Insight Into Diversity magazine recognized the UO Libraries with its 2024 Library Excellence in Access and Diversity (LEAD) Award. The LEAD Award honors academic library programs, policies, and initiatives that encourage and support diversity, equity, and inclusion across our campuses and surrounding communities. These include, but are not limited to research, technology, accessibility, exhibitions, and community outreach. UO Libraries, along with other winners, will be featured in the March 2024 issue of Insight Into Diversity magazine.
“On behalf of the entire INSIGHT Into Diversity staff, our sincerest congratulations to your academic library and your entire institution on being recognized with this prestigious national honor. This year’s honorees truly are an inspiration to all of us who are working so diligently to make a difference in the lives of all individuals from underrepresented groups,” said Lenore Pearlstein, the magazine’s owner and publisher, in her congratulatory letter.
Alicia Salaz, the UO Libraries vice provost and university librarian, echoed that congratulations, saying, "Thanks to all UO library personnel for our collective efforts to advance DEIA work in the UO Libraries. Our focused work on these critical issues dates back nearly three decades, and I hope that the recognition will serve to elevate and profile our most impactful practices in service to others who share our goals and may wish to use them as a model. While we celebrate our successes, the work is ongoing. We’ll continue to emphasize, evaluate, and evolve our efforts to make the libraries and an education at the University of Oregon an ever-more accessible, inclusive, and impactful experience for each one of our community members.”
The UO Libraries engages in a wide variety of DEIA activities and provides many services to ensure we meet the needs of our underrepresented community members. Here are a few the LEAD award recognizes:
- Have an active DEI committee (est. in 1996) that collaborates with similar campus committees, other university partners, and professional organizations
- Have a Native American Protocols Working group now focusing on developing policies and practices that remediate and correct colonial influence on the Libraries’ collection and descriptive methodologies
- Have a newly established position (Associate Director for Employee Engagement, Development, and Belonging), which includes a primary focus on advancing DEIA in the Libraries
- Offer accessible seating and study spaces
- Develop accessibility standards for e-resources
- Provide DEIA-focused professional development opportunities for personnel (e.g., an onsite Decolonization 101 workshop, a Native values-based training to address inequity at a foundational level, and an online conference on neurodivergence)
- Mount public exhibitions emphasizing BIPOC and other underrepresented groups (e.g., “The March” and “Archives for Black Lives,” in 2022–23). A new Archives for Black Lives event is coming up in April.
- Dedicate an annual budget specifically for buying new items focused on DEIA topics for our collections
- Work closely with the UO’s Digital Accessibility Architect to ensure—at a minimum—ADA and WCAG compliance in our online offerings
Brian Lym, the UO Libraries’ associate director for employee engagement, development, and belonging shared, “We are thrilled to be the recipient of the Library Excellence in Access and Diversity Award! It is wonderful for the UO Libraries to be recognized for our efforts advancing DEIA. We couldn't have done our work without the courageous and steadfast support of leadership from UO's Division of Equity and Inclusion. Many thanks to Vice President Yvette Alex-Assensoh, Assistant Vice President Kelly Pembleton, and the whole Equity and Inclusion team!”
For more information about the 2024 Library Excellence in Access and Diversity (LEAD) award, visit Insight into Diversity's LEAD award page.
—By Kate Conley, communications specialist, UO Libraries