Yale University Library Launches Diversity Council
November 14, 2005
Colleagues,
On Monday, November 14, 2005 it gave me very great pleasure to launch the Yale University Library's new Diversity Council with an all-day retreat at the Rose Alumni House. The aim of the retreat was to develop objectives, goals and strategies for a Library work environment which promotes, encourages, fosters and supports a diverse work force. The retreat ended with a presentation by Robert Schwartz, the University's Associate Vice-President for Human Resources, who outlined the University's ambitious agenda for diversity across the campus.
The Council defined diversity to include and recognize individual attributes and differences such as age, race, gender, religion, cultural heritage and ethnic background, as well as less visible characteristics such as personal background, functional expertise, thinking styles, sexual orientation or disability. It developed an initial action plan to include three primary goals. These goals are:
to be proactive in recruiting the most excellent candidates of diverse backgrounds and under represented minority groups;
to improve the work climate and practices to promote, develop and foster diversity within the Yale University Library system;
to provide opportunities for career development and mobility for all staff, especially qualified minority members, to advance from lower staff levels to higher positions.
The Diversity Council is made up of a wide variety of staff from the Yale University Library. Diane Turner, Associate University Librarian for Human Resources, is serving as the mentor and sponsor of the new Council. I am deeply grateful and excited that Richard Richie, Curator of the South & Southeast Asia Collections and Teresa Miguel, Reference Librarian from the Lillian Goldman Law Library have agreed to serve as co-chairs. You will be hearing more from them in the coming months.
I am very happy that the Library's Diversity Council has been launched and that the members below have enthusiastically agreed to assist with this important work. The Council would like to invite Library employees to share with individual members their ideas, concerns and suggestions for diversity related goals. Library colleagues serving on the new Diversity Council can be contacted through their departments and telephone numbers listed below:
Meg Bellinger
Ass. Univ. Libr. for Integrated Library Systems and Technical Services
SML 115
2-2068
Sarah Elman
Associate Curator, East Asia Library
SML 213
2-8210
Carolyn Hardin Engelhardt
Ministry Resource Center Director, Divinity Library
2-5319carolynhardin.engelhardt@yale.edu
Charles Greenberg
Head Reference Librarian, Medical Library
737-2960
Graziano Krätli
International Program Support Librarian, Collection Development
SML 224
2-1763
Daniel Lovins
Catalog Librarian / Hebraica Team Leader
SML Catalog Department
2-1707
Teresa Miguel
Reference Librarian, Lillian Goldman Law Library
2-8023
teresa.miguel@yale.edu
Amanda Patrick
Library Development & Communications Associate
SML 214
2-8061
Ahmed Ramadan
Catalog Assistant
SML Catalog Department
2-1800
ahmed.ramadan@yale.edu
Rich Richie
Curator, South and Southeast Asia Collections
SML 315
2-1858
Regina Romero
Associate Director of Finance, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
2-2955
Ivette Silva
Acquisitions Assistant, Latin American Collection
SML 316
2-1835
ivette.silva@yale.edu
Patricia Simon
Preparations Manager, Acquisitions Department
SML 31
2-1720
Diane Turner
Ass. Univ. Libr. for Human Resources, Staff Training and Security
SML
2-1810
Richard A. Williams
Library Service Assistant, Access Services
SML
2-1857
Baolan Wu
Financial Assistant, Acquisitions Department
SML
6-1053
Alice Prochaska
University Librarian