This is a slightly different topic, but relates to Kelley's post: Does code4lib have a mentor program where more inexperienced geeks can pair up with someone to guide their development? I don't have anyone like that in my network, but would really like to. I don't mean to discount the existing resources on code4lib or this list, which both have been very useful. I'm sure I could just start by attending some of the conferences, but for more inexperienced people they can be a bit intimidating, albeit inspiring.
It would also be a way to directly engage minorities. Just a thought. Nathan On Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 6:20 PM, Kelley McGrath <kell...@uoregon.edu> wrote: > I'll second the idea of approaching people individually and explicitly > asking them to participate. It worked on me. I never would have written my > first article for the Code4Lib Journal or become a member of the editorial > committee if someone hadn't encouraged me individually (Thanks Jonathan!). > > It would also be good to find a way to somehow target the pool of lurkers > who maybe aren't already connected to someone and get them more involved. > > As far as anonymous proposals go, we recently had a very good workshop on > implicit bias here. Someone brought up that found significant changes in > the gender proportions in symphony orchestras after candidates started > auditioning behind screens. There are also lots of studies about the > different responses to the same resume/application depending on whether a > stereotypically male/female or white/black name was used. Probably it's > impossible to make proposals completely anonymous, but it would be an > interesting experiment to leave off the names. > > Kelley > > PS Interestingly, I wouldn't instinctively self-identify as a member of > the Code4Lib community, although my first thought is that that has more to > do with not being a coder than with being a woman. > > > ************************** > Kelley McGrath > Metadata Management Librarian > University of Oregon Libraries > 1299 University of Oregon > Eugene, OR 97403 > > 541-346-8232 > kell...@uoregon.edu >