Diversity Research Grant

About the Diversity Research Grant The ALA Office for Diversity began sponsorship in 2002 to address critical gaps in the knowledge of diversity issues within library and information science.

Administered by:

Office for Diversity logo

2012 Winner(s)

Beyond Broken Borders: Examining Library Services to Latino & Spanish-Speaking Populations in New Latino South States with Anti-Immigration Laws

to Dr. Jamie C. Naidoo, associate professor, School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alabama and Lance Simpson, graduate student, School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alabama

This project will investigate the connection between library services to Latino and Spanish-speaking residents and anti-immigration laws that promote racial profiling and negative community attitudes towards new and “foreign” residents.  In addition, the project will result in a current anti-immigration toolkit for librarians struggling to serve all the residents of their communities.


LIS Diversity: A Longitudinal Study of the ALISE Statistics

to Danny P. Wallace, professor and EBSCO chair of library service, School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alabama

This project will analyze more than 30 years of data gathered for the annual Library and Information Science Statistical Report to determine and analyze trends in diversity among LIS students and faculty and examine diversity as it is reflected in LIS courses and curricula. This analysis will provide library and information professionals with much needed hard data to inform the essential ongoing discussion of diversity.


This Hallowed Place: The Desegregation of Public Libraries in the American South, 1954-1968

to Wayne A. Wiegand, F. William Summers professor of library and information studies emeritus, Florida State University

This project will analyze primary source materials like African American newspapers; local, state and federal court records; and interviews with participants still alive to create a general interest book addressing this crucial period.