Diversity Committee Minutes for May 30th, 2002 (1:00 – 2:30)
Diversity Committee Meeting
Present: Thura Mack, Tiffani Conner, Becky Roller, Maribeth Manoff and Anne Pemberton (Recorder)
- Next meeting will be at 1:10 on June 13th (NOT in 605 – room TBA – probably 127)
- All future meetings will start at 1:10 to allow for Chair and other members to get to meeting
- Minutes from the last meeting and 3 applications for the Diversity Committee were passed around
- June 7th is the deadline for applications to be on the committee
- The committee members were concerned that there was a lack of diversity in the current applicants and made the following suggestions to recruit more applicants:
o We could approach individuals we thought would contribute to the committee and ask them to apply
o We could submit names to Barbara Dewey and have her evaluate these as possible committee members and she make an invitation for them to join
o We could bring in other people outside of the committee for work as needed throughout the year on various projects
o We could contact people at VetMed, Music and Hoskins to see if they have an interest
o Make sure that everyone has received a flyer and re-post to Share News
o Think of individuals that would be contributors (Thura mentioned a colleague she felt would be good)
- Suggestions for Future Programming:
o 3 part series on American Sign Language (basics, greetings, protocols, etc.) We can contact the Office of Disability Services about this
o Cultural Awareness (Thura told story about someone going up to a student and reaching out their hand to shake hands with the man and his response was to tell her that he could not shake her hand because he is Muslim) – our staff needs to be made aware of cultural differences – Tiffani suggested contacting I-House about their programming
- Lama Grant:
The Lama Grant working group met and Jill e-mailed Rita and Linda (they are on the TLA Planning Committee). Tiffani gave us the following information:
o April 2nd would be the date of the preconference (in Chattanooga)
o We have the option of having a half-day or full-day session
o The deadline for the proposal is September 30th
o A room at the conference center will hold 36 seats (classroom style) or 70 (theater style). Classroom style is more appropriate for the preconference we have in mind.
o We must “break even” on the session (funding) – the preconference has to pay for itself
o TLA assigns the room and provides minimal equipment (flip charts, etc.). Presenters must provide other equipment (such as a laptop) and an Internet connection in the room is $350 for a day
o If we have food we MUST use the conference center catering
o There is no separate budget for food for the session
- We decided that we need to find out what attendees want out of this session and the following was suggested:
o We should target and market to public libraries, community colleges and smaller academic schools
o Since we only have $500 we might not be able to make this a free session
o The session’s content could focus on creating a welcoming environment and dealing with specific populations in libraries
o Tiffani contacted 2 people who said they would be interested in facilitating such a session (Matty Tippet and Loyda Valasquez – spelling is WAY off there)
o Local speakers would save us money
o We should think about having one facilitator outside the library environment plus someone to talk specifically about libraries
o Barbara Dewey was a possible choice for a speaker and later Thura and Becky suggested Ken Wise or Khafre Abif (Librarian at the Children’s Defense Fund Library)
o We should think about speakers from public libraries in Knoxville and Chattanooga (Chattanooga/Cleveland area would be close by and would bring in local librarians as well as save us money)
o The Diversity Committee members could facilitate round table discussions at the session
o Anne is going to post a message to the TLA Listserv to find out what libraries are doing to promote diversity as well as to find out what they want to do (we hope to generate some feedback that will allow us to focus the session even more)
o We can see if Molly can also post a similar question to some listservs (if there is one from the diversity conference)
o The next meeting of the Lama Grant working group is June 4th (2:00 in Jill’s office)
- Web Page Updates:
o The membership page is up and changes have been made
o Changes need to be made to the activities page to include the TLA session, presenting the paper at the diversity conference and the upcoming poster session at ALA
o We need to create a calendar page specifically for events of the Diversity Committee (this can be a feature at the poster session at ALA)
- ALA Diversity Fair:
o Thura and Molly have a good idea of what they are presenting and are meeting with Martha Rudolph to nail things down (the ALA diversity fair is June 15th from 3 – 5)
- Creating a Budget:
o We need to create a budget document to present to administration. Ideally we need to get this to Barbara by July 1st
o To be included in budget proposal: money for materials and supplies, travel money, speakers (to co-sponsor programs) and consultants. We cannot budget for food. We should think about any equipment or other supplies that the committee NEEDS to own
o Budget group: Tamara and Molly (Co-Leaders), Jill, Maribeth, Anthony and Becky
- Timeline for upcoming events:
o Timeline group: Renee and Anne (Co-Leaders), Tiffani, Thura and Sandy
o Need to think about what months/times of the year will work for events, create firmer timeline for events and create calendar for webpage
Next Agenda:
o Budget and Timeline groups will meet at the next meeting (June 13th 1:10 Location TBA)
o Pick a date for a visit to the Children’s Defense Fund (formerly known as Alex Haley Farm)