The Multicultural Internship Program @ Brooklyn Public Library

Louis Muñoz, Sept. 22, 2012

What is the Multicultural Internship Program?What is the Multicultural Internship Program?

Introduces high school Introduces high school students from students from

different ethnic, different ethnic, cultural, and linguistic cultural, and linguistic

backgrounds backgrounds

to the diverse to the diverse opportunities opportunities

available available

to library to library professionals.professionals.

OBJECTIVES of MIP:

1. Help increase the number of qualified professionals for employment as librarians.

2. Give teens from diverse backgrounds exposure to & experience in a range of LIS responsibilities & areas.

3. Connect teens to their communities.4. Increase ethnic & linguistic diversity of BPL librarians to

reflect the borough’s diversity.5. Better serve the needs and interests of Brooklyn’s

diverse populations.6. Address issues faced by libraries of similar size & type. 7. Reflect a vision of change.

Genesis…

• Assessment/Focus Groups: Only 4 out of 22 teens had considered LIS as a career option.

• Idea that librarians deal mostly with books.• Disconnect between activities rewarding to teens

and awareness of librarians being involved in those kinds of activities.

• According to a 5-yr. ALA Spectrum survey, “the single most predictive indicator for choosing to enter a LIS program was prior experience working in a library.” (Loriene Roy et al., Bridging Boundaries to Create a New Workforce: A Survey of Spectrum Scholarship Recipients, 1998-2003, American Library Association, 2006.)

Other influences on creation of MIP:

• Fairfax County (VA) Library’s IMLS-funded

An American Future program

• New York Hall of Science’s Career Ladder

(mentoring & recruitment program)

• Knowledge River, University of Arizona

• Study on Generation 1.5 students

Competitive

Selection

Process:

Total of

171 students

chosen from

across Brooklyn

for paid internship

for 200 service hours,

January - June.

Orientation Workshops:

• “Case of the Missing Fish: Customer Service at Its Finest” (HR Office)

• “College Readiness for Young Adults”

(Business & Career Library)• “Do You Speak My Language? Serving

Brooklyn’s Immigrants through Cultural Awareness” (Multilingual Center)

• “Young Person’s Guide to Electronic Resources at BPL” (Office of Collection Development)

School-Year Internship

Variety of General Projects, including:

• Assisted with language interpretation & translation

• Provided tech support • Created book displays • Shadowed librarians and other staff and created • Ran programs for kids and teens

School-Year Internship

Examples of Specific Projects:

• Chinese New Year Celebration• Teen Tech Week Bingo• Teen Tech Week Jeopardy • Mehndi programs • “Are You a Teen Looking for a Job?”• Open Mic Night at Spring Creek • Videos: “Why I Love My Library” &

“The True Story of Agatha Cunningham” (Check them out on YouTube!!)

MIP Elective Workshops/Training Activities

• MIP Book Club

 • Brooklyn Open

 • Central Library Tour

 • A Night at the Improv!

 • Career Readiness

 • Chat Sessions

 • Show Me How to Do That!

• MIP Mentor/Intern Get Together

 • Library Field Trips

• Music Appreciation

 • Brooklyn Collection

 • Today’s Teens/Tomorrow’s Techies

 • ESOL & Pre-GED Registrations

 • Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

 • T4 Comic Book Club workshops

 • CPR To-Go Program

 • Dweck Auditorium Programs

 • GameSpace Workshops

Chat Session with Nick Higgins (PULSE graduate!!), Correctional Services Librarian, NYPL

Summer Internships

General Projects: “Front-line” & “behind-the-scenes" work @:

-Languages & Literature & Youth Wing -Office of Library Technology -Collection Development -Programs & Exhibitions -Youth & Family Services -Volunteer Services -Brooklyn Collection

Summer Internships, continued:Specific Projects: • Represented BPL at NYC Digital Waves Youth

Media Festival & other events• PowerUP! Business Plan Competition • "Then and Now" photography project• Booklists • Website

Some Student Reflections:

• “My expectations have changed drastically. I thought that I would only be dealing with books, but now I know that I can give my opinion and exchange ideas of what I would like to see in the library.”

• “My expectations of the library is no longer just about it being a place where you check out books and use the computer. I’ve learned that the library offers many opportunities for children, adults who live here, and people who are new to the country.”

• “I did not expect to actually become interested in the librarian profession.”

• “It’s a hard job. The librarians do more than I have expected them to do. They do a lot for the community, which is very good.”

Benefits & Reasons for Becoming Mentors:

• Working with teens/wanting to be positive role models: “I’m really interested in engaging teens in the library in ways that place them in more active, creative roles.”

• Paying it forward: “I want to be a mentor because I started here as a trainee and know first-hand the importance of a good internship experience.”

• Hope to develop new skills themselves: “Professionally, [I hope to] develop leadership skills and build confidence [and] get a fresh perspective from the mentee.”

Additional Benefits & Reasons:

• Useful extra help at their branches: “We hope our branch will benefit from the help of an enthusiastic intern, who will have a chance to assist in after-school programming.”

• Chance to present librarianship as an attractive career: “I like the idea of recruiting our next generation of librarians now. I think that the skills the interns get in the library will help them in any career path they choose.”

• Finally:“The obvious benefits for the intern, community, and the library make this an opportunity I could not miss exploring.”

“Early Days,” but…

• 10 MIP alumni have become part-time staffers. (Would be more, but…)

• About 10 have joined the T4 volunteer program (Today’s Teens, Tomorrow’s Techies).

• Many MIP alumni continue to be active at BPL, i.e. Great American Book Drive & author chats.

(Note: Because of time constraints, ask us later about OBE (Outcome-Based Evaluations)).

Successes and Unexpected LessonsSuccesses and Unexpected Lessons

• Help the mentors!Help the mentors!• Develop a supportive teamDevelop a supportive team• Being the Being the ““other adultother adult”” in the in the

teensteens’’ lives lives• Advocates for the libraryAdvocates for the library• Confidence and leadership Confidence and leadership

buildingbuilding• Bonding between mentors and Bonding between mentors and

internsinterns• Boost of energy to Brooklyn Boost of energy to Brooklyn

Public LibraryPublic Library• WhatWhat’’s possible with a captive s possible with a captive

audienceaudience• The MIP Map The MIP Map blog and and wiki

(“SELL IT!!)(“SELL IT!!)

This project was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, which is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas.

 

So many people to thank, Soooo little time,…