Welcome to the RILA Bulletin Spotlight Series, where we feature the important work of a different RILA or RI library section, committee, roundtable, initiative, or organization in each issue.

Questions or suggestions for this column? Please send an email to communications@rilibraries.org.

October 2021 Spotlight: Cornucopia of Rhode Island

This month, with its fall mini-conference taking place right around the corner, we talked to Cornucopia of Rhode Island (CORI) Chair Bohyun Kim to learn more about this RILA section. Bohyun is Chief Technology Officer and Professor at the University of Rhode Island Libraries in Kingston, RI.

What is the mission or purpose of CORI?

CORI serves the library community of color in RI. Our objectives are to promote library services to people of color within Rhode Island and the development of librarians and library staff of color. 

What made you personally interested in being involved with this organization?

CORI is the organization serving the library workers of color in RI. Through CORI, I wanted to meet other POC library workers like me and add my efforts to building our community and making it stronger. 

What is CORI’s proudest achievement?

We hold a mini-conference every year that is free and open to all. And this year, it will be on Nov 4. [Editor’s note: read more about the upcoming mini-conference and register here!]

What ongoing challenges does CORI face?

The greatest challenge is to seek active participation from CORI members. 

If money and time were not an issue, what is CORI’s number one wishlist item to support its mission or purpose?

Once the pandemic clears, we would love to have a big social gathering for networking so that CORI members can meet one another in person again!

What partnerships with other groups or individuals (inside or outside of RILA) have been most beneficial for CORI to meet its goals or objectives?

We want to thank Julie Holden, Past President of RILA, for helping us with CORI mini-conference logistics both last year and this year! 

Is CORI looking for new members, and how can those interested get involved?

Please drop by our CORI quarterly online meeting and contact us by email. More info about CORI is available on our website at https://www.rilibraries.org/cori.

What book are you reading now that you’d like to promote?

Trying Not to Try: The Art and Science of Spontaneity by Edward Slingerland. It discusses the concept of wuwei (無爲) in Chinese philosophy in the context of social psychology.