University of Arizona

Since 2007, the University of Arizona’s School of Information Resources and Library Science (SIRLS) has offered the online “DigIn” graduate certificate program to train library professionals to create, collect, and manage digital information. Though the DigIn program has recruited diverse participants in its first two years, recruiting data show that many applicants from small, rural, or specialized organizations, as well as members of culturally or ethnically underserved groups, are disproportionately unable to self-fund their own professional development. With IMLS funding and in partnership with the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Sedona Conference, and the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, SIRLS will recruit and provide scholarships to 80–90 new students to earn the DigIn certificate. Recruitment efforts will target geographically, culturally, and ethnically diverse students, with the goal of diversifying the workforce of digital information management experts.