Resource Guides -- Staffing

Recruiting, Hiring and Retention

Affirmative Action Register
http://www.aar-eeo.com/
“…[P]rofessional, managerial and administrative positions for which qualified candidates are being sought. Our advertisers represent institutions, organizations and companies who make extra effort to reach qualified candidates within all segments of our society, with special effort to notify members of Federally mandated groups that the position openings exist. Publication on the WWW is at no added charge with the purchase of a printed ad.” Arranged geographically and by type of position (librarian is one).

Become a Librarian
http://www.becomealibrarian.org/
Coordinated by the Central Regional Library Cooperative in New Jersey , this is a great recruiting site for librarianship.

Bonnette, A.E. (2004). Mentoring minority librarians up the career ladder. Library Administration and Management, 18 (3), 134-139.
A review of organizational obstacles facing minorities, benefits of mentoring, building mentoring into systems, and opportunities for mentoring across libraries.

Library Faculty/Staff Recruitment and Retention Diversity Team http://www.psu.edu/president/pia/database/teams/team0286.htm
A plan for best practices at Penn State University, this document has broad applicability to other libraries of all types.

MSU Moorhead Civil Rights: Equal Opportunity for Minorities in Moorhead. Final Report of Recommendations for Promoting Equal Opportunity and Improving Community Relations from the Community Study Circle Process.
http://www.mnstate.edu/mhdrights/Final_Report.htm
Thirty groups, meeting in libraries and other community spaces in this Minnesota town, developed goals and activities for leadership by formerly marginalized groups in education, housing, public safety, business, media, etc.

Neely, T., & Lee-Smeltzer, K, eds. (2002). Diversity now: people, collections, and services in academic libraries. Binghampton, NY: Haworth Press.
Not just for college and university systems: diversity in collections and in recruitment, retention, and promotion of ethnically diverse staff. Notable is SCILS’ Dr. Mark Winston’s essay, “Communication and Teaching: Education about Diversity in the LIS Classroom,” which also applies to continuing education in libraries.

New Jersey Library Association. Professional Development Committee. Leadership and Education Subcommittee. Mentoring Program. Contact Sharon Goldschneider, sgold@lmxac.org, to learn about opportunities to give or to receive mentoring.

Spanish in Our Libraries
http://www.sol-plus.net/plus/todo/hiring.htm
Advice on approaching the hiring of Latino staff. (Explore all the Plus material, especially "Tu Bibliotecario Electrónico.")

Turkewych, C. & Guerreiro-Klinowski, H. (1992). Intercultural interviewing. HR Press.
Guidance on recruiting, interviewing, and evaluating job candidates. Along with a section about intercultural communication, topics include writing to job notice, structuring a selection committee, developing awareness of cultural dimensions in the question-answer process, weighing first impressions, checking references, and much more.

Winston, M. (2001). Recruitment Theory: Identification of Those Who are Likely to be Successful as Leaders. Journal of Library Administration, 32 (3/4), 19-34.
“The development of this theoretical discussion is based on the results of a number of relevant research studies, including those involving segments of the information professions for which recruitment is particularly challenging.”

Winston, M. (1998). The role of recruitment in achieving goals related to diversity. College & Research Libraries, 59 (3), 240-247.
Knowing what prompts people to enter our profession and to specialize in particular areas of librarianship is valuable to recruiting for diversity.

See also Organizational Climate.

Scholarship and Employment Information

Asian/Pacific American Librarians, ALA
http://www.apalaweb.org/
Scholarship and job information.

Black Caucus of the American Library Association
http://www.bcala.org/
Includes a substantial list of resources for librarians seeking employment. The Black Book Award, established by New Jersey’s Dr. Alex Boyd, is given by this organization; for a list of winners, see www.bcala.org/awards/past_winners.htm .

Blind Readers’ Page
http://blindreaders.info/index.html
“This site is a guide to sources of information in alternative formats (braille, recorded cassettes, large print, e-texts, web audio) accessible by people with print disabilities--those with visual and physical handicaps as well as dyslexia. It is also a guide to information about blindness, visual handicaps and other physical handicaps...” Although some sites here are most appropriate for residents of Wisconsin, the majority are valuable to us all. Note the “Best Practices” links.

CODI (Cornucopia of Disability Information)
http://codi.buffalo.edu/
“CODI…consists of both an Internet Directory of Disability Information and a repository of electronic disability documents….” Coverage extends from aging and assistive technology to employment, mobility, universal design, hearing, and vision. Turn here too for ADA guidelines.

Disabilityinfo.gov
http://www.disabilityinfo.gov/digov-public/public/SiteMap.do
Federal information in detail on employment, education, housing, transportation, health, income support, technology, independent living, and civil rights.

Internet Links, Services for People with Handicaps
http://www2.njstatelib.org/lbh/bhlinks.htm
Jobs, support groups, reading services, assistive devices, and technology referrals are available here.

Reforma: The Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking
http://www.reforma.org/
Note especially the employment listings, the resources for children, the “U.S. Public Library Websites with Information in Spanish,” “Spanish for Librarians,” and the directory of publisher and distributors.