Responding to Hate: How National and Local Incidents Sparked Action at the UNLV University Libraries

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe how an academic library at one of the most diverse universities in the country responded to the 2016 election through the newly formed Inclusion and Equity Committee and through student outreach. Design/methodology/approach: This paper details the context of the 2016 election and the role of social justice in librarianship. It offers ideas for how library diversity committees can address professional development, recruitment and retention efforts and cultural humility. It highlights student outreach efforts to support marginalized students, educate communities and promote student activism. Finally, it offers considerations and suggestions for librarians who want to engage in this work. Findings: This paper shows that incorporating social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion requires individuals taking action. If institutions want to focus on any of these issues, they need to formally include them in their mission, vision and values as well as in department goals and individual job descriptions. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas University Libraries fully supports this work, but most of the labor is done by a small number of people. Unsustainable practices can cause employee burnout and turnover resulting in less internal and external efforts to support diversity. Originality/value: Most of the previous literature focuses either on internal activities, such as professional development and committees, or on student-focused activities, such as outreach events, displays and instruction. This paper is one comprehensive review of both kinds of activities

Past Perceptions, Present Usage: Latinx Students and Academic Libraries

Over the last two decades, the population of Latinx students enrolled in higher education has increased by 142%, but they are still underrepresented overall. According to 2015 United States census data, only 16% of Hispanic adults have a Bachelor’s degree or higher compared to 54% of Asian Americans, 36% of (non-Hispanic) white people, and 23% of Black people. The needs of Latinx students in higher education are obviously not being met. Academic libraries have long seen themselves as integral to student success, but there is little research about how they are (or are not) serving Latinx students specifically. The IFLA/UNESCO Multicultural Library Manifesto states that “as libraries serve diverse interests and communities, they function as learning, cultural, and information centers,” and called for all library types to “reflect, support and promote cultural and linguistic diversity.

Inclusion and Equity Committee Diverse Recruitment Task Force 2 “Current University Libraries and UNLV Practices”

The Diverse Recruitment Task Force 2 was charged with reviewing current UNLV and UNLV University Libraries best practices and making recommendations to recruit and hire faculty and staff from underrepresented groups. This report is organized into several sections. First, the task force offers specific recommendations for classified staff as the hiring process for classified staff is so different from the process for academic and administrative faculty. Second, the task force would like to point out that if it is the goal of the Libraries to have a staff that more closely resembles the local student population, then the Libraries should focus on local student and staff populations for recruitment and hiring. Finally, the task force offers recommendations that may improve the processes of recruiting, hiring, and retaining academic and administrative faculty

Conference Critique: An Analysis of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Programming

You are a person interested in equity, diversity, and inclusion (or EDI), so you are excited to attend conference sessions that have the words equity, diversity, and inclusion in the titles and descriptions. However, these panels are not always what you expect. They mean all learning styles are equal. They mean the participants come from a diversity of places. They mean libraries should include more civility between colleagues. If you are a librarian whose professional interest is firmly rooted in EDI, you wonder how conference presenters can use these words without realizing that they have scholarly significance to those who engage in this work every day. These presentations could be from any library conference at any time in the last fifteen years. It goes beyond the scope of this paper, but we suspect this applies to professional development in many fields: the words equity, diversity, and inclusion have been bleached of their EDI meanings

Inclusion and Equity Committee Recommendations for Diverse Recruitment Report

The UNLV University Libraries Inclusion and Equity Committee (IEC) developed the Diverse Recruitment project in order to fulfill its charge in supporting the Libraries’ commitment to increasing representation and retention of historically underrepresented groups at all levels of staff. These recommendations draw upon a range of best practices, procedures, and programs. Largely informed by Duke University’s February 2018 Task Force for Diversity in Recruitment Report, three task forces each investigated a different aspect of understanding diverse recruitment as it related to the Libraries. These results were synthesized into a series of recommendations for the Libraries’ Leadership Team (LLT) and the Libraries to consider implementing

Session 2B: Building Our Village: A Conversation with Librarians of Color in Tenure Track Positions

In this panel session, four women of color in tenure track faculty librarian positions will discuss their diverse responsibilities covering all areas of LIS: reference, instruction, collection management, archives, technical services/cataloging, and supervising employees. The panelists will discuss their current job responsibilities, research interests, and service in order to demystify tenure and speak honestly about the challenges and excitement about being on the tenure track. The panel will also speak extensively about how to find support, professional development, and mentoring through formal and informal channels both in and outside of their home institutions. The panel hopes to deliver an engaging “support session” for those who are currently in (or aspiring to be in) tenure track positions. Our ultimate goal is for participants to expand their network of fellow librarians of color in order to succeed as an early career faculty librarian