Diversity Counts is a comprehensive study of gender, race and age in the library profession, originally conducted in 2006 and released in 2007.
The study was updated in 2012 using 2009-2010 American Community Survey analyses. The new data reveals a small gain – from 11 percent in 2000 to 12 percent in 2009-2010 – in the percentage of racial and ethnic minorities working as credentialed librarians in the nation’s public, academic and school libraries. While credentialed librarians remain predominantly female and white, this new data provides a fuller picture of diversity within the profession today.
“Although the findings show some improvement in the diversity of the library workforce, we clearly have a long way to go,” stated Maureen Sullivan, 2012-2013 ALA president. “To continue to serve the nation’s increasingly diverse communities, our libraries and the profession must reflect this diversity. We must continue to offer initiatives like ALA’s Spectrum Scholarship Program to recruit and educate library workers of color. We also must do the research necessary to discover effective ways to increase the numbers. This is a matter of urgency for all of us.”
Earlier data
- Diversity Counts Report - Revised January 2007
Compiled 2006 by Denise M. Davis, Director, Office for Research & Statistics and Tracie Hall, Director, Office for Diversity - Diversity Counts Presentation Slides - Revised August 2007
- Diversity Counts Press Release - October 12, 2006
- ACS 2001-2005 Analysis (Tordella, June 2007)
- Diversity Profile 2000 and 1990 (Decision Demographics)
- Additional Resources for Making Diversity Count
Diversity Counts was conducted by the ALA Office for Research & Statistics, ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services and Decision Demographics, a research firm based in Arlington, Virginia.