Diversity Committee Annual Report 2000
University of Maryland Libraries, College Park, MD
January - December 2000
Mission
The Libraries' Diversity Committee exists to implement the campus' Diversity Initiative in the libraries and on campus. It is essential to recognize, respect, and promote each individual's uniqueness within the larger and more important context of our shared experience as human beings. The Committee is dedicated to staff and patron education to increase diversity awareness and positive change in the library environment.
Introduction
The UM Libraries' Diversity Committee had a successful year in its efforts to increase diversity awareness and work towards the promotion of positive change in the Libraries. Of particular significance were the development and implementation of the Diversity Assessment, the monthly video brown bag sessions, development of a Diversity Committee Web site, and the collaborative work with others, particularly through the co-sponsoring of events within the Libraries and the campus. This report addresses the work of the Diversity Committee for the period of January through December 2000 as specified in the Libraries' Diversity Committee 1999-2000 Strategic Plan and Objectives
[ http://www.lib.umd.edu/groups/diversity/stratplan.html ].
Goals
I. Libraries' Diversity Committee
Goal: To make sure that each member of the Libraries' Diversity Committee is an active participant and is clear about their role and importance on the Diversity Committee.
Participation in the Diversity Committee is considered a part of an individual's work by the UM Libraries. An objective of the Diversity Committee was to have all members include this work in their Performance Review Documents (PRDs). By February 2000, many members of the Diversity Committee had done so. Members who had not included this work in their PRDs reported that they were unable to add this goal due to restrictions by supervisors. This is an area that needs to be further addressed with supervisors to ensure that all members on the Diversity Committee include this work as part of their PRDs.
The Library Executive Council (LEC) approved a membership plan for the Diversity Committee that specified the following membership: Diversity Coordinator as Chair, two representatives from each Public Services Division (PSD) and Technical Services Division (TSD), one representative each from Planning & Administrative Services, Collection Management/Special Collections, and possibly Information Technology Division (ITD). The Manager of Staff Development and Training, the Coordinator for Library Services for Persons with Disabilities, and the Diversity Student were to be ex-officio members. All membership slots were filled in 2000 with the exception of ITD with consideration given to the small number of employees in that section and their workload. A representative from ITD was a member of the Diversity Committee for a few months before having to withdraw to take care of other duties within the division. Diversity Committee members during 2000 were Ann Masnik (Chair), Juanita Jackson (PSD), Barbara Nail-Chiwetalu (PSD), Pearl Coleman (TSD), Donna King (TSD), Bette Ann Hubbard (PASD), Clare Sebok (Graduate Assistant in PASD), Kenneth Tanaka (Special Collections), Deborah Stefany (ex-officio, PSD), and briefly Yalan Qi (ITD). Two diversity students were also hired to work with the Diversity Committee: Pia daSilva (until August 2000) and Sarah Stoudt (starting in November 2000). It is important the recruitment be maintained according to the plan when possible so that the entire staff is adequately represented in the planning and implementation of diversity initiatives within the Libraries.
II. Diversity Training
Goal: To increase awareness and education about diversity (as stated in the Mission Statement) and to effect positive changes in the Library environment both in dealing with coworkers and patrons.
In September 1999, a Diversity Assessment was conceived in order to provide, through focus groups and a large-scale survey, an in-depth view of how employees in the Libraries perceive the existing Diversity Initiative. Qualitative data was first obtained through focus groups with a stratified random sample of Library employees in February 2000. A large-scale survey aimed at obtaining quantitative data for purposes of statistical analysis was implemented in April 2000. The data were presented in a final report, Results of the University of Maryland Libraries' Organizational Culture and Diversity Assessment (August 2000) [http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/PUB/diversity.html ]. Members of the Diversity Committee met with the Library Executive Council (LEC) and Christine Clark, Executive Director of the Human Relations Office, on September 5, 2000 to discuss reactions to the report and to suggest recommendations for future work.
Based on the findings in the report, it was recommended that diversity training be integrated within other organizational processes and not be "diversity training" per se. However, the report did suggest that managers would benefit from managerial training focusing on interpersonal skills training. This training was postponed in order to be included instead in the Learning Curriculum for all members of the organization, slated for implementation in 2001.
III. Diversity Plan
Goal 1. To communicate to the Provost and the entire campus the Libraries' successes and future plans and our commitment to a continuing role in implementing both the campus and the Libraries' Diversity Initiative.
Due to changes in campus requirements, the Libraries' 1999-2000 Diversity Plan was completed in the fall of 1999.
Goal 2. To communicate to the Library Staff the Diversity Plans.
See section III, Goal 1 above.
IV. Diversity Town Meeting
Goal: To engage in an open dialogue on race and ethnicity and other diversity issues.
On October 3 and 5, 2000, two forums were held to afford all library staff an opportunity to discuss the results of the Cultural Assessment and its implications for diversity in the Libraries. Discussion was based on the executive summary of the Cultural Assessment. [http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/PUB/diversity.html ]
V. Diversity Database
Goal 1: To have Library staff contribute both their time and expertise in writing, evaluating, and selecting our own and other libraries' guides and Web sites to link to the campus-wide Diversity Database.
Two new members were recruited for the Database/Web Subcommittee. Barbara Nail-Chiwetalu, Science & Technology Services Team, joined the Diversity Committee and the Diversity Database/Web subcommittee in December 1999. Heleni Pedersoli, Arts & Humanities Team, also joined the subcommittee to assist specifically with contributing to the database at that time, particularly in the area of religion.
Members of the Database/Web Subcommittee, consisting of Ann Masnik (Chair), Barbara Nail-Chiwetalu, and Heleni Pedersoli, worked on the database and attended meetings with the UM Diversity Database staff from the Office of Human Relations periodically throughout the year. The purpose of these meetings was to clarify and reinforce the collaborative work between the Libraries and the Office of Human Relations on the UM Diversity Database [http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/Diversity/ ].
One of the significant ways in which librarians can contribute to the UM Diversity Database is to utilize their expertise in compiling resources in specific subject areas related to diversity that may be made available via linking within the Database. The guide, Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Issues, created by Ann Masnik, was linked to the UM Diversity Database and to the Diversity Committee Web page in June 2000. Additional guides from the Libraries were linked in both locations which included: Asian-Americans, Introduction to Research in Jewish Studies, and Latin American Studies.
Goal 2: To continue to build awareness within the University community of our collections of books, journals, and videos on all aspects of diversity.
See V. Goal 1 regarding the UM Database and guides on diversity topics.
VI. Diversity Web Site
Goal: To enable Library Staff and other interested persons, both on and off campus, to learn how the Libraries are involved in diversity and in so doing become a role model by showing the Libraries' commitment to the importance of diversity.
Barbara Nail-Chiwetalu was recruited in December 1999 to be Webmaster for the Diversity Committee. With input from the Committee, she completed the Diversity Committee Web page primarily for Library staff, and posted it on the server in early January 2000.
[ http://www.lib.umd.edu/groups/diversity/ ].
The Libraries' Diversity Plan was made available on the Web site on January 15, 2000 under the section, Plans, on the Diversity Committee Web page so that all staff within the Libraries as well as interested parties outside of the Libraries could readily access it.
[http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/PASD/diversity.html ]
In order to keep Library staff informed about diversity-related events within the Libraries and on campus, the Diversity Committee employed a number of strategies. The Diversity Committee's Web page section entitled, Diversity Events, provided a link to the Web site, Diversity Initiative: Moving Toward Community - the UM listing of current events in diversity scheduled on campus. Additional links were added to the Libraries Diversity Committee staff page for the UM Libraries' Diversity Video Brown Bag sessions as they were scheduled. The Web site was kept current with listings of any additional scheduled diversity activities that occurred within the Libraries, such as the PBS Video Series. Diversity events were also announced via posters in the lobbies of campus Libraries, at various locations throughout the Libraries, on the library-staff reflector, and in the UM Libraries' biweekly publication, Library Matters.
VII. Diversity Brown Bag Sessions
Goal: To offer Brown Bag Video sessions to inform and educate staff about the various facets of diversity.
The Diversity Committee sponsored a monthly Video Brown Bag Session from January through May and September through November 2000. These discussions provided the opportunity for dialogue on many aspects of diversity. The events were planned by the Video Brown Bag Subcommittee, which included Denise Forbes, Juanita Jackson, Donna King, Linda Sarigol, and Clare Sebok. The Subcommittee recruited people to serve as facilitators. Most of these facilitators were library staff, but occasionally someone else from the campus community served in this role. After a person volunteered to facilitate and chose a date and a diversity-related issue, the Subcommittee screened several potentially relevant videos from the Libraries' Nonprint Media collection. The Subcommittee members then selected a small number of the most relevant videos that would fit in an appropriate time frame and presented them to the facilitator, who made the final selection. The announcements advertising the event on the library staff reflector list were usually written by the facilitator.
Video Brown Bag sessions were usually attended by more than 20 members of the library staff. The events lasted one hour, during which the facilitator introduced the topic, showed one or two relevant videos or excerpts, and led a discussion on the issues. Evaluations completed by participants showed that most people viewed the events favorably. Most attendees have been a dedicated core group that participates in many diversity events, although a few new people attended each time.
The following chart shows the programs sponsored in 2000:
| Month |
Topic |
Facilitator |
Attendance |
Evaluation (scale: 1-5) |
| January |
Diversity in the Classroom |
Trudi Hahn |
|
|
| February |
White Privilege |
Paul Gorski & Christine Clark |
|
|
| March |
Native Americans |
Professor Aubrey Williams |
|
|
| April |
The Holocaust |
Heleni Pedersoli |
|
|
| May |
Appearance |
Heidi Hanson |
29 |
4.3 |
| September |
The Multi-Cultural Customer |
Alesia McManus |
19 |
4.1 |
| October |
Interpersonal Communication |
Marlene Vikor |
28 |
4.5 |
| November |
The Body Beautiful |
Carleton Jackson & Pat Herron |
23 |
4.8 |
During the summer months (June-August), when video brown bag sessions were not held due to staff vacations, the Diversity Committee continued the dialogue by sending e-mail reminders to the library-staff reflector about the Point of View film series aired on Public Television in the evenings. In December, brown bag video sessions were not held given the wealth of opportunities to view videos on diversity as presented in the Race and Diversity PBS Satellite Video Series. See Section X of this report for a description of this series.
VIII. Collaboration with other Library Committees
Goal: To work with other Library committees, teams, and departments to promote positive change in the Libraries.
During 2000, the Diversity Committee worked collaboratively with the Staff Training and Development Office in the Libraries. The Manager, Bette Ann Hubbard, and Graduate Assistant, Clare Sebok, from this office were included as ex-officio members of the Diversity Committee. The Diversity Committee also continued to work with Nonprint Media Services, with the continued support and participation in the Committee by Linda Sarigol, who rotated off of the Diversity Committee in January 2000. (See section X of this report for details about the collaborative event co-sponsored by Nonprint Media Services and the Staff Training and Development Office.) The Diversity Committee also participated in joint meetings with LEC and co-sponsored the forums for library staff regarding the Diversity Assessment, described in section II of this report.
IX. Disability Issues
Goal: To insure that by June 2000, the Libraries are in compliance with ADA in as many ways as is realistically possible.
Work in this area was planned to be undertaken in 2001.
X. Campus-Wide Collaboration on Diversity Event
Goal: To collaborate with other campus offices and organizations, such as Friends of the Libraries and The Office of Human Relations, on issues related to diversity.
On April 17, 2000, an event entitled, "New Beginnings Through Dance", was held at the Nyumburu Amphitheatre on campus. Members of the Event Subcommittee organized this event with co-sponsors on campus, which included the Office of Human Relations, Alpha Phi Omega Co-ed Service Fraternity, and the Dance Department. This event was open to the entire campus. It was considered a success despite the heavy rains that may have kept some people from attending on that day.
In addition to the dance event, from October 26 through December 8, 2000, Nonprint Media Services, the Diversity Committee, and Staff Training and Development of the UM Libraries co-sponsored an event with the Nyumburu Cultural Center. This event, entitled Race & Diversity and Diversity & the Arts, was part of the PBS Adult Learning Services Videos via Satellite for Educator Series. A series of 34 programs ranging from 30 minutes to 2.5 hours were aired and recorded by Nonprint Media for future viewing by the campus community. This event was open to the entire campus community. Attendees included UM Library staff as well as campus students, faculty, and staff, at times including entire classes. Staff throughout the Libraries volunteered to assist with preparation and hosting of the event. A diversity listserv was established by the Diversity Committee to provide a vehicle for ongoing dialogue about diversity matters. Although a small number of people subscribed to the listserv, few messages were ever posted. The reasons behind the lack of use should be explored.
Conclusion
The Diversity Committee plans to continue its work in 2001 with a focus on promoting a continuous learning environment, continuing to foster campus-wide collaboration, improving marketing and promotional strategies, and continuing to contribute to the UM Diversity Database. See the UM Libraries' Diversity Committee 2001 Strategic Plan for details. [http://www.lib.umd.edu/groups/diversity/2001StrategicPlan.html ]
This report was prepared by the Working Committee for Annual Report: Barbara Nail-Chiwetalu, Ann Masnik, and Clare Sebok. (Revised 7/27/01)
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© 2001 University of Maryland Libraries
Last Revised: July 27, 2001
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