The TALint program launched in 2014 and is an important partnership between the University of Toronto Libraries (UTL), with the Faculty of Information. TALint is an internship program – TALint stands for the Toronto Academic Libraries Internship. It provides up to 30 Faculty of Information students (15 in each year of the Master of Information program) with the opportunity to participate in a two-year paid internship at one of UTL’s 17 Central libraries. Students are guaranteed 15 hours per week for the duration of their two-year program.

TALint is an immersive experience rich with mentorship opportunities. At the outset of the program, students, assisted by their supervisors, develop learning agendas, intentional plans where they are encouraged to articulate their goals and what they hope to get out of their internships.

Annually, there are a minimum of three vacancies allocated specifically to Black and/or Indigenous students.

Librarianship is a predominately white profession – at UTL we know this and need to intentionally and proactively find ways to diversify it. We are working to create opportunities for people who have not traditionally been encouraged to think of libraries as a place to have a career. This is an essential goal for several reasons: it’s quite simply, the right thing to do as we work to correct inequities. Second, our libraries can only be strengthened and thrive by increasing diversity, making spaces for different voices and opinions about our services, spaces and collections. Multiple perspectives challenge the status quo, they help us learn, unlearn and find solutions creatively. Lastly, we want our staff to reflect the thousands of faculty and students who come to us from all over the world. Our spaces need to be welcoming to all.

Because we know from University data this is where we particularly lack representation and have failed to make opportunities available. According to the University’s most recent Report on Employment Equity 2021, and its labour availability analysis, our librarian population is below where it both could and should be in terms of representation from Racialized or Persons of Colour and Indigenous or Aboriginal People of North America. Additionally, the University’s Anti-Black Racism Work Force Final Report, particularly encouraged us to improve representation from Black Librarians in its recommendation.

To align with the commitments we made in our UTL Anti-Racism Statement and in our Strategic Plan, we therefore welcome and encourage Black and Indigenous students to apply for these TALint positions and scholarships.

“UTL and the TALint program will provide interns the opportunity to not only enhance the quality of their learning, but also strengthen the profession by creating future leaders who will meet the complexities inherent in the libraries, archives, and records management fields,” says Professor Wendy Duff.

We welcome your interest in the program. Should you have inquiries, please contact: Montserrat Aguanno, UTL Human Resources, montserrat.aguanno@utoronto.ca

• Applications to TALint must be from incoming full-time MI students starting in September following the application period.
• Must have submitted all supporting documents via the Online Graduate Admissions Application Portal by the application deadline.
• All eligible candidates will be notified by email.

• All positions have now been filled for this round.