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Contact: Gwendolyn Prellwitz
Acting Director, ALA Office for Diversity
(312) 280-5048
gprellwitz@ala.org

NEWS
For Immediate Release
May 12, 2008

ALA Office for Diversity honors Dr. Clara M. Chu

Will be recognized for Achievement in Library Diversity Research at Anaheim Annual Conference

CHICAGO – The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity is pleased to announce that Clara M. Chu is the recipient of the Achievement in Library Diversity Research honor. The Office for Diversity began designating this honor in 2004 as part of its ongoing support for the dissemination of library-based diversity research.

Chu, an associate professor at the Department of Information Studies, UCLA, has published, presented and consulted internationally in English and Spanish on multicultural library and information issues. She is a leading voice on the subject matter and actively recruits people of culturally diverse backgrounds into the information profession.

Chu will receive the honor and make opening remarks during the “Charting Courses: Diversity Research Grants” panel program, to be held from 4-5:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 29, at Disney’s Grand Californian, Wisteria,  during the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif. Recipients of the 2007 Diversity Research Grant will join her and present highlights of their research. Recipients are Karen E. Downing, foundation and grants librarian, University of Michigan; Mark Winston, associate professor, University of North Carolina and Allison Rainey, MLIS student at UNC; and Allison M. Sutton, assistant professor and psychology & social work Specialist, University of Illinois.

The Office of Diversity sponsors the Diversity Research Grants to address critical gaps in the knowledge of diversity issues within library and information science. Recipients of the Achievement in Library Diversity Research Honor receive complimentary Annual Conference registration.

Dr. Chu specializes in the social construction of information systems, institutions and access in order to understand the usage of and barriers to information in multicultural communities. Her multicultural scholarship and expertise are demonstratd by  her service on the editorial boards of various information and Asian Pacific American journals, including Library Quarterly, Counterpoise, AAPI Nexus Journal and Amerasia Journal.

Chu has served as co-chair on the Diversity Recruitment and Mentoring Committee at UCLA, where she has led initiatives to diversify LIS education, research and practice. Her leadership includes the role of principle investigator for Program PRAXIS: A Pre-Doctoral and Recruitment Program for Tomorrows Culturally Diverse Information Studies Faculty, which is supported by a  major federal grant (IMLS, 2002-03). She was recipient of the 2002 ALA Equality Award and was selected a 2005 Library Journal Mover & Shaker, which recognizes people who are shaping the future of libraries.

The ALA Office for Diversity serves as a key resource and link to the professional issues that speak to diversity as a fundamental value and action area of the association.