Doctoral students Jamillah Gabriel and Lettycia Terrones will discuss diversity in LIS education at the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC), which will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from September 26-30. The conference brings together librarians, staff, and supporters as well as community participants to explore issues of diversity in libraries.
During the panel, "Conceptualizing Diversity and Inclusion in Information Sciences as Doctoral Students of Color," Gabriel and Terrones will examine the diversity and inclusion gaps found in LIS higher education and present arguments for the recruitment of people of color (POC) librarians to PhD programs. In addition, they will discuss the importance of mentoring and funding in LIS programs to attract and retain students of color.
"Attention towards integrated mentoring models offers ways to not only increase immediate student retention, but further creates capacity for innovation in LIS curriculum responsive to creating a diverse student body," Gabriel explained.
"We advocate for stakeholders across library constituencies to pursue comprehensive funding for LIS doctoral students to secure the future recruitment and retention of marginalized students," said Terrones.
Gabriel's research interests focus on the information behaviors of African Americans and the effectiveness of cultural heritage institutions (libraries, archives, museums) at meeting the needs of African American communities. She is also interested in information literacy, community informatics, social justice, community engagement, and diversity and inclusion. Gabriel earned her MLIS from San Jose State University and also holds an MA in museum studies from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.
Terrones uses interdisciplinary methods, particularly Chicana Feminist Theory and Performance Studies, to interrogate strategies for minoritarian resistance deployed in the picturebook art form. In her work, she examines how aesthetic/political strategies contribute to decolonial library services for children and families. By doing so, she aims to foster conversations between critical ethnic studies approaches in library science curriculum and children's library services. She holds an MLIS from the University of California, Los Angeles.