Academic libraries have long strived to uphold organizational and field-wide values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Many prominent programs have been developed in response to these values, most notably in an effort to diversify the field, and over the last year in particular, racial justice initiatives have taken greater hold. However, sufficient progress on these stated values has often been unrealized.

Ithaka S+R will offer a 1.5 hour workshop on library strategy in light of long-standing efforts to diversify the field and more recent national movements for racial justice. Ithaka S+R workshop leads will share context and history on the library field as well as recent research on leadership perspectives and local practices. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in several interactive reflection exercises, including an activity where they will interrogate their own strategic plans for strengths and shortcomings.

The program will begin by establishing a shared set of definitions for key terms such as equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and anti-racism. Ithaka S+R leads will then present findings from a recent national study of library directors as well as large-scale analyses of library strategic plans and job descriptions. Attendees will reflect on relevant strategies that they see as well-developed either at their home institution or a peer organization.

Attendees will be asked to bring to the session their library’s strategic plan, or that from another LILRC member institution, and will be guided by Ithaka S+R leads through a series of reflective questions, based on our anti-racism audit services with academic libraries, on the extent to which key terms appear as well as strategies for greater prioritization and operationalization. The session will conclude with several attendees sharing their insights back with the group and with plenty of time for broader Q&A.

Learning outcomes
-As a result of this program, attendees will be able to:
-Explain and differentiate between issues of equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and anti-racism
-Learn about national trends and challenges facing the library field
-Gain assessment skills for examining local institutional policies, practices, and outcomes

Presenters:

Christine Wolff-Eisenberg is manager of surveys and research at Ithaka S+R, where she leads a team of researchers in studying student and faculty needs, academic support services, and organizational leadership in collaboration with educational and cultural organizations. Christine and her team have conducted highly-regarded national surveys of faculty members and higher educational leaders, cross-institutional studies on student success, and more than 100 projects for individual institutions looking to better understand and serve their key stakeholders.

Prior to her time with Ithaka S+R, she oversaw assessment and statistical reporting for a large university library system. She holds a bachelor of arts in industrial/organizational psychology from The College of New Jersey and a master’s in human resource management from Rutgers University.

Jennifer Frederick is a senior surveys analyst at Ithaka S+R on the Libraries, Scholarly Communication, and Museums team. She leads projects surveying directors and staff of libraries, museums, and other scholarly organizations. She uses a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to examine organizational culture, with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is interested in improving outcomes related to access and feelings of belonging.

Jennifer earned her master’s and PhD degrees in psychology and women’s studies from the University of Michigan. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in social psychology from The College of New Jersey. Her dissertation broadly examined group attitudes and motivators of political participation with a specialized focus on attitudes about disability and participation in disability rights and healthcare activism.

Register @ LILRC