Hello, BCIT Community! My name is Atreya and I am an MLIS student from the iSchool at UBC. I have spent this semester working with Elizabeth Padilla to coordinate an equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) book club for library staff. Below are two take-always I’ve learned during my time here:
1. EDI work in libraries is happening!
a. Communities targeted by systemic violence hold the solutions for EDI issues within libraries. There are many resources out there to help implement successful and meaningful changes that are created by librarians and their communities. Utilize their work and give them proper credit when doing so! Check out the section “EDI in Libraries” in the EDI LibGuide for a list of resources.
2. EDI work requires institutional and individual change!
a. EDI initiatives include two areas of work: personal praxis and systemic initiatives. Ione Damasco (2015), Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence, Engagement, and Operations at the University of Daytona Libraries, states this excellently:
“Arm yourself with knowledge, and then have the courage to use that knowledge to start dialogues with your colleagues, administrators, faculty, and staff, not just in your library but across your campuses to examine existing policies and practices that have left far too much room for discrimination (both implicit and explicit) to occur.”
I’ll leave you with one last thought: Start somewhere! Watch lectures, request materials from booklists, or investigate your library’s policies. The resources compiled in the LibGuide provide a range of ways to start implementing EDI infinitives, so take those and get going!
BCIT EDI LibGuide: https://libguides.bcit.ca/edi
Reference:
Swanson, J., Damasco, I., Gonzalez-Smith, I., Hodges, D., Honma, T., & Tanaka, A. (2015). Why diversity matters: A roundtable discussion on racial and ethnic diversity in librarianship. In the Library with the Lead Pipe. Retrieved November 29, 2022, from
https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2015/why-diversity-matters-a-roundtable-discussion-on-racial-and-ethnic-diversity-in-librarianship/