The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) announces the selection of four master of library and information science (MLIS) students to participate in the 2015–2017 ARL/Music Library Association (MLA) Diversity and Inclusion Initiative (DII):
Opetoritse Agbejuleoritse Adefolalu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Avery Boddie, University of Maryland, College Park
Morgan Davis, University of North Texas
Jessica Redhouse, University of Arizona
The Diversity and Inclusion Initiative—funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), ARL, and MLA—seeks to address the growing need for professional staff in music and performing arts libraries to better reflect the changing demographics of students and faculty in those fields. The program reflects the joint commitment of ARL and MLA members, as well as partner libraries, to devote the resources and support necessary to create a diverse and well-qualified cohort of new LIS professionals.
“The joint ARL/MLA Diversity and Inclusion Initiative has been wonderfully successful in giving work experience and employment opportunities to applicants from groups that are underrepresented in music libraries,” said John D. Wagstaff, head of the Music & Performance Arts Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a DII host institution. “As one of the early sponsoring institutions, we at Illinois have also benefitted greatly from the program. Our first program participant has gone on to get a good job in the field of music librarianship/bibliography, and we are very much looking forward to welcoming our second participant this fall.”
The Diversity and Inclusion Initiative offers a generous suite of financial benefits to program participants as well as an internship in a partner music/performing arts library, a formal mentoring program, complimentary student membership in MLA, career placement assistance, and support to attend the ARL Annual Leadership Symposium and the MLA Annual Meeting.
For more information about this program and the fellows, visit the ARL/MLA Diversity and Inclusion Initiative website.
About ARL
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 124 research libraries in the US and Canada. ARL’s mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the web at https://www.arl.org/.
About MLA
Founded in 1931, the Music Library Association (MLA) is the professional organization in the United States devoted to music librarianship and all aspects of music materials in libraries. MLA provides a professional forum for librarians, archivists, and others who support and preserve the world’s musical heritage. Additional information about MLA can be found at http://musiclibraryassoc.org/.
