IUPUI University Library Strategic Plan for Diversity

2007-2009
Prepared by the IUPUI University Library Diversity Council
Created: 27 July 2007
Updated: May 2008

Diversity Goal 1: Recruitment, academic achievement, persistence and graduation of a diverse student body.

Establish a Diversity Undergraduate Fellowship, whose applicants are from populations underrepresented in library professionals/staff. The Fellowship will mimic the structure of SLIS graduate assistantships, meaning the fellow could participate in work for various library Teams, supervised by that Team’s leader. Additionally the fellow will participate in organizing University Library’s monthly multicultural displays (see goal 3.2). This fellow will be appointed for a full academic year. Expected hours per week is 20 and expected compensation is $10 per hour.

The hope of this fellowship is to not only increase the diversity of our student worker population but also serves as a means of introducing the work of libraries or librarianship as a career to individuals who may not have otherwise considered this work, which also helps to reach Diversity Goal 2 of recruiting and retaining diverse faculty and staff.

As part of the application process the applicant will be asked to define multicultural and describe how he/she embodies this concept. It is important that this fellowship be open to students of all age, ability, cultural heritage, ethnic background, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.

Diversity Goal 2: Recruit, retain, advance, recognize, and promote a diverse faculty, staff and administration while creating a campus-wide community that celebrates its own diversity as one of its strengths and as a means of shaping IUPUI’s identity as a university.

Create and post posters, bookmarks, and/or other media that illustrate the multicultural background of librarians and library staff. Similarly to nurse recruitment campaigns, we will open people’s eyes to librarianship/library work as a career by visually presenting people from a variety of cultures working in libraries. If individuals are agreeable we could use University Library staff members in the posters which would add another level of meaning for viewers, the person in the poster would not just be a face but someone they can actually speak to in University Library.

Additionally these posters (either the actual printed poster or just the file) could be made either freely available or made available for purchase.

Nursing campaign examples:

http://www.oregoncenterfornursing.org/documents/poster_67k.jpg

Diversity Goal 3: Make diversity a strategic priority touching all aspects of the campus mission.

Establish a budget/fund for multicultural materials for purposeful collection of material, both print and electronic, that “reflect[s] the full diversity of the human experience and commentary on it” (from objective under IUPUI Diversity Goal 3 about the library collections). Encourage liaisons that are already purchasing multicultural materials to continue doing so. This new fund will be used for purchasing additional, more unique multicultural items that may not have been attained with subject-based funds. Funds will also support multicultural material purchases for the Herron Art Library.

The Collection Development Working Group rejected this proposal for setting aside funds specifically for the development of multicultural material.  Instead CDCG recommended that all librarians continue the practice of purchasing diversity related materials with current subject based funds. 

3.2 Monthly Multicultural Displays

Enhance climate for multiculturalism through the creation of monthly displays following the various nationally recognized, month-long multicultural celebrations, e.g. Martin Luther King Jr. day (January), Black History Month (Feb), Women’s History Month (March), Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (May), Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered Pride month (June), Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act (July 26), Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15 – Oct 15).

Each group should consider consulting campus student groups, faculty groups, and library liaisons which pertain to their topic for ideas. For the first year of displays, each month’s team will be responsible for all display creation, set-up, and tear down of their month’s display. Once hired the Multicultural Undergraduate Fellow (see Goal 1) will participate in display creation for every month and will be responsible for uninstalling the previous month’s display in addition to various other tasks.