Association of Research Libraries (ARL)/Music Library Association (MLA) Diversity and Inclusion Initiative (DII) fellows participated in the MLA Annual Meeting, March 1–5, 2016, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Fellows attended valuable programming related to music librarianship, performing arts collections, digital humanities, research methodologies in musicology, and many other topics. The meeting opened with a plenary session on the topic of “Diversity in MLA” featuring panelists Jorge Schement, vice president of institutional diversity and inclusion, Rutgers University; Mark A. Puente, director of diversity and leadership programs, ARL; and four former DII fellows. The current DII participants were recognized at the MLA business meeting at the close of the conference.
MLA also recognized Puente’s work in advancing the causes of diversity and inclusion for the organization by presenting him the A. Ralph Papakhian Special Achievement Award. This award recognizes extraordinary service to the profession of music librarianship over a relatively short period of time. MLA noted that, recognizing a need for greater diversity in music librarianship, Puente worked on a demographic study of the profession to gather data on the ethnic and racial composition of the MLA membership. He spearheaded the establishment of the ARL/MLA DII and is a primary leader of the initiative. He also serves as an active mentor to the DII fellows, advising and encouraging them as they work toward new careers.
The ARL/MLA Diversity and Inclusion Initiative is funded by a generous grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Service (IMLS), as well as by partner libraries and ARL. For more information about the initiative and the current class of fellows, visit the ARL/MLA DII website.
About the Association of Research Libraries
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/.
