UW Panel Discussion on Race

Issues of race and diversity on the UW campus were highlighted in a panel discussion at the Memorial Union last Friday. Read more about it in the Badger Herald here.

Social TLAM

A lot that has happened since my last post (hello new president!). The LAMP, AOF, and international students at SLIS had an end of the year potluck social. We had way too much food since we were the recipients of food that was left over from a retirement party for Dian Bobb just before our event. Too much food is way better than too little, isn't it though? Some other things that are underway as well include planning for the 2009 LAMP Summer Institute and discussions about a Webpage redesign.

Potluck Social Participants

Trying out the different dishes.

The single largest diversity project that I have been involved in lately, however, is an independent study with nine other students (it is ony an "independent study" on paper, since there are ten students, one professor, and two librarians working on this) where we are creating a Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums (TLAM) class. Our hope is that this will lay the groundwork for a class that could be offered next year as a regular topics course.Our focus has been on service learning, and one of our achievements already has been applying for a receiving a Kauffmann grant to help pay for trips and activities related to our study. One facet of our class has been to build on work that was done last year by three SLIS students (often referred to as the three Cs: Christina and Cat-- both of whom are in the current class as well-- and Chelsea). They conducted an assesment of the Red Cliff Reservation Community to determine whether it would be feasible to reopen their public library. Hopefully we will be able to help them take those first steps towards getting the doors open again, and eventually help lay a foundation that will lead to an entirely new library, since the existing facilities are inadequate. Other activities for this class have included numerous speakers visiting our class and getting ready to visit the TLAM at Oneida next Friday.

For more about our class experience please check out our class blog. I'll write more here in future as well. If you have any ideas or feedback, we'd love to hear from you.

Badger Herald story and Eid al-Adha

The two part Badger Herald story on the UW Plan 2008 diversity initiative.

Part 1: Diversity Plan Sees Scrutiny

Part 2: The Future of Diversity

Today marks the beginning of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha. Learn more here.

Associated Students of Madison Diversity Committee

This week I had the opportunity to meet with Steven Olikara, the new chair of the Associated Students of Madison Diversity Committee. I found out about his appointment from the student paper The Daily Cardinal. We've started discussing ideas on how we might collaborate on campus-wide initiatives. One thing that was clear from our meeting is that while there are numerous initiatives by different departments and schools around the UW Campus there is not enough communication between them. If we could find a way to increase communication it might be possible to learn from each other and avoid redundancy.

One very interesting program that Steven brought to my attention is the Posse Program at the School of Education. It appears to use techniques that are similar to LAMP. Use to the link to learn more about it.

We have an LAMP, AOF, ISIP, and international student social coming up on Friday, December 12, so look here again for an overview of that event.

LIS Diversity Scholarship Opportunity – March 1, 2009 Deadline

Check it out . . .

The American Library Association’s Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies Division [ALA ASCLA] is recruiting applicants for the tenth annual ASCLA Century Scholarship. ASCLA Century, a $2500 award, is an ASCLA diversity initiative within the ALA Scholarship Program that promotes the entry of individuals with access needs into the library and information science profession.

Eligible veterans are encouraged to apply.

ASCLA Century Scholarship Home Page: http://ascla.ala.org/century

ALA Scholarship Program Home Page: http://www.ala.org/scholarships/

ASCLA Century Scholarship Criteria:

1. Acceptance to or enrollment in LIS program (Master's or Doctoral Level) at an ALA-accredited institution: no credit-hour limit for continuing students

2. Documentation of access need

3. American or Canadian citizenship

4. Submission of ALA Scholarship Program online application: See: http://www.ala.org/scholarships/

In accordance with the American Library Association's accessibility policy 54.3.2 (http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/governance/policymanual/policymanual.31_3.pdf - page 50), if needed, alternative formats for this online application are available upon request.

Please visit the ASCLA Century Scholarship home page - http://ascla.ala.org/century - for further details and contact information for any questions or contact the ASCLA Office toll-free at 1-800-545-2433 Ext. 4398 TDD: 1-888-814-7692

The ASCLA Century Scholarship

"Celebrating a New Century that Celebrates Diversity"

http://ascla.ala.org/century

ABC Clip

An interesting clip I thought I would share. It's both a little frightening and heartening.

Catching up: A social, WLA, and what's coming along

Catching up on where I ought to be with this blog . . .

There have been a few developments since the last time I posted. LAMP held its first social at Professor Robbins' house in mid-October. It was a hit, even if my son-- who came with me-- was a little ornery. It was a chicken dinner open to both LAMP and AOF students. We had over ten attendees altogether and everyone agreed that it would be worthwhile to do it again. So, I have to start thinking about that one. The idea of a potluck appeals to me since it is a way for people to express themselves and share a little about who they are while they are at it. Though, students might be too busy to make something.

Picture at WLA, left to right: Omar, Roy, Amani, Kristina, me, and Louise.

I also had the opportunity earlier this November to meet Amani Ayad, who is the backbone holding the LAMP program up, at the Wisconsin Library Association. Prof. Robbins, Amani, a number of LAMP scholars, and I had a lunch at WLA and talked about where the program is and where we are going. One of the primary efforts for LAMP right now is to reapply for funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. While not directly involved, I hope to provide Amani some assistance reviewing the grant narrative.



As for other projects being developed: I will be putting more of a focus on getting some panel discussions put together addressing diversity issues. More on that to come.

Prof. Robbins and I recently found out at a meeting that a small pool of funds may be available to help promote diversity issues at the library school. This might be able to help fund incidental expenses with the panel discussions, and perhaps it could be used to help create connections between librarians and library students. One idea I have to pay students to interview librarians and write up bios on them. This would help facilitate a mentor-like situation and help us promote the diverse backgrounds of existing librarians. In discussions I had with Adin Palau, a human resources diversity officer here, it became clear that the current UW website as it stands now is a poor tool for recruitment. Campus diversity is not well represented, but highlighting the diversity that we so have can be a way to help people imagine themselves working at Madison.