Thinking Outside of Your Positionalities: Centering Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility in Your Library

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) often appear in libraries’ strategic plans and mission statements, but how effective are these efforts? Even when steps towards inclusion are taken in libraries, are they just actions taken to complete a checklist or are they really centered around building relationships/community? Hear from four librarians as they discuss ways to more intentionally make libraries inclusive and welcoming to all. This panel will discuss ways to become culturally sensitive, proficient, and competent; ensure that both our virtual and physical spaces are welcoming; serve multilingual communities equitably; and address our relationships with Indigenous peoples.
In order to best serve diverse patrons and to create welcoming and inclusive environments, library personnel must first understand their own biases and how they affect the service(s) we provide. Equally important is understanding how privilege can also affect one’s service and inclusion. To overcome these challenges, library personnel can take steps to identify their personal biases as well as to become culturally competent, proficient, sensitive, and relevant. Even when these processes leave one feeling vulnerable, they are the first step in establishing true inclusion within the library and providing a truly welcoming space.
In addressing virtual space, participants will learn about inclusive design which goes a step beyond accessible design. Accessible design addresses ways of including those with disabilities, allowing them to experience online content in similar ways as those without disabilities. However, the more we learn about online accessibility the more we understand that the accommodations and tools used to create accessible online content are also beneficial to users that do not have diagnosed disabilities. Inclusive design considers the diversity of experience among all online users addressing how they interact with images, page architecture, and linguistic elements (such as tags, subject headings, etc.). Inclusive design can make content more discoverable.
Many universities seem to be making strides toward featuring more diverse students on promotional materials and speaking about DEIA efforts in accreditation documents and other campus information online in order to better recruit, retain, and support a multicultural student body