About the Institute

The diversity gap in the information sciences

While the United States population is becoming increasingly diverse, the student population in information sciences programs has not kept pace with this trend. In fact, the information sciences graduate student population is significantly less diverse than the student population in graduate programs in general.

According to Association for Library and Information Science Education statistical reports, in 2003 only 11.3 percent of the students in library and information science graduate programs were identified as being from a minority group, while 26.5 percent of the students in all United States graduate programs were people of color. Neither statistic accurately reflects the actual proportion of ethnic minorities in the United States population, which was 31.3 percent in 2003.

The story is similar for iSchools. In 2008, African American students enrolled at iSchools comprised only 7.2 percent of the whole student population, while Hispanic students comprised only 4.5 percent. African American faculty at iSchools made up only 2.7 percent of the whole faculty population, and Hispanic faculty made up only 2.3 percent.

Clearly, the faculty and students in iSchools were significantly less diverse than the United States population, or the general population of students in graduate programs.

Why it matters

The lack of diversity in the faculty and student populations at iSchools profoundly impacts the discipline and the information professions:

• Our faculty and our schools are not representative of the people we will serve in the information professions.
• People from underrepresented groups do not see role models for themselves within the information schools or the information professions.
• Students from underrepresented groups do not consider the information professions to be a viable career option, because they do not see people of color in the field.
• The academic vitality and rigor of our institutions are diminished by the lack of diversity in our schools.

What i3 does

i3 seeks to nurture diverse professional and academic leaders within the field. In so doing, schools will create faculty members who reflect the diversity of the overall population, and who can serve as role models for future generations. By exposing promising students to a discipline that actively wants to foster their success, i3 plans to increase the number of men and women from underrepresented populations undertaking graduate study in the field.

Learn more about what i3 is, the information sciences, or how the initiative is governed and funded.