultural and social com ponents 
existent in individual Indian com m unities.

“2. Indian rep resen tatio n  th ro u g h  appointm ent 
to local boards and creation o f local advisory com ­
m ittees concerning services to  and about A m erican 
Indians are essential for healthy, viable program s.

“3. M aterials w hich m e et inform ation and e d u ­
cational needs and w hich p re se n t a bicultural view 
o f history and culture m ust be provided in ap p ro ­
p riate form ats, quality, and quantity to m eet c u r­
re n t and fu tu re needs.

“4. Library program s, o u treach  and delivery 
systems m ust be created  w hich will insure rapid 
access to inform ation in a m a n n er com patible with 
th e  com m unity’s cultural milieu.

“5. Am erican Indian personnel train ed  for posi­
tions o f responsibility are essential to th e success o f 
any program .

“6. C ontinuing funding sources for library and 
inform ation services m ust be developed.”

L ibrary Education to M eet the Needs o f  Spanish- 
Speaking People (Policy 59.4):

“T h e A m erican Library Association will take 
steps through its C om m ittee on A ccreditation to 
encourage graduate library schools seeking ac­
creditation o r reaccreditation to assure th a t course 
co n ten t reflects th e  cultural heritage and needs o f 
th e  Spanish-speaking people o f th e U n ited  States 
and will encourage such schools to include bilin- 
gual/bicultural persons on th e ir faculties.”

Latinos in State Agencies (Policy 59.5):
“T h e A m erican Library Association urges and 

supports th e  recruiting, hiring, and prom otion o f 
Latinos w ithin th e  state library structure, especially 
in th e areas o f adm inistration and consultation.”

Visiting Fellowships at Beinecke 
Rare Book & Manuscript Library

T he Beinecke Rare Book and M anuscript Li­
brary offers short-term  fellowships for visiting 
scholars p ursuing post-doctoral o r equivalent 
research  in its collections. T h e fellowships, 
w hich support travel to and from  N ew  H aven 
and pay a living allowance o f $1,500 p e r m onth, 
are designed to  provide access to th e  library for 
scholars who reside outside th e g reater New 
H aven area. T he length o f a grant, norm ally one 
m onth, will d e p e n d  on th e applicant’s research 
proposal; fellowships are betw een S ep tem b er 
1991 and May 1992. R ecipients are expected to 
b e in residence during th e p erio d  o f th e  award.

T h e proposal should em phasize th e rela­
tionship o f th e  Beinecke collections to th e p ro j­
ect and state th e  p re fe rre d  dates o f residence. 
T he applicant m ust also arrange to have two 
confidential letters o f recom m endation sent to 
th e director. T h e following n am ed  fellowships 
will b e am ong those awarded: The Frederick W. 
Beinecke Fellowship in W estern Americana, 
The H.D. Fellowship in English or A m erican 
literature, The D onald C. Gallup Fellowship in 
A m erican literature, The A. Bartlett G iam atti 
Fellowship, The H.P. Kraus Fellowship in early 
books and m anuscripts, The Alexander O. Vie- 
to r Fellowship in cartography and related  fields. 
All application m aterials m ust b e received by 
January 15,1991. Awards will be announced in 
M arch 1991 for th e p erio d  S ep tem b er 1991 
through May 1992.

T h ere is no special application form. Appli­
cants are asked to subm it a resum e and a b rie f 
research proposal (not to exceed th re e  pages) 
to: D irector, Beinecke Rare Book & M anu­
script Library, Box 1603A Yale Station, New 
Haven, C T 06520-1603.

T h e proposal should em phasize th e relation­
ship o f th e  Beinecke collections to th e project 
and state th e p re fe rre d  dates o f residence. T he 
applicant m ust also arrange to have two confi­
dential letters o f recom m endation sent to th e 
D irector.



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