Advancing IDEAs: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, 1 April 2025

The following post is one in a regular series on issues of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility, compiled by a team of OCLC contributors.

Building spaces of solidarity and connection

The free virtual summit open to all that is being sponsored by ALA’s Social Responsibilities Round Table (SSRT) “Building Spaces of Solidarity and Connection: A Historical, Theoretical, and Practical Lens on Libraries’ Commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Justice” will offer five sessions over the course of Monday, 7 April 2025. The sessions are entitled as follows: “Cultural Partnerships and Programming to Support Inclusive Communities;” “Toward Equity and Inclusion in Library Services and Professions;” “How Can Libraries Support Immigrant and Refugee Communities?;” “Institutional Disregard, Denial, and Disfranchisement: Treatment and Experiences of African Americans in LIS Professions and Practices;” and “Issues in School Librarianship, Children’s Literature, and Youth Services.” One must register separately for each individual session and each session will be recorded.

Speakers from across the United States will share how they and their institutions (including public libraries, academic libraries, and library-adjacent entities) have dealt compassionately with communities who have been marginalized and otherwise made vulnerable. Programming suggestions, tools to help provide more equitable services, and plans to develop inclusive spaces will be on offer. Full details on the schedule and each speaker can be found at https://www.ala.org/srrt/buildingspaces. Contributed by Jay Weitz.

Recommendations for gender identity in archival descriptions

The Yale Reparative Archival Description (RAD) Working Group has released their recommendations for addressing gender identity in archival description. This is the most recent addition to a set of guidelines that have recommendations for identifying how reparative descriptive practices have been applied, documentation for a project to identify full names for women previously referred to only by their husband’s names, and guidelines for addressing materials related to Japanese American incarceration during World War II.

I appreciate the work that the RAD Working Group has done over time and the guidelines for gender identity in archival descriptions are a great addition. The guidelines pertain not only to those engaging in description of collections but also those working in acquisitions, collection development and even donor relations. For collections acquired in the past, it can be difficult to know with certainty how a given person identified but for collections that are acquired now and in the future can be respectful of preferred identity, which may be nuanced. The work of the RAD Working Group, which has been ongoing since 2019, reflects how this work can take time and focused attention. Contributed by Merrilee Proffitt. 

Creating a psychologically safe environment with inclusivity

Academic librarians Amanda Clay Powers and Dustin Fife discuss how to create a psychologically safe team in the library workplace in the March 2025 issue of College & Research Libraries News. The article “Psychological Safety in Libraries: It’s a Team Sport” captures a conversation in which the librarians share their insights about what works. Powers explains the importance of inclusivity saying, “Part of this is the hard work of making diverse teams safe. For me, that has meant all library retreats around microaggressions, anti-racism, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, accessibility in libraries, and intersectional identities.” Fife recommends considering co-workers with curiosity rather than criticism, writing, “How we do things is rarely as important as why we do things together and curiosity will bolster that connectivity.”

This article is an important reminder for me of why institutions undertake DEI initiatives. Employees feel safer when they are accepted and understood by their peers and supervisors, creating a more positive and productive workplace culture. When people feel unsafe, there is an automatic physiological reaction called the “fight or flight response” that in the short term will cause people to be unable to focus on their work and in the long term can cause burnout and quitting. Creating a psychologically safe workspace is good for individuals and organizations. Contributed by Kate James.