photo by Margo Reed
Members of the ARL Kaleidoscope Program Selection Working Group have chosen 19 master of library and information science (MLIS) students to participate in the 2022–2024 Kaleidoscope Program.
Funded by ARL member libraries, the Kaleidoscope Program offers financial support to program participants as well as leadership development through the ARL Annual Leadership Symposium, a formal mentoring program, career placement assistance, and a site visit to an ARL member library. The Kaleidoscope Program reflects the commitment of ARL members to address the historical underrepresentation of many racial and ethnic groups within the research library and archives workforce. The program helps create a diverse professional community that will better meet the needs of researchers, students, and other constituencies whose demographics and perspectives are quickly evolving.
“I think an important aspect of the Kaleidoscope Program is that those we select should feel some obligation and duty toward library workers and library users of color,” said Kaleidoscope Program Selection Working Group member Jason Alston. “I feel pretty confident that those in our applicant pool this time around will be largely committed to persons of color consistently and not just when such provides them with some form of opportunity. That’s the mindset needed in order to truly move the needle on racial and ethnic diversity initiatives in this field.”
“All this year’s applicants are exceptional!,” said Kaleidoscope Program Selection Working Group member Lisa Cruces, selection working group member. “I can’t wait to see them grow and contribute to the academic library community.”
The 2022–2024 ARL Kaleidoscope Program Scholars are:
- Arianna Alcaraz, University of Alberta
- Melissa Aslo De La Torre, The University of Texas at Austin
- Imani Benjamin-Wharton, Valdosta State University
- Jennifer Nguyen Bernal, University of California, Los Angeles
- David Castro, San José State University
- Amanda Chaplin, University at Albany, SUNY
- Ariana Cook, Syracuse University
- Kesheena Doctor, San José State University
- Blanca Garcia-Barron, San José State University
- Zahra Garrett, Simmons University
- sourav guha, San José State University
- Vita Kurland, New York University and Long Island University
- Amina Malik, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Christiana McClain, University of Maryland
- Ezekiel Amari McGee, Syracuse University
- Inbar Michael, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Alona Norwood, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Vivian Poon, University of Alberta
- Ruth Xing, Syracuse University
For more information about the program and the 2022–2024 scholars, visit the ARL Kaleidoscope Program website.
Editor’s note: ARL’s editorial staff apologizes for inadvertently misrepresenting Alston’s quote in the original version of this article.
About the Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 127 research libraries in Canada and the US whose mission is to advance research, learning, and scholarly communication. The Association fosters the open exchange of ideas and expertise; advances diversity, equity, and inclusion; and pursues advocacy and public policy efforts that reflect the values of the library, scholarly, and higher education communities. ARL forges partnerships and catalyzes the collective efforts of research libraries to enable knowledge creation and to achieve enduring and barrier-free access to information. ARL is on the web at ARL.org.
