Academic Library Residency Programs and Diversity

Since the 1940s, academic and research libraries have offered post-masters' residency programs (called internships, residencies, or fellowships interchangeably) to provide professional training and mentoring for new librarians entering academic library careers. Those who participate in residencies tend to appreciate the experience and find that it supports individual career growth. They report gaining useful knowledge, marketable skills, and professional connections. They also derive benefits from growing their networks, participating in professional-level work and meaningful projects, and experiencing the academic library culture.¹

By the early to mid-1980s, residency programs began focusing on recruitment of minority librarians. Initially, these programs were inspired by affirmative action, a United States government policy that supported members of disadvantaged groups who had suffered discrimination. More recently, residency programs shifted to addressing the desire to grow a workforce more representative of society in general.² Despite these efforts, however, change has been slow.³

Residents and Librarians: Still Predominantly White

In 1997, Julie Brewer surveyed 230 prior post-master's residents. The majority of survey participants were white women, overrepresenting "the older, larger residency programs in government libraries." Only 19 of the 109 respondents stated they had taken part in a program "targeted to racial and ethnic minorities."⁴ Another survey of residency programs in 2013 more narrowly focused on evaluating residencies for librarians of color. It explored "the general structure of residencies, such as the number of residents in a cohort, efforts to promote diversity, and professional skills." Of the 68 who responded, nearly 40 percent (26) were white, and 84.8 percent identified as female.⁵ While the number of respondents from racially or ethnically diverse backgrounds in both surveys was small, each suggested that residencies attracted individuals who would not have otherwise considered academic librarianship as a career choice and succeeded in retaining professionals in library-related positions.

An examination of American Library Association (ALA) demographic data and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) information indicates that the library profession remains predominantly white (86.7 percent according to the ALA in 2017, 87.8 percent per the BLS in 2019) and overwhelmingly female. While diversity has improved since the 2006 ALA membership report, in which 89 percent of members identified as white, the needle has scarcely moved toward building a more representative profession.⁶

A review of who received master's degrees in library and information science suggests that graduates have not increased in diversity either. A comparison of 2011 and 2017 graduation rates reported by the Association of Library Information Science Education (ALISE) shows that the percentage of Hispanic graduates doubled (6.2 percent in 2017 compared to 2.96 percent in 2011), but those from other racial groups increased by less than 1 percent. Given that fewer individuals graduate from LIS programs, the number of underrepresented minorities entering the profession remains nearly static. One caveat to these data is that both years report a relatively large pool of "unknown" and "international" students, and in 2017 an additional 2 percent (150) identify as "two or more races."⁷

The ACRL Diversity Alliance

In 2014, when Jon Cawthorne became dean of libraries at West Virginia University (WVU) in Morgantown, he attempted to breathe new life into residency programs by forming the Diversity Alliance, a group of academic libraries that pledged to offer residencies to underrepresented groups. In addition to establishing a new institutional residency program at WVU, Cawthorne recruited like-minded institutions to do the same, growing a network of residencies aimed at supporting professionals from diverse backgrounds in "getting the experience they need to be successful in the academic library world."

In 2016, the Diversity Alliance partnered with the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) to further expand its reach and broaden residency opportunities.⁸ For decades, ACRL had studied and analyzed opportunities for adding to the mix of ethnic and racial groups in the library profession. It had developed guidelines and stated its commitment to diversity in its strategic plans. It had produced reports with recommendations for advancing diversity efforts, and it had embraced the goal of recruiting a more representative workforce within academic libraries.

The ACRL...