Page 34 - BCALA Spring 2018

34 | BCALA NEWS | Volume 45, Issue 2 comprise of no more than twenty
(20) community members from various racial, religious, and social groups who come from a variety of economic backgrounds.
This eight week program would
be free of charge to limit as many barriers to learning as possible, and would be overseen by the Special Library Collection Manager of
the SAPL system. Four additional special librarians from the SAPL system or from various institutions around the city would be necessary to act as group mentors.
The program would be active three days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday), with (short) weekly written reflections to be published on the SAPL website, bi-weekly discussion groups, bi-weekly outings to places of local diversity significance, and a culminating project to be displayed to the public as a SAPL branch at the end of the eight weeks.
OUTREACH EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT
To gauge if this pilot program to increase diversity and inclusion has had the intended effect, a survey will be administered to participants on the first day of the program and on the last day of the program. Using Likert scales, the short survey will ask questions regarding a participants’ knowledge of local history and cultures, a participants’ knowledge of digitization technology, a participant’s research ability, and a participants’ overall thoughts on the program.
Each choice on the Likert scale will have its own numerical value, which will enable the quantification and rating of participant responses. If a participants’ overall score increases by the end of the eight week program, then this proposal will have been considered a success!
Budget and Special Considerations
In order to minimize as many barriers to attendance, this program will be offered free of charge. Though it may require the hiring
of one or two temporary special librarians to act as mentors during the summer, almost every need of the program will be provided within the library itself. The training
by mentors will be at the library conference rooms, the resources to conduct research and digitization activities (scanners, subscription services to databases, OPAC, etc.) are available at the library, and the display of the final project will be at the library as well. By limiting the duration of the program (in days
of the week and in length of overall time), I hope to minimize the cost
of implementing the program. As you can see, the majority of the program will be conducted with items and space that the library already has as an asset—for future implementation of the program,
a technology inventory should be conducted prior to determine if the library in question has everything
it needs.
There are some special considerations to be made that could impact the program as well
as its participants, primarily in transportation and participant well-being. In the pursuit of seeking a truly diverse group of participants, one must consider that not all participants may
have the means to transport themselves, eat lunch every day or to use technology in writing their weekly reflections at home. To limit these barriers, I would highly recommend that a transportation service with handicap-accessibility be implemented through either a bus rental or purchase, providing a nutritional lunch every day, and providing each participant with a notebook or journal to keep track of their experiences and work as a means to ensure every opportunity for full participation.
CONCLUSION
Ultimately, the goal of this outreach proposal is to inspire young community members through kinesthetic learning and empower them through education, professional skill development, and reflections upon San Antonio’s diverse populations and their histories. By being able to interact with collection items from the past, I believe participants will
be able to fully develop a sense of appreciation, empathy and social awareness that will continue to develop through academic pursuits or personal pursuits. While the assessments would conclude as to the overall success of the program, I hope that by offering this program these participants will then go on
to educate others, be empathetic to