Identifying the Visible Minority Librarians in Canada: A National Survey

Abstract

Objective -This paper is based on a national survey conducted in late 2013 by the authors, then co-moderators of the Visible Minority Librarians of Canada (ViMLoC) Network of the Canadian Library Association (CLA). It is a first survey of its kind, aiming to capture a snapshot of the demographics of the visible minority librarians working in Canadian institutions. The authors hoped that the data collected from the survey and the analysis presented in this paper would help identify the needs, challenges and barriers of this group of librarians and set future directions for ViMLoC. The authors also hoped that the findings would be useful to library administrators, librarians, and researchers working on multicultural issues, diversity, recruitment and retention, leadership, library management, and other related areas.Methods -An online survey questionnaire was created and the survey invitation was sent to visible minority librarians through relevant library association electronic mail lists and posted on ViMLoC's electronic mail list and website. The survey consisted of 12 questions: multiple-choice, Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2015, 10.2 109 yes/no questions, and open-ended. The survey asked if the participants were visible minority librarians. If they responded "No," the survey closed for them. Respondents who did not identify themselves as minority librarians were excluded from completing the survey.Results -Of the 192 individuals that attempted, 120 who identified themselves as visible minority librarians completed the survey. Of these, 36% identified themselves as Chinese, followed by South Asian (20%) and Black (12%). There were 63% who identified themselves as first generation visible minorities and 28% who identified themselves as second generation. A total of 84% completed their library degree in Canada. Equal numbers (38% each) identified themselves as working in public and academic libraries, followed by 15% in special libraries. Although they are spread out all over Canada and beyond, a vast majority of them are in British Columbia (40%) and Ontario (26%). There were 38% who identified themselves as reference/information services librarians, followed by "other" (18%) and "liaison librarian" (17%). A total of 82% responded that they worked full time. The open-ended question at the end of the survey was answered by 42.5% of the respondents, with responses falling within the following broad themes: jobs, mentorship, professional development courses, workplace issues, general barriers, and success stories.

Academic Librarians with Disabilities: Job Perceptions and Factors Influencing Positive Workplace Experiences

“…Other factors influencing job satisfaction for visible minority librarians were different from those found in studies of librarians in general. These included a concern over the lack of diversity within their organizations, leading to feelings of isolation (Kumaran & Cai, 2015;Preston, 1998;Thornton, 2000). Some studies reported discrimination and racism at work, and found that higher levels of support for workplace diversity and equity, and sensitivity to the challenges faced by visible minority librarians led to greater job satisfaction (Kandiuk, 2014;Preston, 1998;Thornton, 2000).…”

“…Professional associations such as the American Library Association have developed standards for diversity in libraries, track diversity statistics, and offer scholarship and residency programs to encourage greater numbers of racialized or visible minority librarians in the profession. A growing professional literature explores the workplace experiences of minority groups within librarianship, including a number of recent studies that raise awareness and attempt to address equity concerns in Canadian librarianship (Hudson, 2017;Kandiuk, 2014;Kumaran & Cai, 2015). There appears to be increasing awareness of and attention paid to equity concerns within the profession.…”

Racial Pay Gap: An Analysis of CARL Libraries

“…The first National Survey of Visible Minority Librarians reported that at least 120 librarians identified as visible minorities in 2014. 7 There was an upward trend in hiring visible minority librarians over a decade. 8 The 8Rs Institutional Survey showed that visible minority librarians increased their representation rate from 5 percent in 2003 to 11 percent in 2013.…”

Winnipeg’s Millennium Library needs Solidarity, not Security

“…But we also know that racial fears underpin many of the claims of unsafety at Millennium. It is a space where patrons are likely to be Indigenous or newcomers, while library workers are overwhelmingly white settlers from higher socioeconomic brackets (Galvan, 2015;Honma, 2005;Hudson, 2017;Kumaran & Cai, 2015;Schmidt, 2019a). This tension and the narrative of violence coming from particular sources create racial discomfort, but discomfort is not the same as being unsafe (DiAngelo, 2018).…”