This should, over time, work to establish a culturally diverse workforce. Having a diverse staff will in turn provide the foundation for libraries to exhibit cultural diversity through their services, programs, and collections. This environment will benefit minorities in our communities and enrich the lives of all people by broadening their perspectives. We shouldn t continue to sink money and other resources into a losing battle. There has been little evidence that past recruiting efforts have successfully created a more diverse workforce.
Some factors are beyond the control of our recruitment efforts.
For instance, librarians salaries aren t competitive enough to attract minorities pursuing graduate level education, and minorities are not attracted to working in a predominantly white profession. Even if minorities are recruited to library schools, retention of minorities in libraries requires the cooperation of library management to deal with new issues and new problems that stem from a culturally diverse workplace. In 1997, ALA began the Spectrum Initiative, a plan involving ALA-accredited library schools and the wider community. One part of the plan is to use ALA endowment funds for minority scholarships. The plan also calls for 2-3 library schools to form a consortium to offer a support system for minority students.