library

LIBR 53, Library Public Services, Fall 2020

WRITING PROMPT ON DIVERSITY – DUE: 11/13/20 (30 PTS)

For this assignment, write about your experience with diversity for a hypothetical job application. Sometimes this is known as a “diversity statement.”

Instructions

Write a brief essay (3-4 paragraphs) that illustrates a specific, concrete experience that demonstrates your understanding and experience with diversity by addressing the points below. Limit your response to 2 pages maximum (roughly 500 words), double-spaced.

1) What is your definition of diversity? How do you characterize your understanding of diversity? (Fill in the blank: “To me, diversity means . . .”)

2) What specific, concrete experience(s) have you encountered in relating to people whose backgrounds, ways of thinking, and making decisions challenged your own? Avoid writing generic statements like “I worked with diverse ethnic communities.”

3) Explain your commitment to diversity and reflect on how it plays in your professional life. This can apply to library patrons and/or colleagues.

4) Conclude with an example of that illustrates diversity in a library setting for all communities. (Be sure to identify the population being served). This can apply to offering various types of services, selecting resources to build a collection for children, developing classes and events for Filipino groups, how you relate to or teach seniors, designing webinars for the visually impaired, etc.

The paper should include the major elements in the checklist below:

 A personal definition of diversity  Specific, concrete example(s) of a situation that raised your awareness of diversity  Reflection on the concept of diversity and your commitment and application to your

professional life  Example(s) of diversity applied to a library setting including population served

Brainstorming Ideas – Food for Thought  How has diversity played a role in contributing to your social style? Do you have specific examples?

 Think about a time when you adapted your style to resolve a conflict and work effectively with those whose views challenged your own. How did you reconcile these differences?

 What does it mean to make a commitment to diversity? How have you demonstrated that commitment? How have you applied your learning? What are your next steps?

 What is your learning style? How do you take in and process information? For example, when starting a new project, do you prefer to see the big picture first, or would you rather work on smaller tasks, one step at a time?

 How have you enhanced your knowledge and understanding of diversity? How do you incorporate multicultural issues into your professional and personal development?

Learning Assessment Resources

Self-Assessments (EducationPlanner.org) http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments Provides self-assessment surveys designed to identify how you learn best. Try the “What’s Your Learning Style?” survey. Multiple Intelligences – Assessment http://www.literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html A self-assessment test designed to identify the range of your intelligence skill sets from strongest to weakest.