The Urban Library Program: Challenges to Educating and Hiring a Diverse Workforce

From 2003 through the fall of 2009, St. Catherine University (formerly the College of St. Catherine) and the Saint Paul Public Library collaborated to create the Urban Library Program (ULP), an Institute of Library and Museum Services (IMLS) supported project to recruit, educate, hire, and retain a diverse paraprofessional workforce in the metropolitan Twin Cities of Minnesota. Studies of graduates of the ULP demonstrate its success in educating diverse individuals for employment in libraries in spite of the complexity of their language, economic, and educational challenges. These same studies also reveal institutional and professional barriers to hiring a qualified, diverse workforce. This case study investigates challenges to attracting and educating a diverse workforce, structural barriers that inhibit hiring, class conflicts arising in the workplace, and unexpected results from the program. The authors conclude that for the population targeted in this project, education alone is not the answer to diversifying the workforce. A strong support network is necessary to navigate higher education systems, the hiring practices of libraries, as well as the professional library community.published or submitted for publicatio

Glucagon-like peptide 1 infusions overcome anabolic resistance to feeding in older human muscle.

BACKGROUND Despite its known insulin-independent effects, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) role in muscle protein turnover has not been explored under fed-state conditions or in the context of older age, when declines in insulin sensitivity and protein anabolism, as well as losses of muscle mass and function, occur. METHODS Eight older-aged men (71 ± 1 year, mean ± SEM) were studied in a crossover trial. Baseline measures were taken over 3 hr, prior to a 3 hr postprandial insulin (~30 mIU ml ) and glucose (7-7.5 mM) clamp, alongside I.V. infusions of octreotide and Vamin 14 (±infusions of GLP-1). Four muscle biopsies were taken, and muscle protein turnover was quantified via incorporation of C phenylalanine and arteriovenous balance kinetics, using mass spectrometry. Leg macro- and microvascular flow was assessed via ultrasound and anabolic signalling by immunoblotting. GLP-1 and insulin were measured by ELISA. RESULTS GLP-1 augmented muscle protein synthesis (MPS; fasted: 0.058 ± 0.004% hr vs. postprandial: 0.102 ± 0.005% hr , p < 0.01), in comparison with non-GLP-1 trials. Muscle protein breakdown (MPB) was reduced throughout clamp period, while net protein balance across the leg became positive in both groups. Total femoral leg blood flow was unchanged by the clamp; however, muscle microvascular blood flow (MBF) was significantly elevated in both groups, and to a significantly greater extent in the GLP-1 group (MBF: 5 ± 2 vs. 1.9 ± 1 fold change +GLP-1 and -GLP-1, respectively, p < 0.01). Activation of the Akt-mTOR signalling was similar across both trials. CONCLUSION GLP-1 infusion markedly enhanced postprandial microvascular perfusion and further stimulated muscle protein metabolism, primarily through increased MPS, during a postprandial insulin hyperaminoacidaemic clamp