The Wayne State University School of Library and Information Science is pleased to welcome the following eleven Project Increasing Diversity of Librarians (IDOL) Fellows into its MLIS program for Fall 2014. As Project IDOL fellows will complete their MLIS program online, they are a truly diverse cohort from across the country.

Alyssa Brissett, Brooklyn, New York

Alicia Byrd, Portland, Oregon

Marna Clowney-Robinson, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Kalana Cooper, Detroit, Michigan

Rachel Esguerra, San Diego, California

Jacqueline Freeman, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Jose Guerrero, Berkeley, California

Aaron LaFromboise, Browning, Montana

Sandra Loera, Boise, Idaho

Jesse Lopez, San Dimas, California

Richard Rudasill, Salisbury, Maryland

Project IDOL Fellows participated in a specialized two day orientation on Wayne State's campus on August 28-29, where they met and received training with their mentors, and toured local institutions such as the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (pictured above with SLIS faculty) and the Detroit Public Library. In addition they participated in a one day orientation with other new MLIS students.

Project IDOL Fellows will receive full tuition for their MLIS degree, and additional funds for books, conference travel and a personal computer. Additionally, a unique feature of the program matches Project IDOL Fellows with individual mentors who are themselves library professionals. The mentors will provide advisory support to Project IDOL Fellows to ensure their success in their graduate studies and as new professionals in the library field.

Project IDOL is a collaboration between the Wayne State University School of Library and Information Science and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Library Alliance. WSU SLIS and the HBCU Library Alliance have received funding from the IMLS Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program to increase the diversity of the library profession. In this 3-year project, the two partner organizations will recruit, mentor, and provide an online Master of Library and Information Science degree to 10 students from historically underrepresented groups in order to achieve greater diversity among practicing library professionals. SLIS will provide the education with its online MLIS format and the HBCU library alliance will assist with recruitment and retention through mentorship of the selected students by library professionals with senior level experience and prior mentorship training.