In 2009, The HistoryMakers, the nation’s largest African American video oral history archive was awarded an IMLS Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Grant # RE-06-10-0080 entitled Increasing African American Diversity in Archives: The HistoryMakers Fellowship, Mentoring, Training and Placement Institute. Twelve archivists were selected and trained over a two year period and placed in African American archives across the country.
According to Julianne Richardson, founder and Executive Director of the HistoryMakers, said the work begun under The HistoryMakers Institute in 2016 will continue in a new collaboration with Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Emory University’s Stuart A. Rose Manuscripts, Rare Books and Rare Book Library, and The Harvard Library’s Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Yale University and Harvard University will each appoint a year-long visiting archivist, and Emory University will appoint a two-year visiting archivist – all of whom will have recently received an MLS, and will start in their position by September 1, 2016.
The HistoryMakers will continue to serve as a consultant to the project and serve on the Institute’s Advisory Board. The goal is to provide professional post graduate training in a respected archive with rich African American archival holdings. Each fellowship is being funded by the host institution. Archivists will be able to apply in spring of 2016 for consideration at Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Emory University’s Stuart A. Rose Manuscripts, Rare Books and Rare Book Library, and The Harvard Library’s Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Over time, it is expected that more institutions will be recruited to participate in this program whose goal is to increase the number of archivists from underserved populations.
The purpose of the 2016 Minority Archival Fellowship is to:
1) Provide a meaningful and valuable post-masters training experience that incorporates an intensive training program at a world-class university archive, including professional development, presentation at academic conferences, and inter-action with lesser-known African American collections around the country;
2) Encourage the inclusion of minority archivists and recent MLIS graduates in the field of archives management;
3) Encourage the fellows to engage in outreach activities in the community.
4) Build and support a network of people committed to the same goal of increasing diversity in the profession.
The 2016 Visiting Minority Archival Fellows will:
1) Increase skills preserving and providing increased access to an African American archival collection.
2) Demonstrate increased knowledge of the nation’s African American archival collections.
3) Demonstrate increased knowledge of African American history and culture broadly and as it relates to special collections of African American archival collections.
4) Reported increase in marketability and employability as an archivist.
To apply visit either of the following university websites:
Emory University: http://web.library.emory.edu/about/employment/librarian.html
Yale University: (Search for Job# 37267BR): http://www.yale.edu-/hronline/careers/application/external/index.html
