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Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism

Libraries Position Statement

Equity is a core value of the UW Libraries. We believe that libraries have a central role to play in building a more socially just and anti-racist society. We bear the responsibility to investigate and dismantle policies and practices that perpetuate inequities and have devalued, neglected or harmed BIPOC and other minoritized communities. We are committed to engaging in an ongoing process of identifying and confronting ways in which organizational and institutional culture, bias, and discrimination may inhibit the lives and education of groups that have been marginalized in our society, on our campuses, and in our libraries. We actively support the University in advancing equity, sustaining diversity, creating inclusive experiences for all members of our community, and confronting institutional bias and structural racism.

The UW Libraries, as a community, commits to identifying, resourcing, and implementing actionable next steps in pursuit of becoming a more equitable and anti-racist organization.

This position statement builds on and complements the UW Libraries Values and Strategic Plan and the University of Washington Press Strategic Plan, 2019–2021. We encourage everyone to use all of these materials together as the Libraries develops actionable next steps. Libraries leadership commits to actively supporting work that advances equity, anti-racism, and social justice.

Goals

  • Identify and dismantle Libraries policies that perpetuate white supremacist practices.
    • Acknowledge that these practices are often implicit and unrecognized.
    • Hold ourselves accountable for inclusive and transformational institutional change by routinely seeking feedback from campus and community partners.
    • Take responsibility individually and collectively for our mistakes.
  • Commit to our own ongoing learning about the ways in which social justice and anti-racist principles can be applied to our work.
  • Identify and address hiring and retention practices that have disadvantaged individuals from marginalized groups.

    Our goal for the 2021-2022 academic year is to map these commitments to our UW Libraries work, highlighting existing initiatives, and identifying and prioritizing actionable next steps and future tasks. This work will be inclusive of all Libraries staff with the strong support of Libraries leadership.

    Featured Work

    #BlackScholarshp: Faculty and Student Research Spotlight

    An Intersectional Lens: Towards Queer and Trans People of Color (QTPOC) Film Canon

    Critical Cataloging and Archival Description (8/2/21): UW Libraries statement on harmful language in catalog records and archival finding aids

    Participatory Design w/ First Generation Students

    Insights from Going Public

    Improving Accessibility During COVID