Diversity, equity, and inclusion in action

CHICAGO — 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. The model programs in “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Action: Planning, Leadership, and Programming,” edited by Christine Bombaro and published by ALA Editions, include a variety of initiatives that possess clear goals, demonstrable outcomes, and reproducible strategies. Librarians, administrators, and directors will all benefit from learning about the programs detailed inside, which encompass 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.

Bombaro is an associate director at Dickinson College, where she develops and manages the Waidner-Spahr Library’s multiple award-winning information literacy programs. She is the author of the textbook “Finding History: Research Methods and Resources for Students and Scholars” and co-author of “Forgotten Abolitionist: John A.J. Creswell of Maryland.” Her work on research pedagogy has been featured in numerous edited books and journals such as Reference Services Review and she presents regularly at conferences and workshops on topics related to information literacy. She is an alumna of the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Leadership Institute for Academic Libraries and the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Information Literacy Immersion program.

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