Hola! The new year has been ridiculous - a good kind. When the new year came in, so did new projects and ideas....so it has been busy and hectic. But hey, I work GREAT under pressure!
I finally finished my part of the display case earlier last week. I really like the way Ashley and I infused Black History Month (Feb.), National Women's History Month (March), National Poetry Month and Community Spirit Month (April). We decided we will keep this display up until the end of April; therefore, our display celebrates each of these months. You should really check it out because Ashley did a fabulous job of researching and finding awesome photos of the Black community that once existed right where our university now sits! (Hence, celebrating the Black History and Community Spirit months). My display showcases pictures and information on influential Black women and poets (male and female) in/from Indianapolis. If you check out the display you will see Etheridge Knight, poet; Mari Evans, poet/writer; Julia Carson, congresswoman; Tasha Jones, poet; and Madame C. J. Walker, entrepreneur. So my display case celebrates the Black History and National Poetry months.
I had the blessing and opportunity to make contact with Madame C. J. Walker's great-great-granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles, who provided me with fabulous pictures of Madame C. J. Walker. Ms. Bundles also told me she was going to be at IUPUI to talk at the "Marching to Justice" display, and she also told me she wanted to stop by and see our finished display! I was ecstatic! Sure enough, last Tuesday, Ms. Bundles stopped by to look at our work! I was very nervous, after all, she knows much more about her great-great-grandmother than I do. But she left me a note saying she enjoyed the display! So, now I am even more excited and proud of Ashley and my work! How awesome is that guys?
**Check out the official website of Madame C. J. Walker to learn more about her and her great-great-granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles.
Well, that is all for today!
Until next time,
Trina
Monday, February 25, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Just an update
Hey everyone. I just wanted to take out a little time to Blog and catch everyone up on what has been going on with the Fellowship. Last week was a productive and fun week. Trina and I had the opportunity to meet with Michelle from "To Mexico with Love" to talk about getting some initial inventory underway for the Xoxocotla library project. Both Trina and I are super excited and waiting to hear back from scholarship committees in order to help us fund this study abroad/ service learning experience. We will start our official inventory next week.
We were also invited to the TL&R (Teaching, Learning and Research) retreat. At this meeting we talked with several different librarians and library staff members. The aim of the retreat was to figure out (or at least start talking about) which goals UL should start setting in order to help UL continue on the path of becoming a premiere academic library. I felt honored to be called upon to share the student perspective on matters from everything from marketing to the appropriateness of technology. I think the Diversity Fellowship was created to foster these kinds of student/staff/faculty interactions. This type of exchange serves the purpose of teaching Trina and I about the issues facing today's library and also allows us to offer our own perspectives to this conversation.
Kudos to the TL&R team for taking this approach.
Well...there are many things to come so I will say bye-bye-bye for right now.
Carry On,
Ashley
We were also invited to the TL&R (Teaching, Learning and Research) retreat. At this meeting we talked with several different librarians and library staff members. The aim of the retreat was to figure out (or at least start talking about) which goals UL should start setting in order to help UL continue on the path of becoming a premiere academic library. I felt honored to be called upon to share the student perspective on matters from everything from marketing to the appropriateness of technology. I think the Diversity Fellowship was created to foster these kinds of student/staff/faculty interactions. This type of exchange serves the purpose of teaching Trina and I about the issues facing today's library and also allows us to offer our own perspectives to this conversation.
Kudos to the TL&R team for taking this approach.
Well...there are many things to come so I will say bye-bye-bye for right now.
Carry On,
Ashley
Monday, February 4, 2008
Book fairs, oral histories, and displays...oh my
Ok, ok, I admit it. I haven't been keeping up with my resolution. There has been ever so much to do around here. But, that is no excuse I am still going to work on getting more blogs posted so that I can share the exciting things that are going on with the fellowship...
This week Trina and I will be working with the external relations team in order to get ready for the book fair next week. This morning we will be working on signs and figuring out where to place them to get the best student response. We have also decided to put the information about the book fair on the Diversity Fellowship's and the University Library's Facebook pages. These kind of social networking sites really reach out to the student population so we are hoping to get a good response.
This week I will also begin working on an oral history project with the special collections and archives team. For this project I will choose someone connected to IUPUI and collect a oral history of the university from that person. At this time I am most interested in collecting an oral history from someone who once lived in this neighborhood and is now affiliated with the school. I am particularly interested in this project because my mother's and father's families both have ties to the neighborhood where IUPUI now resides. My father attended Crispus Attucks High School, and my mother lived on Blake Street. During my mother's childhood Blake Street was part of a thriving African-American community. This community was displaced when the university and other city buildings were built. I think that it is important for the university to acknowledge and pay homage to these people.
Speaking of this African- American community, in recognition of this history, one of the displays in the lower lobby of the University Library is dedicated to the old neighborhood. Please come by and take a look at the photos and information on display. The photographs from Crispus Attucks and The Flanner House are housed in IUPUI's special collections and many are available online through the University Library Digital Catalog. The bulk of the other information can be accessed through the University Library's online database search. For other Indiana and Indianapolis information you might want to check out the Indiana Historical Society's database.
This display will run February 4th - May 11th so you have plenty of time to come see it.
Well until next time, Carry on.
Ashley
This week Trina and I will be working with the external relations team in order to get ready for the book fair next week. This morning we will be working on signs and figuring out where to place them to get the best student response. We have also decided to put the information about the book fair on the Diversity Fellowship's and the University Library's Facebook pages. These kind of social networking sites really reach out to the student population so we are hoping to get a good response.
This week I will also begin working on an oral history project with the special collections and archives team. For this project I will choose someone connected to IUPUI and collect a oral history of the university from that person. At this time I am most interested in collecting an oral history from someone who once lived in this neighborhood and is now affiliated with the school. I am particularly interested in this project because my mother's and father's families both have ties to the neighborhood where IUPUI now resides. My father attended Crispus Attucks High School, and my mother lived on Blake Street. During my mother's childhood Blake Street was part of a thriving African-American community. This community was displaced when the university and other city buildings were built. I think that it is important for the university to acknowledge and pay homage to these people.
Speaking of this African- American community, in recognition of this history, one of the displays in the lower lobby of the University Library is dedicated to the old neighborhood. Please come by and take a look at the photos and information on display. The photographs from Crispus Attucks and The Flanner House are housed in IUPUI's special collections and many are available online through the University Library Digital Catalog. The bulk of the other information can be accessed through the University Library's online database search. For other Indiana and Indianapolis information you might want to check out the Indiana Historical Society's database.
This display will run February 4th - May 11th so you have plenty of time to come see it.
Well until next time, Carry on.
Ashley
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Time moves...and moves...and moves...and...
It has been a little while since the last time I wrote a blog. Over a month. The holiday season has come and gone leaving in its wake lots of work to be done. Trina and I have been working on several projects lately.
The first project is the To Mexico with Love project. To Mexico with Love is an organization at IUPUI. This organization revolves around a cultural exchange/community service/ study abroad opportunity in the town of Cuernavaca in Morelos, Mexico. Trina and I both found out about the program through the many fliers posted around the campus. It just so happened that one day Trina came in and saw the flier on my desk and told me that she was also interested in the program.
Neither one of us thought about ways that we could connect the To Mexico with Love program with the Diversity Fellowship. However, later on that week I attended the University Library's Board meeting and was inspired by Dr. Uday Sukhatme (Executive Vice Chancellor and Dean of Faculties at IUPUI) who spoke about IUPUI's vision for diversity, community engagement, service learning and study abroad programs. When I came back from the meeting I talked to Trina about the things he'd said. She and I formulated the idea to combine the skills we are learning at the UL with IUPUI initiatives to promote diversity, service learning, and study abroad programs.
With the help of Michelle Verduzco (Director of To Mexico with Love) and Kristi Palmer (Advisor for the UL Diversity Fellowship) we formulated a plan that would allow Trina and I to use our acquired librarianship skills to serve in an elementary school in Cuernavaca. It actually worked out that Michelle Verduzco and her colleagues from To Mexico with Love were already planning to work on collecting books, and building a library for the elementary school.
With some much needed support from Dean Lewis (Dean of UL) we have been able to move forward with this project.
But that is not even the half of it! Today we are meeting with the library's External Relations team to talk about a book fair project that we will be working on, and last week I was able to meet with the Special Collections team about working on an oral history project. We also are working on an ongoing project with Digitization. With so much to do the 7 months before our term as the University Library's Diversity Fellows will be over before we know it...But I won't think about that just yet. Now I am going to get back to work...there is always a lot to be done.
Carry On,
Ash
The first project is the To Mexico with Love project. To Mexico with Love is an organization at IUPUI. This organization revolves around a cultural exchange/community service/ study abroad opportunity in the town of Cuernavaca in Morelos, Mexico. Trina and I both found out about the program through the many fliers posted around the campus. It just so happened that one day Trina came in and saw the flier on my desk and told me that she was also interested in the program.
Neither one of us thought about ways that we could connect the To Mexico with Love program with the Diversity Fellowship. However, later on that week I attended the University Library's Board meeting and was inspired by Dr. Uday Sukhatme (Executive Vice Chancellor and Dean of Faculties at IUPUI) who spoke about IUPUI's vision for diversity, community engagement, service learning and study abroad programs. When I came back from the meeting I talked to Trina about the things he'd said. She and I formulated the idea to combine the skills we are learning at the UL with IUPUI initiatives to promote diversity, service learning, and study abroad programs.
With the help of Michelle Verduzco (Director of To Mexico with Love) and Kristi Palmer (Advisor for the UL Diversity Fellowship) we formulated a plan that would allow Trina and I to use our acquired librarianship skills to serve in an elementary school in Cuernavaca. It actually worked out that Michelle Verduzco and her colleagues from To Mexico with Love were already planning to work on collecting books, and building a library for the elementary school.
With some much needed support from Dean Lewis (Dean of UL) we have been able to move forward with this project.
But that is not even the half of it! Today we are meeting with the library's External Relations team to talk about a book fair project that we will be working on, and last week I was able to meet with the Special Collections team about working on an oral history project. We also are working on an ongoing project with Digitization. With so much to do the 7 months before our term as the University Library's Diversity Fellows will be over before we know it...But I won't think about that just yet. Now I am going to get back to work...there is always a lot to be done.
Carry On,
Ash
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Beyond Diversity - Multiculturalism
I am really surprised at how fast this semester has passed. Ashley and I began working as Fellows at the beginning of October....and it is already the middle of December.
I am very proud to be one of the first Fellows at the UL, and the title seems to hold very important values and responsibilities. I am, however, a little disappointed with how disorganized the fellowship is - thus far. But, I know that because this is a NEW job, a NEW initiative within the UL, that these kinks have to be worked out...and Ash and I need patience and to do the best we can. We have to set an example and lay the foundation for this new initiative. Of course, as time goes by and new Fellows come and go, this will grow into something more set into stone.
I think because this is so new....and with the implications of the title "Diversity Fellows," that we should really be promoting the education of multi-culturalism and cross cultural interaction, especially within the library. I don't think we should be promoting "diversity." I will tell you why. Ed Gonzalez said something SO intelligent and true: Diversity is difference. Knowing you and I are different from each other. Merriam-webster.com defines diversity as: "the condition of being diverse" and "an instance of being diverse."
Does the UL really want us to promote DIFFERENCES? Or do they want us to promote how our differences contribute to a GREATER cause? How distinct cultures contribute to the country, and in a more personal perspective, our campus? How the different, diverse people in the library work as teams to run this institution? How IUPUI's ever-growing diverse campus continues to thrive - because of the different contributions of faculty, staff, student, visitor's (etc.) different cultures and qualities?
We (Fellows) need to set the goal of showing that we, and the school, welcome diversity (different cultures, ethnicities, religions, careers, goals, appearances, studies, people, environments, knowledge..). We (Fellows) need to set the goal that we will immerse ourselves in all types of cultures, in order to learn and understand, and then share that experience with our audience. Hopefully, we will be great role models so that others - regardless if you are of the IUPUI community or from another state or country - will be motivated to reach out and educate yourself of cultures outside of your comfort zone, or your own cultural environment. I hope we will motivate you to learn that the only barriers that exist are the ones you create.
I am very hopeful for the project/campaign that Ash and I would like to engage in. Our initiative to partner with To Mexico w/ Love has been approved by Dean Lewis! Now, I feel that this will be a great project that will allow us to work and show that our fellowship can entail independence, imagination and ambition. I think this fellowship can be a wonderful opportunity for students to learn and demonstrate how to responsibly be a part of the "real world," and contribute to it by leaving a positive impression (works of good). Promoting multi culturalism goes beyond reading, talking or setting displays. You must live it!
P.S. Merriam-webster defines multicultural as: of, relating to, reflecting, or adapted to diverse cultures.
♥
Trina
I am very proud to be one of the first Fellows at the UL, and the title seems to hold very important values and responsibilities. I am, however, a little disappointed with how disorganized the fellowship is - thus far. But, I know that because this is a NEW job, a NEW initiative within the UL, that these kinks have to be worked out...and Ash and I need patience and to do the best we can. We have to set an example and lay the foundation for this new initiative. Of course, as time goes by and new Fellows come and go, this will grow into something more set into stone.
I think because this is so new....and with the implications of the title "Diversity Fellows," that we should really be promoting the education of multi-culturalism and cross cultural interaction, especially within the library. I don't think we should be promoting "diversity." I will tell you why. Ed Gonzalez said something SO intelligent and true: Diversity is difference. Knowing you and I are different from each other. Merriam-webster.com defines diversity as: "the condition of being diverse" and "an instance of being diverse."
Does the UL really want us to promote DIFFERENCES? Or do they want us to promote how our differences contribute to a GREATER cause? How distinct cultures contribute to the country, and in a more personal perspective, our campus? How the different, diverse people in the library work as teams to run this institution? How IUPUI's ever-growing diverse campus continues to thrive - because of the different contributions of faculty, staff, student, visitor's (etc.) different cultures and qualities?
We (Fellows) need to set the goal of showing that we, and the school, welcome diversity (different cultures, ethnicities, religions, careers, goals, appearances, studies, people, environments, knowledge..). We (Fellows) need to set the goal that we will immerse ourselves in all types of cultures, in order to learn and understand, and then share that experience with our audience. Hopefully, we will be great role models so that others - regardless if you are of the IUPUI community or from another state or country - will be motivated to reach out and educate yourself of cultures outside of your comfort zone, or your own cultural environment. I hope we will motivate you to learn that the only barriers that exist are the ones you create.
I am very hopeful for the project/campaign that Ash and I would like to engage in. Our initiative to partner with To Mexico w/ Love has been approved by Dean Lewis! Now, I feel that this will be a great project that will allow us to work and show that our fellowship can entail independence, imagination and ambition. I think this fellowship can be a wonderful opportunity for students to learn and demonstrate how to responsibly be a part of the "real world," and contribute to it by leaving a positive impression (works of good). Promoting multi culturalism goes beyond reading, talking or setting displays. You must live it!
P.S. Merriam-webster defines multicultural as: of, relating to, reflecting, or adapted to diverse cultures.
♥
Trina
What is it Good For?
Monday I had the opportunity to attend a Indiana State Library Diversity Initiatives Task Force meeting at the Indiana State Library. It was a nice opportunity to see the different ways librarians from across the state are working to promote diversity in their own libraries and in library professions as a whole. Most of the meeting centered around a discussion about a program that the Task Force wants to build to encourage graduate students to consider entering the field.
This discussions triggered my own thoughts about the field of library sciences and my new awareness of all of the different opportunities within library science.
Before I became a Diversity Fellow at UL, I was a library assistant at an elementary school. In that position I gained a greater appreciation for the inner workings of the library. Though the elementary school library was much, much, much smaller than UL it faced many of the same problems that the Task Force addressed in their meeting. The librarian at the elementary school wore many hats. Not only did she do the traditional school librarian duties (checking in and out books, making sure that people stayed quiet) she also spent a lot of time working on grants and developing the library's collection.
As the Task Force members debated I thought about what ways the issue of diversity effects libraries from elementary schools to large public libraries to academic libraries. Through this fellowship I have had an opportunity to work with or collaborate with people who work in all different parts of UL. Recently I have spent some time working on a digital collections project, and after the holiday I will be working with archives. I tried to think of ways that diversity effects these types of library projects also. I came up with this conclusion: after all is said and done, it boils down to representation.
Librarians are the keepers of history and information. Diversity is important in library science because librarians have an obligation to do their best to represent the world around them. During the meeting several people mentioned that they did not want the Task Force to be seen as another "affirmative action program". While I believe that affirmative action, in many cases, opens doors for minorities, when we think about diversity it should not be limited to quotas. Libraries should be concerned about the diversity of cultures, ethnicities, and ideas in the library profession. This exchange will enhance the quality of Indiana libraries in every way. Even elementary school libraries should reflect their patrons, inviting everyone to come and join the fun.
Until next time...make it work,
Ashley
This discussions triggered my own thoughts about the field of library sciences and my new awareness of all of the different opportunities within library science.
Before I became a Diversity Fellow at UL, I was a library assistant at an elementary school. In that position I gained a greater appreciation for the inner workings of the library. Though the elementary school library was much, much, much smaller than UL it faced many of the same problems that the Task Force addressed in their meeting. The librarian at the elementary school wore many hats. Not only did she do the traditional school librarian duties (checking in and out books, making sure that people stayed quiet) she also spent a lot of time working on grants and developing the library's collection.
As the Task Force members debated I thought about what ways the issue of diversity effects libraries from elementary schools to large public libraries to academic libraries. Through this fellowship I have had an opportunity to work with or collaborate with people who work in all different parts of UL. Recently I have spent some time working on a digital collections project, and after the holiday I will be working with archives. I tried to think of ways that diversity effects these types of library projects also. I came up with this conclusion: after all is said and done, it boils down to representation.
Librarians are the keepers of history and information. Diversity is important in library science because librarians have an obligation to do their best to represent the world around them. During the meeting several people mentioned that they did not want the Task Force to be seen as another "affirmative action program". While I believe that affirmative action, in many cases, opens doors for minorities, when we think about diversity it should not be limited to quotas. Libraries should be concerned about the diversity of cultures, ethnicities, and ideas in the library profession. This exchange will enhance the quality of Indiana libraries in every way. Even elementary school libraries should reflect their patrons, inviting everyone to come and join the fun.
Until next time...make it work,
Ashley
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