Recruiting Future Librarians from Diverse Backgrounds

Abstract

招募多元文化背景的圖書館員是一項艱巨的任務。雖然美國人口有百分之三十屬於不同文化、種族，包括非裔、亞裔/太平洋島裔、西班牙裔，以及美國印第安人/阿拉斯加原住民等，然而來自上述真有這些多元文化背景的圖書館員，僅占所有館員人數的百分之十一。估計該比率將隨著即將到來的美國圖書館員屆齡退休潮而更為降低。有鑒於此，本文首先回顧招募多元文化與種族的學生進入圖書資訊學研究所就學之相關文獻，提出招募不同文化與種族背景的學生時所遭遇之挑戰。本文並介紹由美國聯邦政府所屬的「博物館與書館服務研究院」(Institute of Museum and Library Services)「蘿拉布希21世紀圖書館員研究計劃」所贊助的數項示範招募計劃。

Recruiting future librarian from diverse backgrounds continues to be a challenging task. Although thirty percent of the U.S. population is from cultural/ethnic populations, including African Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Hispanic Americans, and American Indian/Alaska Natives, only eleven percent of the librarian workforce is represented by workers from diverse backgrounds, a percentage that is expected to decrease with upcoming retirements. In this context, this paper reviews relevant literature on recruiting students from cultural/ethnic backgrounds, identifies the barriers in recruitment, and offers several model projects in the United States that recruit the students with diverse backgrounds into LIS programs. These projects were awarded funding from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Laura Bush 21 st Century Librarian Program.