Crafting Contemporary Indigenous Studies Collections in the Age of Algorithms: A Case Study

This presentation provides an overview of Crafting Contemporary Indigenous Studies Collections in the Age of Algorithms: A Case Study, a chapter that appeared in the 2021 ACRL text, Ethnic Studies in Academic and Research Libraries. Both the chapter and presentation slides describe a collection enhancement project focused on Indigenous Studies and, further, offers recommendations for others conducting similar work

Crafting Contemporary Indigenous Studies Collections in the Age of Algorithms

Contemporary collection development increasingly relies on automated and algorithm-based purchasing via vendor-offered approval plans. This in turn can result in an unintended collection bias that privileges content that emphasizes a settler/colonizer narrative. This chapter serves as a case study describing how two librarians at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, sought to expand the utility and relevance of the Indigenous Studies collection and deemphasize the settler/colonizer narrative that all too often cast Indigenous people as historical objects. Their efforts included collecting and understanding the unique needs and identities of Indigenous stakeholders within both the university and the surrounding community, utilizing that information to refine the automated purchase algorithm, and expanding the existing Indigenous Studies collection to include nontraditional items identified as of value and merit to Indigenous stakeholder

Identity Politics: The Weightiness of Black Womanhood in LIS

Presented at the 11th National Conference of African American Librarian

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

UNLV Libraries’ Peer Mentor Cohort: A Model for Successful Allyship and Support amongst Womxn Faculty

In 2020, 10 womxn from a variety of racial, ethnic, and professional backgrounds formed an unique support network for faculty librarians hired between June 2019-July 2020 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Libraries (Fig 1 & 2 & Table 1). The group benefits from diverse voices and unique perspectives. We consist of early and mid-career academic librarian, newly relocated staff, womxn of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community (Fig 2 & Table 1). Our group holds expertise across health sciences, sciences, social sciences, acquisitions, cataloging, data services, special collections, and scholarly communications. We span 7 departments and 4 divisions, adding a holistic view of organizational culture and structure as well as the tenure process. Our aim is to support each other through the tenure-track process and promote retention among group members

White Matter Hyperintensities in Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (VCID): Knowledge Gaps and Opportunities

White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are frequently seen on brain magnetic resonance imaging scans of older people. Usually interpreted clinically as a surrogate for cerebral small vessel disease, WMHs are associated with increased likelihood of cognitive impairment and dementia (including Alzheimer\u27s disease [AD]). WMHs are also seen in cognitively healthy people. In this collaboration of academic, clinical, and pharmaceutical industry perspectives, we identify outstanding questions about WMHs and their relation to cognition, dementia, and AD. What molecular and cellular changes underlie WMHs? What are the neuropathological correlates of WMHs? To what extent are demyelination and inflammation present? Is it helpful to subdivide into periventricular and subcortical WMHs? What do WMHs signify in people diagnosed with AD? What are the risk factors for developing WMHs? What preventive and therapeutic strategies target WMHs? Answering these questions will improve prevention and treatment of WMHs and dementia