Many libraries are struggling to make their workforce reflect the diverse population of patrons they serve. Diversity Counts, a report from the ALA Office for Diversity and the Office for Research and Statistics revealed that our diverse workforce is in crisis. We need to be able to strategically plan to recruit more professionals from various ethnic backgrounds. The severe decline of librarians of color demonstrates that the profession must unite forces so that would-be users in libraries and information centers see their information needs and themselves reflected.

Currently, Diversity Counts is the only report of its nature. The findings revealed that credentialed public librarians by race/ethnicity (2000) include:

• 89% White
• 4% African American
• 3% Asian and Pacific Islander
• 3% Latino
•1% Two or more races
• 0% Native American including Alaskan

This Tuesday, November 20, WebJunction is presenting a webinar aimed to tackle the recruitment issue. Join us on for this special ninety-minute webinar to learn about recruiting and building a multicultural workforce. The purpose of the webinar is to present Diversity Counts, the situation in the nation for libraries in all settings (academics, public, school, special), address the needs, and provide practical and feasible solutions and examples of what is currently being done by librarians and what could be done.

Guest speakers include:
•Tracy Hall, former Director of ALA Office for Diversity who co-developed Diversity Counts
•Jerome Offord, Director of Diversity Initiatives for the Association of Research Libraries.
•Luis Chaparro, REFORMA Vice-President/President Elect
•Myself, Loida Garcia-Febo from Queens Library and a REFORMA Executive Board member

For more information visit Spanish Outreach – In Depth where you’ll find instructions for joining the webinar. We hope you will participate in this important discussion! Feel free to post your thoughts, ideas, and comments here before or after the webinar.

Loida Garcia-Febo