The University of Maryland’s iSchool has been awarded a $799,483 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). This grant will support the iSchool’s Information and Diverse Populations Masters concentration (http://ischool.umd.edu/programs/diversepop.shtml). This three-year grant will provide scholarships for a cohort of 20 full-time students to enter the program in fall 2011. For these scholarships, students will be recruited based on a commitment to working in diverse service and learning environments.

The Information and Diverse Populations concentration is a unique track of study with the College’s ALA-accredited MLS degree, allowing students to develop a range of practical and analytical skills to provide information and technology services to diverse populations for careers that can range from working in a highly diverse library setting to conducting research about diversity in information settings. This concentration was officially launched in August 2010, with an enrollment of approximately 25 students.

As enhancements to the program’s curriculum, the grant from IMLS will also provide scholarship students with special career building opportunities that include: internships in partner public, academic, and special libraries; mentoring and training in mentoring; travel funding to attend professional conferences that address issues of diversity; research opportunities at two facilities in the College of Information Studies; opportunities to publish diversity-related books reviews in Library Quarterly; and participation in a workshop on diversity practice and research at the University of Maryland. Partner institutions that will provide internship and mentoring opportunities include the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System, the McKeldin Library at the University of Maryland, and the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Handicapped.

This grant will serve to expand the focus on diversity and inclusion in both the professions and the academy. Scholarship students will primarily be expected to enter the profession, working in institutions in communities with high need for this kind of training. The presence of more inclusive services will not only make libraries more inclusive, but more diverse librarians will foster diversity in library school enrollment. In addition, the scholarships will recruit some students who want to become researchers of diversity and inclusion issues. These students will seed greater diversity in library school doctoral programs, ultimately helping to diversify the faculty and expand teaching and researching on diversity issues.  

This grant has been awarded to Paul T. Jaeger, Cassandra B. Jones, John Carlo Bertot, Mega M Subramaniam, and Lesley A. Langa of the University of Maryland, along with Jonathan Lazar of Towson University and Renee E. Hill (nee Franklin) of Syracuse University. 

Details for applying for the scholarships will soon be available on the College of Information Studies website at www.ischool.umd.edu . For more information, please contact Paul T. Jaeger at [log in to unmask].