Joan Giesecke to receive ALA Equality Award

Dr. Joan R. Giesecke, Dean of Libraries at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will receive the prestigious Equality Award from the American Library Association at its annual conference in New Orleans in June. The annual award, given to an individual or group for outstanding contributions in promoting equality in the library profession, consists of $1,000 and a framed citation of achievement donated by Scarecrow Press. Numerous letters in support of Giesecke’s nomination for the award cite her vision, leadership, energy, research, presentations and mentoring toward increasing gender and racial diversity among librarians at UNL and elsewhere, and in the profession as a whole. These have been evident in UNL library’s staff development, training, recruitment and retention strategies as reflected in its strategic plan.  According to one support letter, “Diversity among library staff at UNL has increased from 2 percent ten years ago to 12 percent in 2010.” Giesecke has long served as a member of the Association of Research Libraries Diversity Committee, mentoring individuals in various ARL diversity programs. Her leadership in this arena is also reflected in her position as Professor of Practice in the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science PhD in Managerial Leadership. Ellen Weissinger, senior vice chancellor of Academic Affairs at UNL, and Giesecke’s supervisor, noted: “We have benefited significantly from her devotion to building a respectful, equitable and diverse campus culture. It is all too common for leaders in higher education to display a shallow understanding of the intrinsic value of diversity, and all too rare to find a person like Joan, who invests her core energies and personal capital in pursuit of a more diverse intellectual community.” Members of the 2011 Equality Award jury are: Eva M. Davis, Canton Public Library, MI; Michael M. Martinez, Reinhardt University, Waleska, GA; Jane H. Tuten, University of South Carolina Aiken; and chair, Susan S. DiMattia, DiMattia Associates, Stamford, CT.