April 12, 2005

National diversity program participants visit Purdue Libraries

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Eight representatives from the Association of Research Libraries program to recruit a diverse workforce visited Purdue on April 10-12 to become acquainted firsthand with the workings of a library at a major research university.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) representatives, including seven graduate students and a program officer, worked with Purdue Libraries faculty and staff to learn about Purdue's library system and met with university administrators and other members of the Purdue community to explore the challenges and issues of a complex research-library system.

The Purdue Libraries program was made possible by James L. Mullins, dean of libraries, who created the program to support the nationwide initiative to broaden the diversity among library professionals.

"We saw this as an opportunity to promote the strategic plans of both the Purdue Libraries and the university to advance diversity among the faculty on campus," Mullins said. "The visit also supported the ARL diversity program. The idea was to bring in very qualified professionals from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the library profession and expose them to the workings of a major academic research library."

During their visit the representatives met with Provost Sally Mason and Alyssa Rollock, vice president for human relations, as well as more than a dozen faculty members from libraries and research and support areas around campus.

A reception for the ARL representatives and Purdue Libraries faculty and staff was held on the evening of Monday (April 11) at the Black Cultural Center on campus.

ARL representative Isabella Marques de Castilla, a master's degree student at the Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and an employee at the Library of Congress, welcomed the opportunity to tour a major university's academic research library.

"This was an excellent opportunity for me to see the way a university library system really works," said Marques de Castilla, who is Spanish and has lived and worked extensively in Europe.

"The diversity and minority issues are somewhat new to me, but I do believe that a person should be recognized by their achievements rather than their background or appearance. I think this program is a good example of how American society offers an abundance of opportunities to those people who want to take advantage of them."

The purpose of the ARL diversity program is to support efforts within academic and research libraries to promote and develop library staff and library leaders who are representative of the diverse population in the United States. Those efforts include the recruitment and retention of library personnel from a variety of backgrounds and through professional development opportunities that create networks and promote diverse leadership.

The ALR currently has 123 member organizations. The mission of the association is to provide leadership in public and information policy to scholarly communities, foster the exchange of ideas and expertise and shape the future environment of higher education and university library systems.

For more information about the ARL and its programs, visit the association’s Web site.

Writer: Aaron Martin, (765) 496-3133, martinac@purdue.edu

Sources: James L. Mullins, dean of Purdue Libraries, (765) 494-2900, jmullins@purdue.edu

Judy Schumaker, director of development and public relations for Purdue Libraries, (765) 494-7987, jschumkr@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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