Diversity Committee Minutes, July 17, 2003, Hodges Library 605, 1-2 pm.
Members present: Keally, Mack, R.Smith, Royse, Blocker, Myers, Stephens, Manoff, Roller
Update on Life of the Mind: James McBride, the author of “The Color of Water” will be in Knoxville September 11 and 12. Molly reminded the group that the Reference department will host a discussion of this book on July 29 at 11:30 in Room 150. Anyone who wants to bring their lunch and join the group is welcome. There will also be some sandwiches provided. Contact Molly Royse if you are interested so she will know if you need a lunch.
Update on T-Shirts: Sheila got some prices from Threds. A black design on a colored shirt will be about $8; colored design, about $15. The group discussed whether, if we want to have extra shirts to give out or for new members, we want to think about a fund-raiser, maybe held jointly with LSA, to pay for these. This way, the current members won’t have to pay for lots of shirts out of their own pockets. Thura, Molly and Sheila will discuss. Also, Renee Smith may have some other contacts for places to have the shirts made.
Molly—update on annual report and budget—She will draft annual report and send to all members before next meeting. Thura will draft the budget.
Field trip to Highlander Center—discussion tabled until new members are on board.
“Pass the Torch” meeting—will include our new minority residents, Dean Dewey, and our new committee members as well as current members and those rotating off. At our next meeting we will set a date for it. SDAC is having a reception for all, but especially to welcome new staff, on August 12. [Secretary’s note: there was a Sharenews message on Friday from Thura that stated the date of this reception as August 14, from 1-2:30 p.m.]
Diversity Reading Corner (The Culture Corner) update: LouAnn updated the group on the progress of purchasing the shelves, selecting books, marking them for the culture corner, etc. Gigi worked with Terrel on shelving and layout, and she is also working with Martha on publicity. She also wanted to have a mention of it in the display case for Life of the Mind near the Hodges auditorium. There should also be a link on the library’s “Life of the Mind” page. Karmen Crowther is in charge of this page. We also need to alert all public services staff to the location of this area.
Molly mentioned that Banned Books week is coming up and that a list is available
from the ALA website. There is a possibility that some space in the Reference Room might be available for this or similar book displays in the future.
Jill gave an update on our Minority Residents. They all have email addresses on Aztec now. We need to add them to our distribution lists as soon as we can. They have been in touch with one another. Their start date is September 2. Jill is devoting a great deal of time in September to orientation. We need to think of orientation items, as Jill said “What would you have liked to have been told or shown when you came here?” Jill is also looking for information on community events our new residents might want to be involved in, and we should think of people outside the library they should meet.
Our next meeting is set for Thursday, July 31, 1-2:30 pm in Hodges 605.
With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2 pm
Respectfully submitted,
LouAnn Blocker