Guidelines
Diversity Statement
The editors of ALA Editions urge authors preparing proposals or manuscripts to make diversity a force in their publications. No longer is diversity a concern only for a handful of urban libraries in gateway cities. Throughout the country, our communities are changing. Quality professional publications have always pointed the way to innovative service. How does diversity touch your topic?
At the 1999 Midwinter meeting, Sandra Rios Balderrama, ALA's diversity officer, and Patrick Hogan, editorial director of ALA Editions, conducted a focus group to discuss diversity issues in the library profession. The goals were to uncover topics for publication and to open a dialogue between ALA Editions' editors and leaders concerned with addressing real diversity issues.
From remarks on a range of topics, it became quite clear that diversity touches many aspects of the profession and therefore has a place in all publications. As one participant put it, diversity is a majority, not a minority, issue. Among the highlights of the discussion were:
- Diversity is integral to librarianship and should be reflected in all aspects of service.
- Immigration as an issue calls for redefinition of library services and the practice of librarianship.
- It is librarians' personal responsibility to rethink service models and strive for a new level of professionalism.
- Diversity is in danger of being "watered down or made palatable," window-dressing that skirts the real issues.
- Collections reflect the selectors' world view and attitudes.
- People of color uniquely connect to the community and bring that uniqueness to all aspects of their jobs.
- Library literature is short on the public library perspective, where authors lack the institutional support and tenure motivations of the academic setting.
- An emerging force of writers of color wish to address a variety of issues, such as technology, young adult services, organizational change, or fundraising, and not just diversity.
If you have questions about the focus group or are looking for ideas from the discussion that might affect your project, contact an ALA Editions editor. Upon request from authors with a work in progress, editors can arrange for a reader to evaluate your manuscript on diversity issues.