Implementing Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Handbook for Academic Libraries

“[T]he diversity of perspectives presented within this publication will build on the reader’s existing knowledge to bring nuances and alternative approaches to these enduring, seemingly intractable challenges within the LIS profession and within society.”
—from the Foreword by Mark A. Puente
 
Academic library workers often make use of systemic, bureaucratic, political, collegial, and symbolic dimensions of organizational behavior to achieve their diversity, equity, and inclusion goals, but many are also doing the crucial work of pushing back at the structures surrounding them in ways small and large.
 
Implementing Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion captures emerging practices that academic libraries and librarians can use to create more equitable and representative institutions. 19 chapters are divided into 6 sections:
 

• Recruitment, Retention and Promotion
• Professional Development
• Leveraging Collegial Networks
• Reinforcing the Message
• Organizational Change
• Assessment

 
Chapters cover topics including active diversity recruitment strategies; inclusive hiring; gendered ageism; librarians with disabilities; diversity and inclusion with student workers; residencies and retention; creating and implementing a diversity strategic plan; cultural competency training; libraries’ responses to Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action; and accountability and assessment. Authors provide practical guiding principles, effective practices, and sample programs and training. 
 
Implementing Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion explores how academic libraries have leveraged and deployed their institutions’ resources to effect DEI improvements while working toward implementing systemic solutions. It provides means and inspiration for continuing to try to hire, retain, and promote the change we want to see in the world regardless of existing structures and systems, and ways to improve those structures and systems for the future.
 

Corliss Lee (she/her/hers) is the American cultures librarian at the UC Berkeley Library as well as the liaison to the American studies, college writing, and ethnic studies departments and a member of the Instruction Services division. Her interests include diversity, equity, and inclusion in libraries; disinformation literacy; and empowering undergraduates through information literacy. She is a two-time graduate of UC Berkeley (BA, English, and MLIS). Corliss was awarded the Distinguished Librarian Award by the Librarians Association of the University of California, Berkeley, in 2020.

Brian Lym has been an academic library leader in New York and California. He has served as dean of libraries and chief librarian at Hunter College, dean of university libraries at Adelphi University, and director of library services at Napa Valley College. His career began as a student library employee at the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned his MLIS, MS (wildland resource science), and BA (humanities) degrees. Having retired from academic librarianship, Brian is supporting and advancing inclusivity, equity, and diversity efforts in the Sonoma County Library system where he serves as an adult services librarian.