Saturday, October 23, 2010
Social Bookmark 4: Native American Heritage Month
November is Native American Heritage month. The Library of Congress has created a resource about Native Americans. This site includes links to many Library of Congress collections, including video, audio, and many images. The site also has lesson plans for teachers doing special lessons on Native American history. This site is great for anyone looking to learn more about Native American Heritage.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Social Bookmark 3: African American World
African American World is a resource developed by PBS. It serves as a guide to African American history and culture, from Pedro Alonso Niño who traveled with Christopher Columbus in 1492 to Halle Berry becoming the first African American woman to receive an Oscar for Best Actress (for her performance in Monster's Ball). Unfortunately the timeline ends there in 2002, so the site is a bit outdated.
The site also includes a reference room that features stories from NPR about the African American experience, from Tavis Smiley to All Things Considered. There is a great bibliography of books and film featuring African American themes, actors, and authors. A special section for kids includes games and e-cards to send to friends. My favorite part of the site are the resources for teachers, which come from the PBS website. There are lesson plans for grades K-12 on African American culture, art, and history, as well as profiles of prominent African Americans and specific lessons on race and society. Librarians could definitely use this as a resource for student teachers as well as teachers looking for supplemental material for lessons.
This resource is great for anyone who wants to learn more about African American culture, history, and prominent figures.
The site also includes a reference room that features stories from NPR about the African American experience, from Tavis Smiley to All Things Considered. There is a great bibliography of books and film featuring African American themes, actors, and authors. A special section for kids includes games and e-cards to send to friends. My favorite part of the site are the resources for teachers, which come from the PBS website. There are lesson plans for grades K-12 on African American culture, art, and history, as well as profiles of prominent African Americans and specific lessons on race and society. Librarians could definitely use this as a resource for student teachers as well as teachers looking for supplemental material for lessons.
This resource is great for anyone who wants to learn more about African American culture, history, and prominent figures.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Article Reflection #2 - Increasing ethnic diversity in LIS
The article by Kim and Sin examines the continued under-representation of minorities in the LIS profession. With a better understanding of cultural values, diverse librarians can more effectively serve diverse populations. This is where the under-representation of minorities becomes an issue.
Kim and Sin mention a few efforts to increase diversity, including the Spectrum Initiative, created in 1997 by ALA. This program offered scholarships, mentoring, and training to minority librarians. The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) sponsors the Leadership and Career Development program for minority librarians who have demonstrated leadership qualities. Many LIS schools have also implemented efforts to increase diversity, mostly through recruitment with scholarships and special programs for minority students.
Despite these efforts to recruit diverse students, progress has been slow. What can be done? We must examine the research to determine the most effective recruitment methods. For example, collaboration with libraries could prove to be an incredibly efficient way to recruit diverse applicants. Targeted recruitment is another way to effectively recruit minority students. Requiring a great deal of research, targeted recruitment uses strategies effective among particular ethnic groups.
In order to get a better idea of how to best recruit and retain minority students, a group of ethnically diverse librarians were surveyed regarding what they feel are effective strategies to recruit and retain students of color.
The top five most effective recruitment strategies, according to the librarians studied, were:
1. Assistantship/scholarship
2. Ethnic diversity in faculty
3. Role models from ethnic groups
4. Presence of faculty/staff of color in recruitment process
5. Opportunities to work in LIS fields
There were slight differences between ethnic groups. Native Americans gave preference to distance learning options, while African Americans considered communication and ads in publications for people of color to be most effective. When asked to list effective strategies for retainment, participants gave high scores to mentoring programs, scholarship, and effective career advising. There were also differences between ethnic groups. Participants were asked to list factors that influenced their decision to attend library school. Listed as most influential were previous library experience and public librarians. School librarians ranked as more influential with African Americans and Hispanics.
It is important to recognize these types of differences when recruiting minorities and underrepresented populations. Focusing on retention efforts as well as recruitment may help to increase the number of minority librarians in the LIS community. More research should be done on how to most effectively recruit and retain different ethnic groups.
Kim, K. & Sim, S. J. (2008). Increasing ethnic diversity in LIS: Strategies suggested by librarians of color. The Library Quarterly, 78(2), 153-177.
Kim and Sin mention a few efforts to increase diversity, including the Spectrum Initiative, created in 1997 by ALA. This program offered scholarships, mentoring, and training to minority librarians. The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) sponsors the Leadership and Career Development program for minority librarians who have demonstrated leadership qualities. Many LIS schools have also implemented efforts to increase diversity, mostly through recruitment with scholarships and special programs for minority students.
Despite these efforts to recruit diverse students, progress has been slow. What can be done? We must examine the research to determine the most effective recruitment methods. For example, collaboration with libraries could prove to be an incredibly efficient way to recruit diverse applicants. Targeted recruitment is another way to effectively recruit minority students. Requiring a great deal of research, targeted recruitment uses strategies effective among particular ethnic groups.
In order to get a better idea of how to best recruit and retain minority students, a group of ethnically diverse librarians were surveyed regarding what they feel are effective strategies to recruit and retain students of color.
The top five most effective recruitment strategies, according to the librarians studied, were:
1. Assistantship/scholarship
2. Ethnic diversity in faculty
3. Role models from ethnic groups
4. Presence of faculty/staff of color in recruitment process
5. Opportunities to work in LIS fields
There were slight differences between ethnic groups. Native Americans gave preference to distance learning options, while African Americans considered communication and ads in publications for people of color to be most effective. When asked to list effective strategies for retainment, participants gave high scores to mentoring programs, scholarship, and effective career advising. There were also differences between ethnic groups. Participants were asked to list factors that influenced their decision to attend library school. Listed as most influential were previous library experience and public librarians. School librarians ranked as more influential with African Americans and Hispanics.
It is important to recognize these types of differences when recruiting minorities and underrepresented populations. Focusing on retention efforts as well as recruitment may help to increase the number of minority librarians in the LIS community. More research should be done on how to most effectively recruit and retain different ethnic groups.
Kim, K. & Sim, S. J. (2008). Increasing ethnic diversity in LIS: Strategies suggested by librarians of color. The Library Quarterly, 78(2), 153-177.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Social Bookmark 2: National Education Association book lists
Found on the National Education Association website, this list (50 Multicultural Books Every Child Should Read) is a great resource for teachers, parents, librarians, as well as kids. It includes books for preschoolers and children ages 5-12. While it is just a simple list, the books that are included are diverse (Latino, African American, and Asian Pacific American cultures are all represented) and would be wonderful additions to school libraries, public libraries, and personal collections. Teachers can utilize these books in multicultural lesson plans.
Also included under Resources & Materials on the same website are Native American, Asian American, Spanish/English bilingual, and African American booklists. These are more extensive lists of books for children and young adults organized by cultural category. These lists are a good starting point for a multicultural collection in a library, classroom, or home.
The website also provides reading tips for parents in several different languages, including Hmong, Korean, Spanish, Navajo, and Russian, among others.
Also included under Resources & Materials on the same website are Native American, Asian American, Spanish/English bilingual, and African American booklists. These are more extensive lists of books for children and young adults organized by cultural category. These lists are a good starting point for a multicultural collection in a library, classroom, or home.
The website also provides reading tips for parents in several different languages, including Hmong, Korean, Spanish, Navajo, and Russian, among others.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)