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![Know Your Allies
you’re not in this alone
KNOWLEDGE+ALLIANCE [dot] org
• 43 recruiters nationwide and growing
• profiles include elevator bio, interests & reading list
• learn about other mentors and what they can offer those
entering the profession](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/ac2014knowledgealliancealapresentation-150829205905-lva1-app6892/85/Building-a-Knowledge-Alliance-12-320.jpg)
Uploaded byDeana Greenfield
Building a Knowledge Alliance
The document summarizes the Knowledge Alliance, an initiative administered by the ALA Office for Diversity to promote diversity in librarianship. It began in 2011 with 35 early career librarians discussing recruitment strategies. An online mentoring platform was launched in 2012 connecting mentors with mentees. The Alliance has hosted over 70 career fairs, engaging over 10,000 participants and creating 3000 new mentee profiles. It highlights success stories and provides resources to support recruitment and networking efforts to build a more diverse profession.
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Building a Knowledge Alliance
- 1. Rebranding Librarianship - Buildinga Knowledge Alliance Featuring: Deana Greenfield Robert Jones Steven D. Booth Holly Smith Isabel Gonzalez-Smith Hannah Lee
- 2. How We Began knowledgealliance.org Administered by the ALA Office for Diversity and currently funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) 35 early career librarians convened in San Diego in January 2011 to reflect on what drew them to the field and discussed recruitment strategies Messaging tested at informal events and refined with feedback from new and prospective professionals Knowledge Alliance @ Seattle Midwinter 2013
- 3. Online Mentoring Platform knowledgealliance.org Sitegoes live March 2012
- 4. Multiple Ways toConnect knowledgealliance.org Find events and find LIS Professionals based on location and/or interests
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- 6. Local Connections Online activitiespaired with accesible mentors A geographically distributed network of mentors help us recruit at events in each region.
- 7. Building the Alliance moreplaces, more mentors,more connections! March 2012-2014 70 fairs! 10,000 participants 3,000 new mentee profiles created
- 8. About Me: PublicLibrary Statistics Cooperative (PLSC) State Data Coordinator – facilitate annual data collection from public libraries. Youth Services Coordinator – Administer and Monitor School Grant program My daily work with public and school libraries is a constant reminder of the beneficial services and programs we offer. It’s the reason why I do recruitment…the impact of libraries is immeasurable! Knowledge Alliance Knowing why you do it, helps your recruiting. Recruiting reminds you of why you do it! Robert @ the Illinois State Library
- 9. Represented theKnowledge Alliance at 4 events in IL, 1 in NY, 1 in NJ and have presented about the program at two conferences Made friends with Career Services Offices at colleges and universities Used the internet to identify events Built relationships in the state of IL with faculty and students Northern Illinois UniversityPace UniversityRutgers University Knowledge Alliance Getting out there, one recruiter’s story
- 10. Reaffirms careerchoice Travel Enjoy connecting with students Reconnecting with colleagues and making new connections Advocating for libraries Supported by employer Expanding opportunities for others Knowledge Alliance Why I do it! Chicago Essential Information Workshop
- 11. Putting the Knowledge intothe alliance… Recruiters are: Part of a growing, mutually supportive network of professionals Early in their careers but experienced in career options Friendly! Interested in the unique skills and perspectives students bring Constantly learning about the profession Generous with their knowledge Recruiters are not: Alone Know-it-alls (but we thought about it)
- 12. Know Your Allies you’renot in this alone KNOWLEDGE+ALLIANCE [dot] org • 43 recruiters nationwide and growing • profiles include elevator bio, interests & reading list • learn about other mentors and what they can offer those entering the profession
- 13. Expand Your Knowledge familiarizeyourself with options of interest to students Education ALA-accredited Programs | U.S. News Rankings Funding Spectrum Scholarship | ARL Diversity Initiatives Professional Orgs ALA | SAA | AAM | SLA | ARL AASLH | MLA | AALL | ARMA Career Services ALA Joblist | I Need a Library Job | Archives Gig
- 14. Extend the Knowledge Reinforcethe tenants of the profession with every interaction I really enjoyed speaking with you and your colleagues and left excited about the possibility of a library/information science career. I've been exploring the ALA website and plan to look into accredited programs next. Mila, Howard University Career Exploration Fair Thank you so much for these resources!! I'm so glad I got the chance to meet you. Sarah, American Historical Association Career Fair I wanted to thank you for taking the time to speak with me yesterday. I'm so inspired by you and your journey. You caught me at the right time while I decide on my next academic steps. I was up for hours last night looking at all the Library Studies programs listed on the ALA site. Shaina, Howard University Career Exploration Fair I cannot express how great it was to meet you at NCCWSL last Friday! I expected to go to the conference and learn new things about myself and new skills to implement but at this point in my college career I did not expect to learn about a career path I was never even cognizant of and actually become really interested in exploring new possibilities for graduate school and beyond. Talking to you has truly opened my eyes and expanded the horizon. April, NCCWSL Career Fair
- 15. Extend the Knowledge Reinforcethe tenants of the profession with every interaction It was a pleasure to meet you, Steven! Thank you so much for sending the information -- those resources look like exactly what I've been looking for. Jessica, American Historical Association Career Fair I wanted to email you to thank you again for taking the time to read my resume, give me information on ALA internships and careers, and share some quality laughs with me(!). Katy, NCCWSL Career Fair Thank you for taking the time to talk to me about the cross overs with museum work and library archive, special collections, and digitization. I appreciated your helpful words, advice, and opening up my perspective to also look into registrar entry level jobs, in addition to my search in museums. Sarah, NCCWSL Career Fair Thank you for the list of suggested web sites... You were the very first person I talked to at the job fair, so thank you for setting the tone in a positive direction. Paulette, American Historical Association Career Fair
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- 17. Being an Ally connectthe dots
- 18. Being an Ally findthe sweet spot
- 19. Reap the benefits yoursupport network grows when you support others Olivia Dorsey, 2014 Spectrum Scholar "I am so thankful to have been connected to Holly – her contagious spirit knows no bounds. Because of her excitement, I have realized my strengths and because of her encouragement, I have been further motivated to use my strengths to my full potential with the knowledge that anything is possible."
- 20. Strengthening Connections Five events,five cities, 20 volunteer organizers! May 2014
- 21. Essential Information Concept Intendedoutcomes for participants: Committed network of mentors (graduate students and professionals) Resume and essay writing resources and assistance Tips for financing a graduate education Tools for identifying and re-evaluating career paths in evolving industries
- 22. Essential Information Chicago’s Design DayOne Personality style exercise Keynote speech by college library director, activist Careers panel - librarians from various institutions Networking with local professionals, reception Day Two FIELD TRIP to public library Graduate student panel - LIS student experiences Talk tables Real Colors Exercise Keynote: Use Your Voice Career Options Panel Networking: “Ask Me About..” More Networking! Venues: Richard J. Daley Library, Hull House Museum, and Skokie Public Library
- 23. Essential Information Spreading theword… Word of mouth – volunteers tell everyone who’s ever asked about their profession, utilize social media and encourage their peers to do the same Area library schools asked to contact students from orientation events, admitted students who never enrolled, and incoming students Information shared at Knowledge Alliance booth during college and career fairs earlier in the Spring – come here to continue the conversation! HR departments in public libraries, bulletin boards Career centers in area colleges, universities and city colleges AILA, APALA, BCALA, CALA, REFORMA, ARLIS, ARL help spread the word Student groups at UIC Student workers Students in the library that day!
- 24. Essential Information Opportunities navigated,realities discussed… Veronica Cajigas has been interested in library school for a year. As a woman of color, she hoped to see more racial diversity in the profession, and this workshop was an eye-opening experience. “I knew I wanted to become a librarian, but after attending the event, hearing the speakers, and meeting with mentors, I’ve never been more determined to actually focus and accomplish that goal.” Jasmine Pawlicki “Diversity plays an important role in my consideration of a graduate program because I will be seeking mentorship to help me develop an LIS course of study that addresses my interests in Ojibwe Language revitalization, tribal libraries and archives, and curriculum development.”
- 25. Essential Information Rediscovering librarianship… TainaK. Evans, library information supervisor at BPL, said that the event allowed speakers and panelists to share their passion for their unique role. “It’s safe to say that everyone left with a new found drive to impact the library profession, with an understanding that it’s not what the library profession can give to you, but what invaluable service you can add to the entire community.”
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- 27. Why the Alliance supportingpeople already within the profession “I feel like I'm an ambassador for librarianship.” “Being a Field Recruiter has helped me tremendously. Now I am able to communicate about what I do in a succinct, clear, and concise way as well as discuss the broad opportunities within the profession.” “Being a librarian that doesn't fit the mold (young and Latina) has been difficult on various fronts, but having the opportunity to serve as a role model and inspiration to future professionals makes the hardships worthwhile. The added boost of confidence has come from interacting with other librarians across library types and geographies and learning their stories. ” “This program has had a huge impact on me in various ways. I feel that I have been able to give back that much more to my profession and to programs and people that have helped me get to where I am. I am also much more comfortable discussing librarianship in general. Another good part is that my participation in this program has also impacted my library. I am currently working in a metropolitan area with very little diversity, so just making people aware of diversity issues within librarianship here was a huge thing.”
- 28. “I'm more awareof my presence in Librarianship from a diversity perspective. The story of how I came to Librarianship and how what I do benefits society is front and center when I meet anyone new. The impact of practicing my elevator speech, interacting with other librarians, and talking to potential recruits has increased my confidence exponentially. I would often feel out of place as there are very few librarians I've met who have similar experiences to mine; things have changed greatly since I got involved. The support I've had from my employer and co-workers as a result of this program is incredible. I'm now a go-to resource for my colleagues helping students who demonstrate an interest in the profession.” Why the Alliance supporting people already within the profession
- 29. Raise your handif you would like to help us keep the momentum going!
- 30. Library schools, associationsand organizations can all work together to fund the Knowledge Alliance moving forward, contact diversity@ala.org for more information on how to co-sponsor Knowledge Allies at career and job fairs. Share information on scholarships, volunteer opportunities, jobs and internships targeting pre-professionals with diversity@ala.org for inclusion on the Knowledge Alliance website. Identify local events where the Knowledge Alliance can connect with and support prospective LIS students from underrepresented groups! The Knowledge Alliance a collective effort
- 31. Early career librarianscurrently working in the field can visit knowledgealliance.org for information on the expectations of Knowledge Allies. Current students are invited to blog about diversity and their experiences in degree programs on the Knowledge Alliance website. The Knowledge Alliance a collective effort
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Editor's Notes
- #2 DEANA - Hello everyone and welcome to Rebranding Librarianship: Building a Knowledge Alliance. My name is Deana Greenfield and I am an instructional designer based in Chicago. I am also a Knowledge Alliance recruiter. Over the next hour you’re going to hear from 5 other Knowledge Alliance Recruiters from all over the country as we detail some of the many successes of the Knowledge Alliance recruitment program: Robert L. Jones is the PLSC State Data Coordinator and Youth Service Consultant at the Illinois State Library. Robert’s work at the Illinois State Library includes administering and monitoring grant programs and facilitating public library data collection in Illinois. Steven D. Booth is an archivist for the U.S. National Archives in Washington, D.C. where he preserves and provides access to presidential and vice presidential records. Holly Smith is the College Archivist for Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, a historically black institution founded in 1881. The College Archives collects materials related to Spelman and its constituents, and as a component of the Women's Research and Resource center, also documents women of the African Diaspora involved in feminism and social justice movements. Isabel Gonzalez-Smith is an Academic Resident Librarian in reference and instruction at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research interests include user experience, assessment, and diversity in the library profession. Hannah Lee is a Senior Assistant Librarian in the Student Multimedia Design Center at the University of Delaware. She coordinates the multimedia literacy program of instruction, where she collaborates with faculty on digital literacy instruction, teaches classes on things like digital storytelling and video editing, and assists students in creating multimedia content.
- #3 DEANA So what is Knowledge Alliance? Here is a little bit of background on our project. Knowledge Alliance was envisioned as a national diversity focused recruitment strategy to recruit ethnically diverse high school and college students to pursue careers in librarianship. Our project is administered by the ALA Office for Diversity and is currently funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. As a group we first met at the 2011 ALA Midwinter Meeting in San Diego. Through an application process, 35 eager early career librarians were selected to develop recruitment materials and serve as ambassadors for the librarianship profession. Many of us had previously participated in other successful diversity recruitment program and continued our involvement within them. For example, I was a 2008 ALA Spectrum Scholar and I’m currently the Chair of the Spectrum Scholarship Jury. But like many of us I wished I had had more information about librarianship as a career earlier on. Our experiences made us eager spread the word our profession and as a group we brainstormed ways to develop a stronger presence at local career, education, and cultural events geared towards high school and undergraduate students.
- #4 DEANA – One of the ideas we came up with was the need to strengthen our online presence and offer a variety of mentorship opportunities to students interested in careers in librarianship. In Spring of 2012 our Online Knowledge Alliance Mentoring Platform went live with the theme of “Meet your Ally”
- #5 DEANA – Through the Knowledge Alliance website, we had a platform to highlight upcoming recruiting events across the country where interested students could meet us face to face and hear more about opportunities in our profession. Another benefit of having our online portal is that we were able to launch the “Find Your Ally” initiative where students could search a database of Knowledge Alliance recruiters by geographic location or similar interests. Through this service people can meet mentors online. And as interested students register on the website, we are able to increase follow-up and engagement rates with interested individuals and provide a means for multiple diversity recruitment efforts to access this data. The development of a Knowledge Alliance “Leads or Contact management system” is an extremely valuable resource to track and assess the effectiveness of in the field recruitment efforts.
- #6 DEANA - Here are a few screenshots highlighting the “Find Your Ally” service – as you can see Knowledge Alliance recruiters have written short profiles explaining their professional roles and interests. Interested students can browse these profiles until they find someone with similar interests or other connections. Recruiters have provided interest “tags” so someone exploring the site could search for all mentors under “health sciences” for example – and then they might be introduced to the lovely Emily Chan who specializes as a liaison to health sciences departments at San Jose State University Library. Through this site it is easy to send a message to a potential mentor or “add them as an ally” for later contact.
- #7 DEANA – The idea of the “Find your Ally” program is to use this online portal to pair interested students with geographically accessible mentors. As you can see we have recruiters spread out throughout the country and within Canada. In addition we are always looking to add additional Knowledge Alliance Recruiters who are 3-5 years into their career and who come from diverse backgrounds, career paths and geographic locations
- #8 DEANA – Animated click through We just wanted to give you a visual representation of the numerous dedicated volunteers who represent the Knowledge Alliance across the country and even in Canada Between March 2012 and 2014: 3000 new mentee profiles have been created on the Knowledge Alliance site, and there have been over 10000 participants in 70 local career, education, and cultural events And now I’m going to turn it over to Robert who is going to talk about his experiences as a recruiter
- #9 ROBERT – let me tell you BRIEFLY a little bit more about what I do
- #10 ROBERT – as a Knowledge Alliance recruiter here’s how I have focused my participation
- #11 ROBERT - this is how I have found participating in this project rewarding – READ BULLETS; NOW I’D LIKE TO HAND THINGS OVER TO STEVEN TO TALK MORE ABOUT HOW WE FUNCTION AS A NETWORK OF RECRUITERS
- #12 STEVEN – the Knowledge Alliance is a team effort, in addition to volunteering together at events we take the time to get to know one another and to support one another in mentoring the individuals we meet through the website and in person. For instance, I try to connect every few months with another recruiter – Yani – who worked at the National Library of Medicine to keep familiar on her availability, projects and interest so that I might refer future health science librarians to her.
- #13 STEVEN - now that we have completed the design and learning phases of this project, we have started to grow the number of recruiters participating. We are all responsible for continually reviewing the mentors participating on the website, and learning more about their careers and interests so that we might connect prospective students with the best mentor.
- #14 STEVEN – in addition to learning about one another, we try to continually advance our awareness of opportunities that would be of interest to those entering the field. Be it a new fellowship for undergraduate students (PITT OPPORTUNITY), new people who can speak to getting active in a particular professional association, or through building relationships with potential employers such as Joy, pictured here, who worked in outreach and recruitment for the Smithsonian – there are a number of ways recruiters can advance their own awareness and information about people and initiatives that can best support an individual’s interests and skills.
- #15 STEVEN– here’s just a small sample of the feedback we get in response to our follow-up, every interaction is an opportunity to demonstrate that LIS professionals are knowledgeable, helpful and supportive no matter your goals
- #16 STEVEN – following up with everyone you meet is such a huge part of how the Knowledge Alliance has established itself as a brand, and how it functions as an advocacy and recruitment tool for the profession. I’D LIKE TO HAND THINGS OVER TO HOLLY TO TALK MORE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT HOW TO BE AN ALLY.
- #17 HOLLY - I'll discuss how to develop and maintain positive mentoring relationships with those potential recruits you connect with at Knowledge Alliance activities or through other connections. I'll also talk about my rich and rewarding experiences connecting with young women who I am proud to say are Spectrum Scholars (Lori, Tiff Henry, Olivia, and Barrye
- #18 HOLLY - One of the first things is to make a connection to the person, and to put an actual face to the library and information science profession. It's also important to share your own personal and professional journey so people can understand and hopefully learn from the path you took - challenges and opportunities (CLICK SLIDE TO SHOW PICTURE)
- #19 HOLLY - It's also very important to create a relationship that will be mutually beneficial to you and your possible mentee. I have had the experience of meeting people who were very interested in the field, to people who didn't know you needed a degree to work as an LIS professional. It's also important to guide people to the right individuals and organizations to help them with their own interests (example of Zora and her interest in medical librarianship
- #20 HOLLY – I’ve personally had the pleasure of mentoring a number of the newest Spectrum Scholars as they apply for scholarships. Every individual I meet gives me so much back in return – moments to celebrate and connections to interesting work like Olivia’s digitizing the history of a small rural town in North Carolina through her summer research fellowship! NOW I’D LIKE TO TURN THINGS OVER TO ISABEL TO TALK MORE ABOUT HOW WE EXTENDED THIS PERSONAL TOUCH TO A LARGER NUMBER OF RECRUITS THROUGH A SERIES OF EVENTS THIS SPRING.
- #21 ISABEL As mentioned earlier, my name is Isabel and I am a librarian at the University of Illinois at Chicago and am a new Ally for the Knowledge Alliance. I have participated in a career fair representing Knowledge Alliance and I co-organized/co-hosted the Chicago Essential Information workshop. What is Essential Information? To build on the momentum of the personal interactions mentioned previously, the ALA Office for Diversity worked with a number of hosting institutions (public, academic, and LIS degree programs) to coordinate 1-2 day networking workshop called Essential Information to help prepare prospective LIS students for graduate studies and to introduce them to a large network of potential mentors. The 5 workshops took place in May 2014 and were made possible by 20 volunteer organizers. The workshops were held in Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and NYC.
- #22 ISABEL The workshops were intended to impart tools for preparing for and funding a graduate education as well as to introduce participants to career options and mentors. Some intended outcomes for participants include a committed network of mentors resume/essay writing help tips for financing graduate education and tools for discovering and re-evaluating career possibilities in LIS
- #23 ISABEL The workshops followed a similar outline of activities and afforded attendees many ways to interact, ask questions, and learn more about one another. These events also encouraged use of multiple library spaces! On the slide, we see the Chicago agenda. (quick run through) Day One Personality style exercise Keynote speech by college library director, activist Careers panel - librarians from various institutions Networking with local professionals, reception Day Two FIELD TRIP to public library Graduate student panel - LIS student experiences Talk tables
- #24 ISABEL– There’s no wrong way to let people know about a free event to learn where they can learn more about career opportunities! We spread the word for the Essential Information workshop through many avenues including good ol’ Word of Mouth, reaching out to Library schools, Knowledge Alliance booth events at college and career fairs, library HR departments and bulletin boards, and career centers. We also had help from the ALA Ethnic Caucuses like APALA, REFORMA, BCALA and more who spread the word on their listservs. Lastly, the student workers and paraprofessionals in the hosting institutions were made aware of the opportunity and even students available the day of the workshop were able to join in on the workshop.
- #25 ISABEL– The students who participated in the Essential Information workshops expressed a lot of appreciation. Students had Opportunities to network with local professionals Exposure to library and information career possibilities and Greater understanding of graduate expectations
- #26 ISABEL – The student participants gained so much over the 2 days, however, the Professionals benefited too. I remember a librarian thanked me for inviting him to participate to the Chicago Essential Information workshop because he too gained much from the experience. Librarians enjoyed giving back to the LIS community by sharing their career experiences with potential future librarians and inspiring their curiosity and providing a friendly face for them to feel more comfortable and welcomed. No only did librarians give back, they also had an opportunity to work on their elevator speech - sharing what they do for a living to an audience not familiar with the LIS world - an invaluable skill. Lastly, the Essential Information workshop professions had the opportunity to expand their network of local peers. For example, in Chicago, we had local librarians from all kinds of institutions but we also had colleagues come out from other parts of the Midwest like Wisconsin and Minnesota. Many of us had seen each others’ names before but it was a great experience to put a face to the name and have a connection.
- #27 DEANA – Ask panelists, What was the top highlight/memory of YOUR workshop? STEVEN HIGHLIGHT: HOLLY HIGHLIGHT: ROBERT HIGHLIGHT: ISABEL HIGHLIGHT: intimate setting (veronica story) HANNAH HIGHLIGHT: HANNAH: and now I’d like to share a little bit more about how participating in this program has positively impacted all of the professionals who have volunteered through it
- #28 HANNAH – as part of our efforts to promote this project and assess it’s impact, we have surveyed the recruiters who have volunteered through it and here are just a few quotes from recruiters about their experiences in the Knowledge Alliance. As you can see the program supports the professionals participating in it as much as it supports prospective professionals, we look forward to sharing the impact the project has had in a series of upcoming publications and conference presentations.
- #29 HANNAH – the program highlights the need for more diversity within the profession and supports dialogue about change, it enhances recruiter’s advocacy skills, it strengthens the support networks between newer professionals – here’s one more quote from a recruiter about all the ways in which they have benefited through participating.
- #30 HANNAH – now that we have heard about how this project supports both recruitment AND retention of a diverse workforce, let’s talk about next steps – who here is interested in seeing this work continue?
- #31 HANNAH – the good news is that IMLS has generously extended this project through until Spring 2015, which gives us time to collectively think about what happens next! We’re seeking partners to help us keep the exhibit circulating and to support our volunteers. We also invite you to utilize our materials and to help promote opportunities of interest to prospective and current LIS students through the Knowledge Alliance. You can also keep us advised of recruitment events in your area.
- #32 HANNAH – individuals, especially those from groups underrepresented in the profession, who have completed the degree can consider signing up to volunteer as a Knowledge Alliance recruiter and mentor. We work with volunteers who have had professional experience in the field but also who completed a degree recently enough to be conversant with the current realities of graduate education and career seeking. Training and minimum time commitment requirements apply. We also welcome students to utilize the site to find a mentor and to consider blogging through the website about their experiences entering the profession!
- #33 HANNAH – Please join me in thanking all of our presenters and all of the volunteers who have made the Knowledge Alliance a reality. We have a little bit of time for questions so we invite you to share comments and questions now!