The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has selected four master’s students to participate in the 2015–2017 ARL/Music Library Association (MLA) Diversity and Inclusion Initiative (DII), including one from GSLIS. The fellows are:
- Opetoritse Agbejuleoritse Adefolalu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Avery Boddie, University of Maryland, College Park
- Morgan Davis, University of North Texas
- Jessica Redhouse, University of Arizona
The Diversity and Inclusion Initiative—funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), ARL, and MLA—seeks to address the growing need for professional staff in music and performing arts libraries to better reflect the changing demographics of students and faculty in those fields. The program reflects the joint commitment of ARL and MLA members, as well as partner libraries, to devote the resources and support necessary to create a diverse and well-qualified cohort of new LIS professionals.
“The joint ARL/MLA Diversity and Inclusion Initiative has been wonderfully successful in giving work experience and employment opportunities to applicants from groups that are underrepresented in music libraries,” said John D. Wagstaff, head of the Music & Performance Arts Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a DII host institution. “As one of the early sponsoring institutions, we at Illinois have also benefitted greatly from the program. Our first program participant has gone on to get a good job in the field of music librarianship/bibliography, and we are very much looking forward to welcoming our second participant this fall.”
The Diversity and Inclusion Initiative offers a generous suite of financial benefits to program participants as well as an internship in a partner music/performing arts library, a formal mentoring program, complimentary student membership in MLA, career placement assistance, and support to attend the ARL Annual Leadership Symposium and the MLA Annual Meeting. For more information about this program, visit the ARL/MLA Diversity and Inclusion Initiative website.