Posted on May 13, 2021 at 11:16 AM by Brian Herder
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Action: Planning, Leadership, and Programming (2020)
Christine Bombaro
ALA Editions
9780838947593
All
too often, in a hurried attempt to “catch up,” diversity training can
create division among staff or place undue burdens on a handful of
employees. Instead, academic libraries need approaches to diversity,
equity, and inclusion (DEI) that position these priorities as ongoing
institutional and professional goals. This book’s model programs will
help academic libraries do exactly that, sharing a variety of
initiatives that possess clear goals, demonstrable outcomes, and
reproducible strategies. Librarians, administrators, and directors will
all benefit from the programs detailed inside, which include such topics
as
- a university library’s community of practice for interactions and learning around DEI;
- cultural competency training to create more welcoming instruction spaces;
- student workshops on literature searches that mitigate bias;
- overcoming the historic tendency to marginalize LGBTQ representation in archives;
- a curriculum and design workshop that moved from discussing social values to embedding them in actions;
- the founding of a library-led LGBT club for students at a rural community college;
- a liberal arts college’s retention-boosting program for first-generation students;
- tailoring a collection and library services to the unique needs of student veterans; and
- a framework for moving from diversity to equity and inclusion, toward a goal of social justice.
With this volume’s model programs to guide them, academic
libraries and their staff can successfully strengthen their own DEI
initiatives.