Annotated Sources
Bledsoe, Kara, Danielle Cooper, Roger Schonfeld, and Oya Y. Rieger. Leading by Diversifying Collections: A Guide for Academic Library Leadership. Ithaka S+R, November 9, 2022. https://doi.org/10.18665/sr.317833.
In this Ithaka S+R research report, Bledsoe, Cooper, Schonfeld, and Rieger offer a guide, with examples, takeaways, and exercises, for academic library administrators to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) values in their collections. The authors outline the process of setting goals, identifying stakeholders, guiding strategies, and tracking process (“Creating the process”); evaluating collections, identifying gaps, and determining which materials to reframe or remove (“Shaping the collection”); securing funds and resources as well as appropriately allocating that money and support (“Allocating resources”); and setting concrete goals while fostering a healthy cultural attitude to ongoing DEI work in collections (“Reaching ‘the end’”). The report concludes with an extensive current bibliography of “resources for further reading,” along with a list of well-known library administrators and collections managers interviewed by the authors.
Ciszek, Matthew P., and Courtney L. Young. “Diversity Collection Assessment in Large Academic Libraries.” Collection Building 29, no. 4 (October 2010): 154–161. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604951011088899.
Ciszek and Young’s article offers different methods to assess an academic library’s collections for diversity regardless of the collection’s size or the intent of the assessment, whether that goal is to address current gaps in collections or plan future acquisitions. Potential quantitative methods include comparing local library holdings to WorldCat holdings using Library of Congress subject headings, reviewing standard bibliographies of materials from marginalized communities, entering custom diversity codes into acquisition records at point of purchase, and evaluating circulation and use statistics. Qualitative methods include inviting a diversity subject specialist to assess the collection, creating a diversity statement for collections, obtaining stewardship letters that document how subject specialists select materials, conducting focus groups, and surveying or interviewing patrons. Cizek and Young underscore that academic librarians should proactively develop methods and metrics for measuring a collection’s diversity, and that increasing the diversity of collections should be central to all discussions on policies and procedures.
Kristick, Laurel. “Diversity Literary Awards: A Tool for Assessing an Academic Library’s Collection.” Collection Management 45, no. 2 (2020): 151–161. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2019.1675209.
Kristick investigates the possibility of using literary award lists to address gaps in collections of books by and about underrepresented groups. Collecting book lists from a range of sources, including the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, the Association for Asian American Studies, and the Native American Literature Symposium, Kristick searched for these books within her institution’s holdings. The findings give Kristick an understanding of how much literature her institution has from an underrepresented group as well as the number and type of publishers from which they acquire materials. The author found that her institution’s acquisition policies were reflected in its holdings, most of which came from scholarly or university presses rather than more prominent and diverse publishers. Her analysis highlights the need to update collection development policies, review the publishers from which libraries acquire materials, prioritize presses that publish diverse materials, and receive the benefits of adding diverse book award lists to any collection review or acquisition process. Doing so works toward diversifying any collection’s materials to better represent literature by or about marginalized communities.
Proctor, Julia. “Representation in the Collection: Assessing Coverage of LGBTQ Content in an Academic Library Collection.” Collection Management 45, no. 3 (2020): 223–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2019.1708835.
Proctor argues that collection assessment for LGBTQ materials within any library necessitates multiple methods, as the field is an inherently interdisciplinary one. She adopts a variety of approaches to quantitative and qualitative collection assessment, ranging from size/growth, to circulation statistics, list checking, and surveys. In particular, list checking offers a chance for libraries to dive into the particulars of any general statistics and, for example, determine how many LGBTQ materials reflect winners and nominees from LGBTQA literary awards as well as whether the LGBTQ materials are affirming or non-affirming. Proctor points to the difficulties of collection assessment in academic libraries, such as collections that are spread across multiple divisions or discipline- or community-specific libraries and centers. Using multiple collection assessment methods enables libraries to better understand their holdings and gaps, particularly with marginalized communities, whose materials are often multidisciplinary and dispersed.
Vega García, Susan A. “Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Academic Library Collections: Ownership and Access of African American and U.S. Latino Periodical Literature.” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 26, no. 5 (September 2000): 311–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0099-1333(00)00137-3.
Published in 2000, Vega García’s article is a starting point for research into contemporary approaches for using collection development to foster diversity of voices. She identified 87 African American and 52 Latino/a periodicals, a blend of research journals and leisure magazines such as Jet and Hispanic. Vega García examined print holdings and abstracting and indexing services for each title available through 107 members of the Association for Research Libraries (ARL). While most of these libraries collected a majority of the African American research journals, less than a third of ARL members collected at least half of the Latino research titles, and few ARLs collected very many leisure publications, which generally lacked indexing. Vega García concludes that libraries should prioritize collecting of research and especially leisure periodicals covering racial and ethnic minorities, and she also calls on indexing services to improve their coverage of minority publications.
Additional Resources
Aguilera, Arthur. “Anti-Racist Library Collection Building.” University of Colorado Boulder University Libraries, n.d. https://libguides.colorado.edu/anti-racist-collections-review-acquisitions/home.
Ash, Jared, and Daisy Paul. “Know Their Names: Case Studies in DEIA Collection Development Assessment, Expansion, and Access.” Presented at the ARLIS/NA 50th Annual Conference, Chicago, April 6, 2022. https://mediaspace.msu.edu/id/1_by1q3ava.
Blackburn, Heidi, and Omer Farooq. “LGBTQIA-R: Creating a Diverse and Inclusive Medical Collection at a Public Metropolitan University.” Collection Management 45, no. 1 (January 2, 2020): 3–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2019.1597799.
Bledsoe, Kara, Danielle Cooper, Roger Schonfeld, and Oya Y. Rieger. “Leading by Diversifying Collections: A Guide for Academic Library Leadership.” Ithaka S+R, November 9, 2022. https://doi.org/10.18665/sr.317833.
Blume, Rachel. “Balance in Demand Driven Acquisitions: The Importance of Mindfulness and Moderation When Utilizing Just in Time Collection Development.” Collection Management 44, no. 2–4 (July 3, 2019): 105–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2019.1593908.
Bolding, Kelly. “Reparative Processing: A Case Study in Auditing Legacy Archival Description for Racism.” Accessed February 2, 2023. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MhOXx5ZlVjb_8pfvvFquMqLsUUlOHFFMT4js5EP4qnA.
Ciszek, Matthew P., and Courtney L. Young. “Diversity Collection Assessment in Large Academic Libraries.” Collection Building 29, no. 4 (October 12, 2010): 154–61. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604951011088899.
Dawson, Patrick J. “Collection Development of Hispanic American Materials.” Collection Building 15, no. 4 (December 1, 1996): 34–38. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604959610150102.
Delaney-Lehman, Maureen J. “Assessing the Library Collection for Diversity.” Collection Management 20, no. 3–4 (July 15, 1996): 29–37. https://doi.org/10.1300/J105v20n03_05.
Fuller-Gregory, Christina. “DEI Audits: The Whole Picture | Equity.” Library Journal. Accessed May 17, 2023. https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/DEI-Audits-The-Whole-Picture-Equity.
Gonzalez, Melissa. “Diversity Collection Audit & Assessment.” University of West Florida University Libraries, n.d. https://libguides.uwf.edu/divassess.
Google Docs. “Value Into Action: Evaluating & Developing Monographic Collectionsfor Diversity & Inclusion.” Accessed September 3, 2020. https://drive.google.com/file/d/11034kec_tsk-ydOvkZG4XzECvKkD6mr4/view?usp=embed_facebook.
Harrington, Morgan. “Rethinking Diversity beyond Catalogue Representation: Lessons from Efforts to Develop a Methodology to Evaluate Diversity within the National Library of Australia.” Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association 70, no. 1 (January 2, 2021): 23–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2021.1874624.
Hicks, Pete, and Páraic Kerrigan. “An Intersectional Quantitative Content Analysis of the LGBTQ+ Catalogue in Irish Public Libraries.” Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 52, no. 4 (December 2020): 1028–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000619898212.
Jones, Sarah R., Emily Lapworth, and Tammi Kim. “Assessing Diversity in Special Collections and Archives.” College & Research Libraries 84, no. 3 (May 5, 2023): 335. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.84.3.335.
Kennedy, Marie, and Marisa Ramirez. “Assessing the Diversity of the E-Collection of the William H. Hannon Library.” LMU Librarian Publications & Presentations, January 1, 2018. https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/librarian_pubs/100.
Kristick, Laurel L. “Diversity Literary Awards: A Tool for Assessing an Academic Library’s Collection.” Collection Management 45, no. 2 (2020): 151–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2019.1675209.
Lawrence, E.E. “The Trouble with Diverse Books, Part II: An Informational Pragmatic Analysis.” Journal of Documentation 77, no. 1 (August 12, 2020): 181–97. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-06-2020-0112.
Library Journal. “Equity in Action: Building Diverse Collections – Library Journal Online Course.” Accessed September 3, 2020. https://www.libraryjournal.com?event=building-diverse-collections.
Linton, Janice, and Ada Ducas. “A New Tool for Collection Assessment: One Library’s Response to the Calls to Action Issued by Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.” Collection Management 42, no. 3–4 (October 2, 2017): 256–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2017.1344596.
Magnus, Ebony, Jackie Belanger, and Maggie Faber. “Towards a Critical Assessment Practice.” In the Library with the Lead Pipe, October 31, 2018. https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/towards-critical-assessment-practice/.
Maloney, Michelle M. “Cultivating Community, Promoting Inclusivity: Collections as Fulcrum for Targeted Outreach.” New Library World 113, no. 5/6 (May 11, 2012): 281–89. https://doi.org/10.1108/03074801211226364.
Marsh, Diana E., Ricardo L. Punzalan, and Robert Leopold. “Studying the Impact of Digitized Ethnographic Collections: Implications for Practitioners.” Practicing Anthropology 37, no. 3 (July 1, 2015): 26–31. https://doi.org/10.17730/0888-4552-37.3.26.
Marsh, Diana E., Ricardo L. Punzalan, Robert Leopold, Brian Butler, and Massimo Petrozzi. “Stories of Impact: The Role of Narrative in Understanding the Value and Impact of Digital Collections.” Archival Science 16, no. 4 (December 2016): 327–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10502-015-9253-5.
Mortensen, Annabelle. “Measuring Diversity in the Collection.” Library Journal. Accessed September 3, 2020. https://www.libraryjournal.com?detailStory=Measuring-Diversity-in-the-Collection.
Moulaison Sandy, Heather, Beth M. Brendler, and Karen Kohn. “Intersectionality in LGBT Fiction: A Comparison of a Traditional Library Vendor and a Nontraditional eBook Platform.” Journal of Documentation73, no. 3 (January 1, 2017): 432–50. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-07-2016-0092.
Norio Masuchika, Glenn. “‘Yellowface’ in Movies: A Survey of American Academic Collections.” Collection Building 32, no. 1 (January 18, 2013): 31–36. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604951311295076.
Pettingill, Ann, and Pamela Morgan. “Building a Retrospective Multicultural Collection: A Practical Approach.” Collection Building 15, no. 3 (September 1, 1996): 10–16. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604959610126000.
Proctor, Julia. “Representation in the Collection: Assessing Coverage of LGBTQ Content in an Academic Library Collection.” Collection Management 45, no. 3 (July 2, 2020): 223–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2019.1708835.
Punzalan, Ricardo L, Diana E Marsh, and Kyla Cools. “Beyond Clicks, Likes, and Downloads: Identifying Meaningful Impacts for Digitized Ethnographic Archives.” Archivaria 84 (Fall 2017): 61–102.
Sappington, Jayne, Esther De León, Sara Schumacher, Kimberly Vardeman, Donell Callender, Marina Oliver, Hillary Veeder, and Laura Heinz. “Library Impact Research Report: Educating and Empowering a Diverse Student Body: Supporting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Research through Library Collections.” Association of Research Libraries, July 28, 2022. https://doi.org/10.29242/report.texastech2022.
Serebnick, Judith. “Using Checklists to Measure Diversity in Library Collections.” Catholic Library World 55, no. 8 (1984): 355–56.
Serebnick, Judith, and Frank Quinn. “Measuring Diversity of Opinion in Public Library Collections.” The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy 65, no. 1 (1995): 1–38.
Smith, Carrie. “Building Diverse Collections: Options to Review Print and Digital Holdings through an Inclusive Lens.” American Libraries Magazine, June 1, 2023. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/?p=138285.
Speer, Elizabeth. “Collection and Vendor Relationships: Diversity Evaluation and Communication,” 2022. https://www.ncserialsconference.org/slides/2022/2022-3A-1.pdf.
———. “Communicating With Vendors in Support of DEI Collection Evaluations.” Computers in Libraries, February 2022. https://www.infotoday.com/OnlineSearcher/Articles/Features/Communicating-With-Vendors-in-Support-of-DEI-Collection-Evaluations-150915.shtml.
Stone, Scott M. “Whose Play Scripts Are Being Published? A Diversity Audit of One Library’s Collection in Conversation with the Broader Play Publishing World.” Collection Management, February 3, 2020, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2020.1715314.
Tai, Jessica. “Cultural Humility as a Framework for Anti-Oppressive Archival Description.” Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies 3, no. 2 (2021). https://doi.org/10.24242/jclis.v3i2.120.
Thompson, Hilary, Austin Smith, Manuel Ostos, and Lisa Gardinier. “Borrowing Latin American Materials in the Big Ten Academic Alliance: A Case Study for Consortial Data Analysis.” College & Research Libraries 80, no. 6 (2019): 766–86. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.80.6.766.
Vega Garcı́a, Susan A. “Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Academic Library Collections: Ownership and Access of African American and U.s. Latino Periodical Literature.” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 26, no. 5 (September 1, 2000): 311–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0099-1333(00)00137-3.
Voels, Sarah. Auditing Diversity in Library Collections. Libraries Unlimited, 2022. https://www.abc-clio.com/products/a6441p/.
Williams, Virginia Kay, and Nancy Deyoe. “Controversy and Diversity: LGBTQ Titles in Academic Library Youth Collections.” Library Resources & Technical Services 59, no. 2 (May 11, 2015): 62. https://doi.org/10.5860/lrts.59n2.62.