Lawrence Public Library

Lawrence Public Library (LPL), in partnership with Haskell Indian Nations University, the University of Kansas Libraries, the Northeast Kansas Library System, and Emporia State University’s School of Library and Information Management, will build on the Public Library Association’s Inclusive Internship Initiative and create a pipeline program that reduces barriers to a career in library service for students who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Interns will have earned their master of library science degree while gaining library experience through a paid, part-time position at LPL, with month-long assignments at Haskell Indian Nations University, the University of Kansas Libraries, and the Northeast Kansas Library System. A formal report will outline a “diversity internship in a box” that shows how to build successful community partnerships, recruit interns, create a strong application process, train effective mentors, and find funding to support a program that benefits the intern, host libraries, and the local community.