Report confirms need for continued diversity efforts.(American Library Association)(Survey)

The results of a national study of gender, race, and age in the library profession were released October 12 during the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color in Dallas (see p. 21). The purpose of the Diversity Counts study, conducted by ALA's ORS and the Office for Diversity along with the research firm Decision Demographics, was to provide the Association with a reliable estimate of employment and inform future recruitment efforts. Employment data about credentialed librarians (identified as those with master's degrees from ALA-accredited programs), noncredentialed but self-identified librarians, and library assistants were analyzed.

Using 1990 and 2000 U.S. Census data (the …