Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Academic Libraries: Multicultural Issues

This important book is one of the first in the field to explore the myriad issues surrounding racial and ethnic diversity in academic libraries. It triggers thought, discussion, and understanding to guide readers as they take action to resolve diversity issues in their own institutions. After an overview of the state of diversity in academic libraries, the book addresses training, mentoring, and supervision; building diversity collections; access to diversity materials; electronic and print reference sources for multicultural subjects; and work with racially and ethnically diverse student populations. Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Academic Libraries will increase readers’awareness of the these and other issues and help them respond to the challenges of diversity. Authors, writing from a variety of perspectives, define and elaborate on the concepts of “diversity” and “multiculturalism” and discuss how libraries and librarians are dealing with questions surrounding these concepts. Full of insight and helpful suggestions, chapters examine: the effects of affirmative action and the future for librarians of color how best to incorporate multicultural issues into library education and bibliographic instruction programs methods for developing multicultural collections the validity of Library of Congress subject headings for cataloging diversity materials racism within the library professionAcademic librarians and library professionals, academic faculty, and graduate students in the field of library and information science will find Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Academic Libraries an enlightening and informative guide. While specifically targeting academic libraries, the book is also helpful in other types of libraries, including public and school libraries.

Table of Contents:
Contents Defining Diversity, Asking Questions The State of Diversity Part I: Training, Mentoring, and Supervision Mentoring, Networking, and Supervision: Parallelogram, Vortex, or Merging Point? Teaching the Practitioners: One Professor's Attempt at Library Education and Sensitvity to Multicultural Diversity Communicating Across Cultures for Reference Librarians Who Supervise Student Employees and the Academic Library's Multicultural Mission The Significance of a Minority Reference Internship Program Part II: Working With Students Instruction and Identity: Diversity in Library Classes and Collections Instructional Responses to the Presence and Potential of Diversity: Toward Expert Collaboration Valuing Diversity: Students Helping Students Addressing the Special Needs of International Students in Interlibrary Loan: Some Considerations Part III: Collection Building What To Do Until the Expert Comes: Dealing With Demands for Multicultural, International Information Now African American Reference Books and the Reviewing Media Building Racially Diverse Collections: An Afrocentric Approach Accessing Ethnic Group Information on CD-ROM: The Case of Southeast Asians Part IV: Networking A Multicultural Studies Collection Enhancement Group: A Model for Preemptive Collection Development in a Small Academic Library Coalition Building to Build Collections Special Libraries and Diversity: Ethical Considerations Part V: Access and Language Sensitivity Culture Keepers: Cataloging the Afrocentric Way Subject Access to Diversity Materials: The Library of Congress Subject Heading Shortfall Looking at the Mirror: Reflections on Researching the Recruitment of Minority Librarians to the Professions in LISA and Library Literature on CD-ROM Discourse and Discord: Voices from an Academic Library Part VI: Afterword Your Worries Ain't Like Mine: African-American Librarians and the Pervasiveness of Racism, Prejudice and Discrimination in Academe Part VII: Bibliographies Electronic Resources for Cultures of the World Racial and Ethnic Diversity: An Eclectic Bibliography Reference Notes Included Index