February 27, 2007

The last couple of days have been as fantastic as I could only have dreamed about.....My work as the "Mobile Librarian" is picking up speed. I had about 15 students come in, take some handouts, ask basic reference questions, and got some assistance from me about the best databases to use for their research papers due. Two students stayed in my space to work on homework and to ask me questions. The "IM" reference service is getting good responses. In this morning's IRIS meeting, Hector mentioned that IM chat stats have increased. This is a good sign that all the differing types of PR thats currently going on is reflective of the hard work everyone is doing reach out to students, faculty, and staff at the University of Notre Dame.

I have been ask to be the keynote speaker at the upcoming Indiana Black Librarians Network spring meeting at the end of March. My keynote will address the benefits of library residency programs and to address some of the issues addressed in a report compiled by Denise M. Davis, ALA Office for Research and Statistics and Tracie D. Hall, Director of the ALA Office of Diversity. The report is entitled: "Diversity counts: Office for Research and Statistics-Office for Diversity. This document shows that the number of African American and Latino Librarians in the academy is decreasing. More minorities are in the para-professional positions in libraries then ever before. So far, this report brings some of the ambivalent feelings that I had about the profession because of some of my experiences as a library science student as well as when I intially entered as a professional librarian. My plan is to be very interactive in my presentation and at the same time address some of the possible ways professional librarians can work towards addressing how we can increase our ranks in the profession.


From Daily Meditations, Affirmations, and Inspirations for African Americans:

Collective Work and Responsibility

"If farmers do not cultivate their fields, the people in the town will die of hunger".--Guinean proverb

If we neither attend to the soil nor bother to sow any seeds, there will be no harvest, no bounty to sustain us or our children........Whenever we succeed, the outcome benefits us personally, and the African American community also benefits because we are in a position to "feed" others ---to help them directly or to inspire by our example.