Hispanic/Latinx Inclusive Terminologies Projects Technical Report

The purpose of this document is to describe the project management elements of the Hispanic/Latinx Inclusive Terminologies Project that was completed within a one-year timeframe. Individuals are welcome to review this document in order to apply/inform their future project objectives, structure, and deliverables when working with large/multi-project teams

Racial and Ethnic Categories: Impact on Medical Subject Headings

This presentation was part of the OMB Public Listening Sessions on Federal Race and Ethnicity Standards Revision. The presentation addressed the use of racial and ethnic categories and their impact on medical subject headings managed by the National Library of Medicine. The presentation was on behalf of the Medical Library Association (MLA) comprising more than 400 institutions and 2,500 professional health sciences and medical librarians and a joint collaboration between the Latinx Caucus and the Social Justice and Health Disparities Caucus. Both Weeks and Williams shared information regarding how these medical subject headings impact indexing and searching of biomedical and health equity studies and the importance of addressing problematic terminologies

POC in LIS Cohorts

According to ALA Diversity Counts Survey (2012), librarians of color (African American, Asian American/Pacific Islander, Native American including Alaska Native, Two or more races, and Latino) made up only 12% of the profession. Building community in the form of cohorts is a vital opportunity that allows librarians of color to connect with one another and provide support while navigating a profession that is predominantly white. In this presentation, the panelists will discuss different types of cohorts that exist in POC in LIS circles. We conclude by presenting a call to action and ask participants how they might define a cohort, to identify cohorts they may be currently part of, and encourage those to consider creating cohorts of their own in and outside of their respective institutions. Our panel format will include a 45-minute informative discussion followed by a 15-minute Q&A

Inclusive and Anti-Racist Collecting at UNLV Libraries

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) University Libraries recognizes that as both a direct and indirect result of colonialism and white supremacy the historical and contemporary scholarly publishing market atypically centers and prioritizes voices that are white, male, Christian, able-bodied, and heterosexual.¹⁻³ In an attempt to redress this imbalance, the UNLV University Libraries is committed to collecting content by and about people and communities that have historically been excluded. This effort includes but is not limited to the intentional collection of materials about and by groups historically excluded by virtue of their ethnicity, race, religion, sexuality, gender, language, and nationality

Letter to NLM about MeSH

A letter written to the National Library of Medicine addressing concerns regarding the problematic medical subject heading, Blacks , other problematic terms, and the process by which they are selected. The letter concludes with recommendations for improvement by the authors and endorsed by several hundred signatories. In total, the letter was signed by 726 library workers from around the world and sent by email to National Library of Medicine representatives on Friday, June 10th, 2022. In addition, it was also shared with the Medical Library Association which distributed it through their website under the op-ed, Open Letter to NLM Regarding MeSH Term Changes and later as an MLAConnect post titled, NLM Responds to Librarians’ Open Letter re: MeSH Term Changes

Inclusive and Anti-Racist Collecting at UNLV: Draft Report and Recommendations

The UNLV University Libraries recognizes that as both a direct and indirect result of colonialism and white supremacy the historical and contemporary scholarly publishing market atypically centers and prioritizes voices that are white, male, Christian, able-bodied, and heterosexual (Muka, 2018; Ray, 2018; Baffoe, Asimeng-Boahene, & Buster, 2014; and Buggs, Sims, & Kramer, 2020). In an attempt to redress this imbalance, the UNLV University Libraries is committed to collecting content by and about people and communities that have historically been excluded. This effort includes but is not limited to the intentional collection of materials about and by groups historically excluded by virtue of their ethnicity, race, religion, sexuality, gender, physical ability, mental ability, language, and nationality

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