Turning the page
UA program helping minority students put new faces on librarians
By: Claire Conrad
Issue date: 10/22/07 Section: News
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The stereotype of the grumpy middle-aged white woman is being combated by the Knowledge River program, based in the School of Information Resources and Library Science. The program offers financial assistance to Hispanic and American Indian students pursuing master's degrees in information resources and library science. And, yes, the group includes men.
By graduating more minority librarians, libraries are better able to work with a community's needs and create a more equitable access to information, said Patricia Montiel Overall, an assistant professor of library science.
The need for more minority librarians is evident.
American Indians represent less than 1 percent of all librarians and Latinos represent only 2 percent, according to a diversity report issued by the American Library Association based on the 2000 U.S. Census.
Graduates of the UA's library science program are a youthful, more technology-oriented group, said Jessica Hernandez, a Knowledge River student. Alumni have created a MySpace.com group through which they can blog about their experiences.
Commitment to community is a value many of the librarians share, Overall said.
"Generally, our students are very committed to community, social justice issues," she said. "You get a cadre of people who all just support each other in trying to improve social issues for everybody."
Since its inception in 2001, the program has also been working toward bridging the gap in information access.
Knowledge River student Paulina Aguirre hopes to use her degree to improve the lives of those in her native Hopi
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Nikki B.
posted 10/23/07 @ 8:33 AM MST
This article is positive news about the SIRLS program. If "Parking Lot Pete" Likens could have had his way the SIRLS minority student program would have been abolished by his "Focused Excellence" wrecking ball. (Continued…)
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