Few minority students find their way to professional library programs, resulting in a chronic "pipeline" problem in librarianship; the profession isn't reflective of the increasingly diverse populations it serves. Much has been written about the difficulties libraries have recruiting minority professionals during the hiring process but little has been done except to provide financial incentives at the graduate school level.

The Penn Libraries' approach is different. We're interested in exposing younger students to the challenging and intellectually rewarding work of a 21st century academic librarian at a time in their lives when they may be starting to contemplate their own career options. We're trying to impact the pipeline problem where it begins not at the end when it is too late. The Libraries program is designed to pair each Intern with a mentor who guides him/her through the library system in a series of experiences. We involve the interns in a broad range of hands-on activities and conceptual discussions. An ombudsperson provides support to the entire group.

Each summer, beginning in July 2005, high school students from West Philadelphia have worked alongside Penn's librarians, who share with them what they find satisfying and rewarding in our work. A closing ceremony at summer's end brings us all together to celebrate the Interns and their mentors and to thank everybody involved for trying to make a real and long-term difference.

In 2006, the Libraries Summer Internship Program and the Library Diversity Team received the University's Model of Excellence award "For supporting the Penn Compact goals of inclusion by recruiting under-represented minorities to the profession of academic librarianship while working broadly within the Philadelphia area, with a focus on the West Philadelphia community."