In the Library with the Lead Pipe (Jul 2015)
Why Diversity Matters: A Roundtable Discussion on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Librarianship
Abstract
In Brief: After presenting together at ACRL 2015 to share research we conducted on race, identity, and diversity in academic librarianship, we reconvene panelists Ione T. Damasco, Cataloger Librarian at the University of Dayton, Isabel Gonzalez-Smith, Undergraduate Experience Librarian at the University of Illinois, Chicago, Dracine Hodges, Head of Acquisitions at Ohio State University, Todd Honma, Assistant Professor of Asian American Studies at Pitzer College, Juleah Swanson, Head of Acquisition Services at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Azusa Tanaka, Japanese Studies Librarian at the University of Washington in a virtual roundtable discussion. Resuming the conversation that started at ACRL, we discuss why diversity really matters to academic libraries, librarians, and the profession, and where to go from here. We conclude this article with a series of questions for readers to consider, share, and discuss among colleagues to continue and advance the conversation on diversity in libraries.