What is an “Interest Group”?
An interest group is a network of individuals who have come together to share their knowledge and expertise with one another, and to help solve problems across organizational boundaries with those who may face similar challenges. This group was founded to encourage interested parties to more broadly share their expertise regarding residency programs, to capture this expertise, and to make it both available and accessible for future residents and coordinators. It was also founded as a resource for newer members, particularly library school students, who may be considering a residency program upon graduation.
Who are we?
The ACRL Residency Interest Group is an assembly of library residents (both current and former), residency program coordinators, library deans, administrators, diversity officers, and human resources professionals from over 20 different library systems across the country.
You can see members of RIG, and a directory of our current and former residents on our People page.
We also feature a new resident each month in our ‘Resident of the Month’ feature. Read these features to learn more about the unique experiences to residencies.
What Do We Do?
We have several goals:
- To centralize information regarding residency program availability
- To maintain a directory of past and present program participants
- To garner interest and support for the group’s activities through the production of research projects related to residency programs
- To serve as an information clearinghouse and resource for institutions planning, managing, or researching residency programs
- To support potential residents, new graduates, and early career librarians in their professional development through a variety of resources including guest writers, podcasts, and downloadable documentation
In this community, all members are encouraged to express opinions freely, discuss challenges they may be facing, and to involve their peers. We aim to support mutual problem solving and sharing amongst one another in a nonhierarchical manner, and we believe it is important for us to contribute our time and energy in support of the larger group’s purpose.
Learn more
Read about residencies by visiting our FAQ and General Resources sections. Hear from current residents through our Resident of the Month series. Visit the Programs section to find out which libraries have residencies, then follow the links to their websites for more information.
Connect
Use our email form to ask questions about residencies, suggest content or report errors on our website, and inquire about opportunities for involvement.
Follow the RIG website RSS feed, our Twitter handle (@ACRL_RIG), and our Facebook page for news, jobs, scholarship, and more. Share these opportunities with friends, new librarians, current LIS students and student diversity groups, HR offices, and library administrators.
Our ALA listserv (acrl-rig) is open to anyone interested in following the work of the interest group; you need not be a member of ACRL or ALA to join.
Engage
Attend our meetings at ALA Annual and Midwinter, or follow the proceedings on our website or on ALA Connect.
If you have participated in a library residency program, we are interested in your story. Email us to join our Former Residents page, contribute an interview, or find out about upcoming meetings.
You can join our interest group through your ACRL membership. Members are invited to participate in one of the following teams:
New Members & Mentorship
Focus on reaching out to new members, as well as providing informational materials to; new residents, those interested in forming residencies, those interested in conducting research into residencies, those interested in becoming residents etc. The primary focus of the group will be reaching out to new residents, and coordinators that may be in need of some direction and/or support as they navigate the residency world for the first time.
Contact: Sara Rogers (sirogers@gsd.harvard.edu)
Programs & Proposals
The Program Proposals Team facilitates, guides, and develops program proposals for the Residency Interest Group membership by:
- Providing a forum to discuss and plan presentation opportunities by and about library residents
- Acting as liaisons between external collaborators, i.e. other committees & interest groups and internal collaborators, i.e. partners within the main RIG group.
- Leading discussion of ideas, best practices, etc. in the program proposal process.
Contact: Sharon Han (shrnhan@gmail.com)
Social Media and Web Communications Team
The mission of the Residency Interest Group (RIG) Social Media and Web Communications Team is to promote the initiatives of the Residency Interest Group (RIG) by updating and maintaining the ACRL RIG website to provide accurate and centralized information on residency programs, current and past residents, RIG events, and residency resources. Our goals include:
- Maintain a directory of available, present, and past residency programs
- Serve as a resource for institutions planning, managing, or researching residency programs
- Manage the Job Center
- Encourage RIG members to contribute content for the website.
Contact: Joyce Angelucci (jbalibrarian@gmail.com)
Assessment Team
The Residency Interest Group (RIG) Assessment Team aims to develop tools for evaluating the success of post-MLIS residency programs and residents. Our goals include:
- Providing a survey tool for residents to evaluate post-MLIS residency programs during the application process, while undertaking the residency term, and after completing the residency
- Developing a survey for administrators of post-MLIS programs before, during, and after the completion of a residency term
- Delivering and analyzing results of a survey for assessing what makes residents and institutions thrive.
Contact: Kristin Kerbavaz (kkerbava@uwo.ca)
ACRL RIG Subgroup on Diversity Residencies
The ACRL RIG Subgroup on Diversity Residencies will identify, critically examine, and assess current ACRL Diversity Alliance Member Residency Programs to establish the efficacy of current programs and develop Diversity Residence best practices.
Goals:
- Conduct an environmental analysis of ACRL Diversity Alliance Residencies onboarding practices and procedures
- Develop guidelines for assessing the preparedness of potential ACRL Diversity Alliance Residency host institutions
- Create best practices for onboarding residents
Projects/Activities:
- Landscape analysis – literature review, review of ACRL Diversity Alliance
- Develop recommendations
Contact: Kalani Adolpho (kalani.adolpho@miami.edu) or Maya Bergamasco (mbergamasco@law.harvard.edu)
To join a team, email us, noting your team of interest.