University of Maryland News

By Rebecca Steiner

October 12, 2011

Library Grad Student Reads into the Future

When low enrollment threatened to cancel a critical summer internship course in the iSchool's Master of Library Sciences program last spring, Dan Ramirez went on a rescue mission, schmoozing his peers and persuading them to sign up.

That community-building attitude, advisers say, is just one reason Ramirez is so well suited to enter the rapidly changing library and information sciences profession. He is a rarity among students seeking the M.L.S. degree; he not only speaks Spanish, but also has a Hispanic heritage, making him a natural connection between the stacks and the fastest-growing population of library visitors in Maryland.

As the search room coordinator at the Archives, Ramirez is the first point of contact with patrons. "Across the board, whether he's working with Spanish-speaking patrons or with any other visitors, Dan is conscientious and works closely with people," says Ramirez's supervisor at the Maryland State Archives, Director of Reference Services Michael McCormick. "The combination of his competence along with his cultural background are going to make him a real asset to the profession."

The native of Ellicott City, Md., is half-Puerto Rican and a second-generation librarian; his mother worked in the public library systems in Baltimore City, Anne Arundel County and more recently in Baltimore County. Ramirez says she taught him to value a sense of community. "My mother is part of a profession that's social rather than competitive—they embrace partnership and collaboration," he says. "I grew up watching her in that environment and was encouraged. I believe that atmosphere makes better use of our energies."

While the social climate hasn't changed much, the identity of patrons over the last decade has. The Hispanic population, already the largest minority group in the nation, has doubled in Maryland over the past decade, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Pew Hispanic Center. By 2050, the population is expected to triple.

Assistant Professor Paul T. Jaeger, co-director of the Information Policy and Access Center at the College of Information Studies, Maryland's iSchool, explains that historically, librarians have not been well-matched with the patrons they are serving. The same holds true today; only 3 percent of American Library Association members in 2006 were of Hispanic or Latino descent.

Jaeger estimates in about two-thirds of communities nationally, the only place to access the Internet is the public library, so "people are lining up out the door to apply for jobs and government programs like unemployment services. This shift, in turn, requires effective and diverse staff that are not only adept with reference and archival systems, but that are also able to educate the public on when and how to use those systems."

Ramirez was recently awarded the 2011 Myra Wilson Scholarship and the 2011 Spectrum Scholarship from the American Librarian Association; the latter specifically addresses the issue of underrepresentation of critically needed ethnic librarians.

"To be recognized nationally by the umbrella organization for library science professionals was the best part of the scholarship award," Ramirez says. "I was delighted that they were able to make the investment in me, and it shows that the ALA is really aware of diversity issues and is dedicated to changing things."

He expects to graduate from the iSchool in the spring, and McCormick says his communication skills will also be critical as the Archives expands its special collections, documenting histories of local communities.

"There is a need to begin documenting persons other than dead white guys," says McCormick. "Special collections should fully reflect all contributors. Dan can absolutely play an ambassador role by contacting leaders in the Hispanic community and interacting with Hispanic organizations whose records should be collected and documented. Where there is the potential for distrust, having a person who is recognized by the community as trustworthy and empathetic is imperative."