How MLIS programs prepare students to serve diverse populations

According to the American Library Association (ALA), organizational sustainability requires social equity. Preparation to serve diverse and marginalized populations is a key ingredient to creating the type of resilient leaders needed to promote and sustain systematic and lasting changes in LIS. This study analyzes courses that prepare students in ALA-accredited Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) programs to serve diverse populations. All programs’ websites were examined to identify relevant courses and 28 syllabi were analyzed for the study. The authors employed descriptive statistics and content analysis to describe course offerings and identify themes emerging from the syllabi. Overall, the study found that course rotations vary considerably across programs and more than half of the codes emerging from the content analysis focus on access, equity, and diversity and professionalism in LIS. The findings from this study add to previous research on MLIS curricula on diversity

How International is Your LIS/IS Program in the Global Higher Education Era?

Internationalization is a critical issue in LIS/IS education and the LIS/IS profession. This panel assembles educators from various continents to discover their experiences and to address the following issues: International students should comprise what percentage of a student body in order to adequately represent the spectrum of disciplines that are critical to contemporary LIS/IS schools? International faculty members should comprise what percentage of a faculty in order to adequately represent the spectrum of disciplines that are critical to contemporary LIS/IS schools? How international must a curriculum be in order to adequately prepare graduates for the challenges of the rapidly changing information environment of the future? How do our panelists build beneficial partnerships with international professional stakeholders? How do our panelists ensure the quality of LIS education from an international perspective

Re-examining the Socialization of Black Doctoral Students through the Lens of Information Theory

The socialization of Black doctoral students has been studied from many theoretical and conceptual standpoints, with the exception of information theory. In this paper, the conceptual and theoretical frameworks of small worlds and the Theory of Normative Behavior developed by information behavior scholar Elfreda Chatman are used to illuminate the information behaviors that are implicit in the socialization of Black doctoral students. Doctoral student socialization is enacted through faculty and peer relationships that communicate the norms, values, and expectations for performance that facilitate academic and social integration in graduate school in preparation for faculty roles in the academy. Despite the importance of socialization for student success, research indicates that Black doctoral students experience racism, isolation, and hostile climates in predominantly white institutions, which jeopardizes their chances for a successful outcome. Through a review of literature about the socialization of Black doctoral students in the United States, viewed through the lens of Elfreda Chatman’s theoretical frameworks, this paper examines doctoral education as a small world characterized by social and cultural norms that facilitate or hinder the socialization of Black doctoral students. Given the absence of an explicit focus on race in Chatman’s research, the salience of race as a context for the experiences and information behaviors of Black doctoral students is discussed. Areas for future research about the socialization of Black doctoral students in library and information studies are also identified. Pre-print first published online 10/11/202

Libraries As Pivotal Community Spaces in Times of Crisis

Over the past several years, society have witnessed an unprecedented number of tragedies. From the Paris bombings to the shooting of an unarmed man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, civil unrests has become a part of our everyday life. Consequently, these disturbances have had a far-reaching impact on our global and local communities. In communities in the United States, police shootings and public protests in urban cities have resulted in crises that have been particularly hard-felt, but more significantly, they live vividly in our memories. Libraries in these communities often serve as safe havens in times of crisis. This paper presents two examples of how libraries in urban communities modified their services and programs to accommodate their constituents to address their information needs during times of crisis

Hispanic and Latino Students and Their Library Experiences and Attitudes at a University in the Southeast

This study describes a survey of Hispanic and Latino students at a major research university in North Carolina. The purpose of the survey was to determine students' satisfaction with and use of the university's libraries. The study also included six interviews with students, which discussed more in-depth their attitudes toward library use at their university and their research processes. Hispanic and Latino students are at a higher risk for dropping out of college during their first few years than many of their counterparts. There are a number of factors which influence this dropout rate; among them is a lack of support on campus. When students do not identify with their librarians they become less likely to approach librarians for assistance with coursework. The interviewees' feedback supports the literature which claims that Hispanic and Latino students are hesitant to approach librarians and are not necessarily confident in their research abilities.Master of Science in Library Scienc

On "Diversity" as Anti-Racism in Library and Information Studies: A Critique

Drawing on a range of critical race and anti-colonial writing, and focusing chiefly on Anglo-Western contexts of librarianship, this paper offers a broad critique of diversity as the dominant mode of anti-racism in LIS. After outlining diversity's core tenets, I examine the ways in which the paradigm's centering of inclusion as a core anti-racist strategy has tended to inhibit meaningful treatment of racism as a structural phenomenon. Situating LIS diversity as a liberal anti-racism, I then turn to diversity's tendency to privilege individualist narratives of (anti-)racism, particularly narratives of cultural competence, and the intersection of such individualism with broader structures of political-economic domination. Diversity's preoccupation with demographic inclusion and individual behavioural competence has, I contend, left little room in the field for substantive engagement with race as a historically contingent phenomenon: race is ultimately reified through LIS diversity discourse, effectively precluding exploration of the ways in which racial formations are differentially produced in the contextually-specific exercise of power itself. I argue that an LIS foregrounding of race as a historical construct - the assumption of its contingency - would enable deeper inquiry into the complex ways in which our field - and indeed the diversity paradigm specifically - aligns with the operations of contemporary regimes of racial subordination in the first place. I conclude with a reflection on the importance of the Journal of Critical Information and Library Studies as a potential site of critical exchange from which to articulate a sustained critique of race in and through our field

Libraries on the Frontlines: Neutrality and Social Justice

Purpose This article examines libraries’ responsibility to engage with and support communities of color as they challenge systemic racism, engage in the political process, and exercise their right to free speech. Many libraries have ignored the Black Lives Matter movement, citing the need to maintain neutrality. Despite extensive scholarship questioning the validity of this concept, the framing of library neutrality as nonpartisanship continues. This article examines librarianship’s engagement with, and disengagement from Black communities through the lens of the Black Lives Matter movement. It also explores the implications of education, engagement, and activism for people of color and libraries today. Design/methodology/approach The authors have engaged the topic from a critical race perspective as a practice in exercising voice - telling stories, presenting counterstories, and practicing advocacy (Ladson-Billings, 1998). Findings The assertion that libraries have been socially and politically neutral organizations is ahistorical. When libraries decide not to address issues relevant to people of color, they are not embodying neutrality; they are actively electing not to support the information and service needs of a service population. In order for libraries to live up to their core values, they must engage actively with communities, especially when those communities are in crisis. Originality/value As a service field, librarianship has an ethos, values, and history that parallel those of many other service fields. This paper has implications for developing understanding of questions about equitable service provision

Diversity and Inclusion Education at the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

This study was conducted for a master’s paper at the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The project assessed the diversity and inclusion education available to SILS master’s students. The sample consists of course titles, descriptions, and syllabi from a two-year period (August 2015 through May 2017). The method used was content analysis, using a coding scheme based on existing literature as well as language and concepts found in the sample. It is hoped that the results provide a current depiction of the role of diversity and inclusion in the master’s degree at SILS.Master of Science in Library Scienc

Libraries on the frontlines: Neutrality and social justice

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine libraries’ responsibility to engage with and support communities of color as they challenge systemic racism, engage in the political process, and exercise their right to free speech. Many libraries have ignored the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, citing the need to maintain neutrality. Despite extensive scholarship questioning the validity of this concept, the framing of library neutrality as nonpartisanship continues. This paper examines librarianship’s engagement with, and disengagement from black communities through the lens of the BLM movement. It also explores the implications of education, engagement, and activism for people of color and libraries today. Design/methodology/approach The authors have engaged the topic from a critical race perspective as a practice in exercising voice – telling stories, presenting counterstories, and practicing advocacy (Ladson-Billings, 1998). Findings The assertion that libraries have been socially and politically neutral organizations is ahistorical. When libraries decide not to address issues relevant to people of color, they are not embodying neutrality; they are actively electing not to support the information and service needs of a service population. In order for libraries to live up to their core values, they must engage actively with communities, especially when those communities are in crisis. Originality/value As a service field, librarianship has an ethos, values, and history that parallel those of many other service fields. This paper has implications for developing understanding of questions about equitable service provision

Modeling Inclusive Practice?: Attracting Diverse Faculty and Future Faculty to the Information Workforce

Goals for achieving diversity among library and information studies (LIS) students and the workforce will remain frustrated until root issues of diversity in LIS faculty are addressed. Students from underrepresented populations are typically drawn to academic programs where they believe the faculty can relate to their experiences and feel that the academic programs include their perspectives. For these conditions to be met, LIS faculty must become much more racially diverse than they are currently. Key aspects for increasing diversity among LIS faculty are to increase the diversity of LIS doctoral students, who will be the new generations of LIS faculty, and for LIS programs to offer courses that meet the needs of these diversified populations. This article will examine the current state of diversity issues related to the education of LIS doctoral students, through the lens of the fourteen U.S.-based members of the iSchools caucus that offer LIS master's and doctoral programs. We will examine pedagogical initiatives that focus on diversity in LIS programs and federally funded grants that have supported recruitment efforts for doctoral students. Collectively, these issues will be used to identify possible strategies that can serve to promote diversity in LIS doctoral education.published or submitted for publicatio