Category: musings

minority librarians

My reaction to Clark Atlanta University closing their library science program.

According to a posting on LISNews.com, Clark Atlanta University is closing their LIS program (along with four other programs) due to budget problems. I nearly applied to Clark Atlanta when I was shopping around for library schools. I’ve never lived in Atlanta, so that was one of the appealing factors. When I told my parents my top five list of schools, they were shocked that Clark Atlanta was on it. That was the first I had ever heard that this school is one of the historically black schools. That shouldn’t have made a difference in my choices, but for some reason, it did.

In college, I spent two months in a West African country as a part of my studies; so I was already familiar with what it is like to live in an area where I am a racial minority. However, I have since discovered that the things that set me apart from my Ghanaian friends were not so much race as culture. I am a North American from the Midwest and they are West Africans. Here in the U.S., the differences in culture are less and it becomes more about race. I realized that I was afraid to go to a school where most of the students are black. I was afraid that I would be rejected and excluded socially because I am hopelessly not black. And that, my friends, is a stupid reason to cross an institution off of your list of graduate school possibilities.

The closing of the LIS program at Clark Atlanta concerns me. The library profession in the U.S. is, for the most part, overwhelmingly white. If I was uncomfortable with going to a school where I could possibly be the only person of my race, I can only imagine what minority students considering librarianship must be feeling like. At least Clark Atlanta University’s program offered black students an opportunity to attend a graduate LIS program where they would not be a minority.

There are two things that I see happening as a result of this closure:

  1. Fewer black students consider a career in librarianship.
  2. Other LIS programs experience an increase in black enrollment.

Frankly, I hope it’s #2.

Please feel free to correct any misconceptions expressed in this entry. I know very little specifically about Clark Atlanta University, it’s now defunct LIS program, or the position of black librarians in the profession beyond my limited experience. All comments expressed in this entry are a reaction to the news item read on LISNews.com and are not researched. If any offence is taken, please remember that none is intended. I welcome all opportunities for enlightenment.

a light at the end of the tunnel

When I returned to work on Monday, I had recovered from the frustration and stress of the previous Friday, so fixing all of the problems I had encountered with SFX was a much more feasible task than it had seemed before the weekend. In fact, with a clear head and a few MySQL passwords, I … Continue reading “a light at the end of the tunnel”

When I returned to work on Monday, I had recovered from the frustration and stress of the previous Friday, so fixing all of the problems I had encountered with SFX was a much more feasible task than it had seemed before the weekend. In fact, with a clear head and a few MySQL passwords, I was able to get most everything done that wasn’t working for me before. As it stands now, pretty much everything is working as it should be. There are still a few more bugs, but I expect those will be cleared up within the next week or two.

Ever since I discovered the joys of keeping up with several weblogs through my RSS aggregator, I have been doing a lot of reading, but not so much writing. Not that I did all that much writing before, but for instance, this week I didn’t write anything at all, and that was mainly because after reading blogs, email, books, and journals, I didn’t have the energy to think of something of my own to say. So, here I am at 1:30am on Saturday, typing away.

maid-rite

For as long as I can remember, my mother has made a variation on the standard sloppy joe that is simply browned beef, condensed cream of mushroom soup, ketchup, and mustard. She said she got the recipe from a church potluck when we lived in Iowa, and my family has always called the sandwich a “maderight” – or at least, that’s how I spelled it in my head. It made sense to me, since I didn’t like the regular sloppy joe, a maderight was made the right way. Tonight, I was chatting with a friend from Iowa and mentioned that I had made this yummy sandwich for dinner. She knew exactly what I was talking about until I mentioned the ingredients. First of all, the original maid-rite (note the spelling) did not have condensed cream of mushroom soup, but it also isn’t quite like the messy sloppy joes they served in my Ohio elementary cafeterias. You can see some pictures of the sandwich at the Taylor’s Maid-Rite official website. I still love my mom’s version of this “loose meat” sandwich, but now I’m curious to know where she got the recipe with the condensed cream of mushroom soup and why she called it a “maid-rite” (or “maderight” as my mental spelling always put it).

post-conference depression

I suppose that unless you have experienced it, it is difficult to imagine how much fun one can have at a conference with a bunch of serials librarians. We only get together once a year, so perhaps that explains the intensity of everything, from the session topics to the late night laughter. On the flight … Continue reading “post-conference depression”

I suppose that unless you have experienced it, it is difficult to imagine how much fun one can have at a conference with a bunch of serials librarians. We only get together once a year, so perhaps that explains the intensity of everything, from the session topics to the late night laughter. On the flight home, I felt slightly nauseous and inexplicably sad. It has been a long time since I have felt like that, but it is a familiar to anyone who has experience summer camp. I was ready to go home when it was time, but at the same time, I wanted to hold on to those experiences and to the bond that has been created between my cohorts and me. I have to look on the bright side; even though we are scattered in four states and two countries, we will almost certainly see each other at least once a year. Perhaps that is what makes our time together this past weekend as precious as it is.

As you can see, it’s been quite some time since I posted anything new here. Part of that has been a result of my busy summer, but part of it has also been a lack of enthusiasm. The format of this blog might be changing from purely links with minimal commentary to a blend of reflections on my experiences as they happen, along with important links with commentary. Basically, I’ll be keeping both the format and the content eclectic, which is as it should be.

hiking

I went hiking today at the Pinnacles near Berea. As I drove up to the Indian Fort Theater parking lot, I could see little droplets of rain on my windshield and I wished that I had remembered to bring the rain jacket I bought after a hike in the rain last spring. It’s the kind … Continue reading “hiking”

I went hiking today at the Pinnacles near Berea. As I drove up to the Indian Fort Theater parking lot, I could see little droplets of rain on my windshield and I wished that I had remembered to bring the rain jacket I bought after a hike in the rain last spring. It’s the kind of jacked that rolls up into a stuff sack the size of a hoagie bun. The rain didn’t continue, and by the time I got out of the car, it had stopped completely. None of the rest of my hiking companions had arrived, so I waited and watched the way the clouds draped over the tops of the foothills and attempted to read a book. Soon, Mary arrived and we decided to start hiking, since it didn’t seem that anyone else was coming today. The leaves on the trees had turned shades of red, orange, and yellow, with some greens remaining. When I would take my glasses off (the hike was strenuous enough that my body heat combined with the temperature made the lenses fog over frequently), it almost seemed like the far side of the hills were painted in watercolors that had bled together. I hadn’t hiked that trail in almost two years, and in the interim time I had forgotten that the trail went up and up without many level places until we reached the top. Once we were there, the view was well worth the effort. Mary and I stayed up there for fifteen or twenty minutes, catching our breath and enjoying the God-like feeling of watching the miniature world below. Then, we hiked back down (which was much easier than the hike up) and drove into Berea for a tasty lunch at Wanpen.

Two interesting articles arrived in my email today. One is yet another story about women in rock and how radio stations are starting to play them more. It’s well-written and does at least address the difficulty that women who write and perform original rock songs have in getting airplay on commercial radio stations.

“But not all radio stations are tuned in to the trend. When it comes to rock, testosterone still rules.”

The other story is the first positive article about weeding library collections I have ever read in a non-professional journal. It’s in the New York Times, so as usual, you’ll need to register in order to read it.

“In the lexicon of library science, managing such unwieldy growth is known as weeding. It’s the closest most New Yorkers will ever get to gardening.”

beer, bluegrass, and Shaker lemon pie

I have some pictures of myself at the NASIG “beer node”, but I haven’t had the time to scan them in yet. I’m debating over whether it would be a good idea to do that. Yesterday, I went on the new faculty tour. I’m not exactly “new” here at EKU anymore, but they only do … Continue reading “beer, bluegrass, and Shaker lemon pie”

I have some pictures of myself at the NASIG “beer node”, but I haven’t had the time to scan them in yet. I’m debating over whether it would be a good idea to do that.

Yesterday, I went on the new faculty tour. I’m not exactly “new” here at EKU anymore, but they only do new faculty orientation once a year. Anyway, I toured the bluegrass region with a group of 25 new faculty, and it wasn’t as bad as I was afraid it might be.

I have been to Keeneland before, but this time I was able to see the clubhouse and the boxes that the corporations lease. Pretty spiffy, but I still prefer my usual spot along the rail down by the track. After Keeneland, we went to Lexington Community College. I worked in the resource center as a graduate student at the University of Kentucky, so there wasn’t much new-to-me information to be had. The best part of the day came next – a visit to Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, where we had lunch. I have been to Shakertown (as it is commonly known in the region) twice before for dinner, but I had not had the opportunity to tour any of the buildings before. It was very interesting and informative. I think that if I had lived back then, I would have been drawn to the Shaker lifestyle.

After lunch, we hopped back into the bus and drove down to Danville, where we toured the EKU Danville Center. By then, I was on sensory overload and trying to recover from the piece of Shaker Lemon Pie, but that didn’t stop me from having a bowl of homemade peach ice cream. Yum. I was glad to finally see my car when we rolled back into Richmond at 5:15.

This next week I’ll be on vacation in Toronto, and right now my main agenda is to take a nap every day. Ahh…. sleep…..

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