Present: Tiffani Conner, Thura Mack (Chair), Maribeth Manoff,
Joe Rader, Becky Roller (Recorder), Molly Royse, Anthony Smith
Absent: Jill Keally, Sandy Leach, Dave McClure, Tamara Miller
MC CLURE ON MEND
Dave McClure is home recuperating from back surgery. We signed a get well
card for him and hope he will mend quickly and return to us very soon.
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES CLIMATE SURVEY
The final draft of the library survey was presented to the committee.
Revisions to questions and one deletion to it have been made based on
comments and suggestions from our last meeting and the pilot test with
students. It is mow ready to out and will be distributed on October 16th.
This will coincide with pay checks distribution for students. A copy of
the dean's ShareNews message will accompany the survey for the students.
The surveys are due back October 31st. A reminder will be sent prior to
the due date. The survey will be receiving a lot of publicity. There is
the ShareNews message plus a direct e-mail from Barbara to all staff.
Thura will speak about it at the All Staff Meeting On October 11th. The
survey will also be noted in the next Training Letter. Molly plans to
send a thank-you note to the pilot survey participants. Thura complemented
the Assessment subgroup (Tiffani, Molly & Tamara) on the excellent work
they did putting it together.
The subcommittee is considering having focus groups after we receive the
results from the survey.
ALL STAFF MEETING OCTOBER 11th
Barbara asked Thura if she could make a statement to the staff attending
the meeting about the work the Diversity Committee is doing. Thura is
prepared to do that, emphasizing the upcoming Library Climate Survey, and
is prepared to answer questions. The Committee's website will also be
introduced.
LIBRARYNEWS
Thanks to Joe's influence with Martha Rudolph, the Diversity Committee's
Civility site was highlighted in the the October 2001 LibraryNews.
MEMBERSHIP IN DIVERSITY COMMITTEE
What do we do about students and staff who are interested in being on the
committee? What should the criteria and procedure be for committee
membership? This topic was deferred until the next meeting.
WEBPAGE REPORT FROM MARIBETH
Maribeth reports the Diversity Committee's webpage is "up and running".
It may be accessed from the Libraries' SharePage under "Committees,
Working Groups and Task Forces". Maribeth would like for everyone to look
at the webpage to see if they would like to make comments and suggestions.
"Members/Minutes", "Mission & Goals", and "Resources" are close to
complete. She would like more information for "Calendar of Events" and
"Activities". Molly is working on information for "Activities", but
everyone is welcome to contribute. Maribeth has e-mailed everyone more
information about this along with the url for our webpage.
For the "Calendar of Events" she will put links to other calendars such as
the International House Calendar of Events. She would like to highlight
events we know about in chronological order. Joe and Anthony already have
several urls for sites which can be linked. They will forward their
information to Maribeth. If anyone else has information of this type,
please let Maribeth know. She says urls would be sufficient.
The Diversity Committee's Mission statement from our original webpage can
be modified; it is a work in progress. Please give Maribeth information
and suggestions for any changes.
CIVILITY PAGE
The Civility Page Anthony created has been getting a great amount of
attention. Please let him know if there should be any additions or
changes.
ARL ONLINE CLASS
Molly reported on her progress with the ARL online lyceum class diversity
assessment. She described a recently completed exercise on "Scenario
Planning". In this exercise she wrote three scenarios re. the library's
diversity programming for "probable", "possible" and "preferable" futures:
1. Probable Future?
This kind of future is an extension of what is happening in your
organization today. Using what you know of the current culture of your
organization (conservative, activist, etc.) and perhaps thinking about
similar organization-wide projects from the past, extrapolate present
activities to describe the likely form a diversity program might take in
your organization.
Molly's response:
In the context of scenario planning for a probable future, which is based
on historical analogies, current trends and patterns, a UT Libraries'
diversity program designed to educate the entire staff via various events
and activities would be received positively by a portion of the staff, who
would consistently attend and participate. Another sector of the staff,
however, those who would perhaps benefit the most from the program, would
choose not to participate. As a result, as the Libraries' diversity
program evolved, it would only serve part of the staff and not the whole.
2. Possible Future?
To describe a possible future, begin by asking yourself questions about
what is going on in your organization today and speculate about what might
happen tomorrow. Are there any surprises and discontinuities in today's
events, and, if so, what do they mean for your organization's future?
Describe any unusual events that have happened lately (student uprisings,
faculty legal trials, etc.) and what they might mean for your diversity
program planning.
Molly's response:
The unusual and tragic events for our nation on September 11th have
resulted in a multitude of reactions across the country. In the days
following Sept. 11, our country's college and university communities have
offered a snapshot of the wide range of emotions and reactions that can
result in response to such unthinkable terrorist acts. The Univ. of
Tennessee is no exception.
What does all this mean for the possible future of our Libraries'
diversity program? I think it magnifies the importance of our diversity
program being proactive vs. reactive. A sense of urgency evolves to make
the Libraries' diversity program more visible, not just within the library
organization, but also in the campus community. If an academic library
wishes to be considered the "heart of the university," then that library's
diversity initiative should be found at the "heart of the university" as
well.
3. Preferable Future?
What future would you prefer? Using your own vision, create an ideal
state or condition for what you would like to see as a scenario for your
organization's diversity efforts.
Molly's response:
The preferable future for UT Libraries' diversity efforts would be one
that includes a network of collaborative efforts for diversity, both
within and outside the organization. The Libraries' diversity initiative
would be a part of a larger campus-wide initiative, taking a leadership
role at times, but not existing in isolation. The Libraries' environment
would be a truly welcoming one, where diversity (defined in the broadest
sense) is present and embedded in all components and entities of the
organization. The need for a library diversity committee would then cease
to exist.
Some of the online class materials could form the basis for future
workshops for UT Libraries.
Molly says other participants are finally logging on to the On Line Class
site. There are participants from Indiana, Notre Dame, and Ohio Univ. and
Arizona State.
LECTURE ON MORALITY AND HOMOSEXUALITY
The proposal was approved that the Diversity Committee co-sponsor Dr. John
Corvino's lecture on Morality and Homosexuality. Barbara has offered
endowment funds to cover our part of the fee. We are joining the
Philosophy Department, the Center for Applied and Professional Ethics
(CAPE), the English Department, and the Law College in sponsoring Dr.
Corvino's lecture. It will be held on November 16th at 12:30pm (note: is
this correct time? previous e-mail from Carrie states 3:30pm) in McClung
Tower. This was felt by the members to be an excellent opportunity to
bring a very stimulating and provocative topic into the light,
demonstrating the Committee's commitment to creating a warm and welcoming
environment for everyone and hoping to move others to becoming more
enlightened and welcoming.
It was later suggested the library offer the Lindsay Auditorium for the
lecture if it is available. Molly said she would ask Joe to make the
offer if it is a possibility.
Another idea discussed later was the possibility of the library having
some type of display, possibility on the second floor relating to the
lecture.
CONFERENCES REPORT
TLA
TLA will be meeting in Nashville next year. This is close enough for
everyone who is interested to attend. We are working to find other TN
libraries interested in participating with us in a panel discussion on
diversity in libraries. One good possibility is the Memphis Public
Library which has a very active Hispanic program. Anthony suggested
Tennessee State and their Minority Office. Another suggestion was
Chattanooga.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF DIVERSITY IN LIBRARIES
This conference will be held in Iowa April 4-6 2002. Tamara, Tiffani, and
Molly have submitted a proposal for a paper presentation on the Libraries'
climate survey. Molly has e-mailed copies of the proposal to committee
members along with guidelines for a poster session for anyone to consider.
The deadline for submitting a poster proposal is December 15, 2001.
BLACK CULTURAL CENTER BRICK
The committee agreeded to purchase a brick for the Black Cultural Center.
Something along the lines of "UT Libraries' Diversity Committee" will be
put on the brick. For those interested in contributing, please give your
money to Becky who works Sunday through Thursday in Circulation. (forgot
the deadline for this will let everyone know when I find out).
NEXT MEETING: October 18
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
RM 605
AGENDA
Committee membership discussion
TLA proposal (due Oct. 19)
Collaborative efforts
Activities within Libraries