Advancing IDEAs: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, 7 January 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.

Silhouettes of flying birds against an orange sky.
Photo by Barth Bailey on Unsplash

New IFLA guidelines for serving displaced persons

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) recently published the IFLA Guidelines for Libraries Supporting Displaced Persons: Refugees, Migrants, Immigrants, Asylum seekers to provide practical guidance for libraries supporting these groups. The guidelines define displaced persons as “persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or leave their homes or places of habitual residence (whether in their own country or across an international border), in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalised violence, and human rights violations or natural/human-made disasters. In the context of these guidelines, we refer as a whole to all these different groups: asylum seekers, immigrants, migrants, and refugees.” The guidelines cover services and programs for users, policies, staff training, and other topics. As these are broadly written for international use, libraries would use the guidelines as a starting point in the formation of their own policies and practices.

There is clearly a need for this type of publication as there were over 117 million people forcibly displaced in 2023. There are many helpful recommendations including offering a working space to humanitarian organizations inside the library and creating pop-up library spots inside refugee camps and asylum centers. I wish the authors had explicitly acknowledged the differences between voluntary migration and displacement which is an involuntary migration caused by horrible conditions in the place people are leaving. While cultural and language differences may impact many immigrants and migrants, those who have been forcibly displaced are more likely to have additional disadvantages and special needs because of their displacement. Libraries are better able to serve displaced persons when staff understand the differences between these migration situations. I am guessing the authors of the publication chose to use the term “displaced persons” because it is not a legal term and many who do not legally qualify as refugees may have fled violence or extreme poverty and suffered terribly. I believe libraries will find this publication useful if they are mindful of these situational differences when reading the guidelines and reviewing resources cited in the bibliography. Contributed by Kate James.

Standing up for US libraries in a new era

All of us who treasure libraries and value the roles they play in a free and democratic society have been wondering how to prepare for the 119th United States Congress and the 47th President of the United States. On 15 January 2025 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, the American Library Association Public Policy and Advocacy Office will offer “Standing Up for Libraries: The Next 100 Days,” a webinar that is free for all ALA members. Although attendance is limited to 1000, a recording of the session will be available to ALA members through 30 January. ALA promises to “offer tangible steps for library advocates moving forward and preview upcoming legislation and litigation that will impact the library field.”

Since 1945, the Public Policy and Advocacy Office has been the voice of libraries speaking to the government of the United States and keeping libraries and their advocates informed about government policies and actions. The office has been instrumental in furthering the interests of libraries and users in the realms of privacy, funding, copyright, government information, education, and related areas. Keeping informed and promoting library values remains as important as ever. Contributed by Jay Weitz.

Binghamton University Libraries honored for work in inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility

Binghamton University Libraries was honored with the 2024 South Central Regional Library Council Prism Award, which honors library workers or organizations for work in advancing for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice and Accessibility. This work includes implementing structural changes, actively becoming antiracist or reimagining policies to be inclusive. Binghamton Libraries have sustained several initiatives, ranging from fostering the library as a safe and inclusive space and place to diversifying collections.

Binghamton University was one of a number of OCLC Research Library Partnership institutions we interviewed in order to better understand how research libraries are approaching diversifying collections. It is great to see their work—which has been ongoing for some time—acknowledged in this way. Contributed by Merrilee Proffitt

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