News

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville continues to excel in library and information science, gaining national funding for its innovative, collaborative programming. SIUE’s Diverse Librarianship Career Training and Education Program has received $249,999 in funding as part of the Institute for Museum and Library Services’ (IMLS) $22.7 million investment in U.S. library initiatives.

In collaboration with East St. Louis Senior High School, the Diverse Librarianship Career Training and Education Program is a two-year project that will develop a career training program that introduces 10 high school seniors to careers in librarianship. The first cohort of high school seniors is scheduled to begin this fall.

The project is led by Library and Information Services (LIS) staff, including principal investigator (PI) Tammie Busch, MLS, assistant professor and catalog and metadata librarian, and co-PIs: Lora Del Rio, MSLIS, associate professor, research and teaching coordinator, and humanities librarian; Elizabeth Kamper, MLIS, assistant professor and information literacy librarian; Shelly McDavid, MLS, assistant professor, access and library spaces coordinator, and STEM librarian; and Simone Williams, MLIS, assistant professor and diversity and engagement librarian.

An additional key staff member is Denice Adkins, PhD, MLS, professor at the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies at the University of Missouri, and co-editor of Journal of Education for Library and Information Science. Adkins will serve as project evaluator.

The project team, joined by staff at partner institutions including the East St. Louis Learning Resource Center, Edwardsville Public Library, St. Louis Public Library, Missouri Historical Society, and State Historical Society of Missouri, will recruit, mentor, educate and train students from diverse and underrepresented communities. This project will disseminate a toolkit for libraries and cultural institutions to support the recruitment, training and retention of diverse librarians.

“I am grateful to be leading a team of brilliant, innovative librarians,” shared Busch. “The success of our proposal is due to our collaborative approach. We will recruit high school seniors through the East St. Louis School District 189 Career Technical Education (CTE) program, which is part of a national initiative to provide skills-based, hands-on training to high school students. These students will attend school for part of their day, then leave to go work on-site at libraries and cultural institutions.

“I participated in Collinsville High School’s CTE program. While I didn’t work in a library, the people I worked with mentored me and encouraged me to go to college. I hope our program will have a meaningful impact on the students we recruit, train and mentor.”

While serving as a mentor, Busch will guide project goals and initiatives to develop a sustainable toolkit for promoting librarianship to underrepresented students.

Del Rio will use her expertise to assist with cohort recruiting, communications and marketing of the project, serve as a mentor to cohort students, and develop and disseminate the toolkit.

Kamper will use her expertise in adult education and librarianship to mentor students and build curriculum components for this project while utilizing her experience as an ALA student-to-staff participant to support the project’s culminating experiences and conference attendance.

McDavid will be responsible for communication with the project evaluator, coordinating data collection and analysis, as well as serve as a mentor to cohort students and develop and disseminate a toolkit.

In addition to serving as a mentor, Williams will be responsible for communicating with community partners, creating and disseminating curriculum, and providing oversight of diversity, equity and inclusion goals.

“Our project is a call to action in response to the serious lack of diverse representation in library and information science professions,” explained Busch. “IMLS identified this in its forum report, Positioning Library and Information Science Graduate Programs for 21st Century Practice. We are excited to be partnering with regional institutions and especially the East St. Louis School District 189 CTE Program. Our goal is to have a broad, lasting impact on diversity in the library profession.”

The award process was competitive, as IMLS noted receiving 127 preliminary proposals before inviting 71 to submit full proposals. The Diverse Librarianship Career Training and Education Program is among 39 projects, totaling $10,465,420, awarded in The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program.

“These grants and awards are examples of the many ways in which libraries and library workers collaborate across sectors, disciplines, and communities to foster a more inclusive and informed society,” said Cyndee Landrum, deputy director of the IMLS Office of Library Services.

A full list of IMLS Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grants awarded in July 2021 is available here.

Photo: (L-R) Library and Information Services (LIS) staff, Tammie Busch, MLS, assistant professor and catalog and metadata librarian, Simone Williams, MLIS, assistant professor and diversity and engagement librarian, Lora Del Rio, MSLIS, associate professor, research and teaching coordinator, and humanities librarian; Elizabeth Kamper, MLIS, assistant professor and information literacy librarian; and Shelly McDavid, MLS, assistant professor, access and library spaces coordinator, and STEM librarian.