Diversity Day Poster SessioN

There were 15 poster presentations shared at Diversity Day 2019. Poster abstracts and links to the digital copies of the posters are available below.

Building a Library Code of Conduct

Link to Poster (PDF)

Amanda McLellan, East Carolina University

Codes of conduct have been used at conferences for a few years to help establish a shared understanding. Joyner Library at ECU worked with our Office of Equity and Diversity to create a Code of Conduct for our library to put useful resources in one place and help communicate our commitment to diversity and inclusion in a real way.

Kids These Days Don't Know How to Answer the Phone: Generations in Context

Kim Looby, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

This poster explores the idea of understanding generational stereotypes without using generational names. Rather than talking about groups of people as Millennial, Baby Boomers, etc, this poster provides a new lens of looking at the life experience of groups of people from their age, economic experience, date of birth, technological experience, and more. It situates stereotypes and assumptions in a more productive way of understanding where people are coming from rather than using popular science articles that claim that groups of people are a certain way because of their generation rather than their particular life experience.

Library Collaboration with Miami-Dade College Pride Week Campus Committee and Promotion of LGBTQ Library Collections

Link to Poster (PDF)

Dwain Teague, North Carolina Wesleyan College

This poster will discuss the successful outcomes of the Librarian collaborating with the Miami Dade College (Kendall Campus – Miami, FL) Pride Week Committee (Spring 2018). Specific points will include: librarian partnering with the Campus Pride Week Committee to physically attend (and represent the Libraries) at Campus Pride Week events; the librarian creating a Pride Week Library Exhibit to showcase LGBTQ library books/DVDs/materials to students and library visitors; the librarian creating a LibGuide specifically for Pride Week that promoted LGBTQ materials and resources available within the library, as well as promoting South Florida and National LGBTQ resources (i.e. the South Florida Gay Men’s Chorus, the history of the Fort Lauderdale neighborhood of Wilton Manors, the history of the Rainbow Flag, and the South Florida Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, {whose mission is “to encourage self-expression and diversity, engender acceptance, foster tolerance, and educate those within and outside of the GLBTQ+ Community by promoting love and laughter through community services and fundraising”}; and editing the LibGuide after Pride Week ended to re-use it as a general/on-going LibGuide to continue promoting Miami Dade College library LBGTQ materials/resources and South Florida/National LBGTQ resources.

Supporting The Library Community With Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Programming

Link to Poster (PDF)

Jeff Witt, University of Michigan Library

The poster will be an overview of DEI related programs and events that the U-M Library provides to the library community (Librarians, library staff and student staff). The poster will review 6-7 of our most successful internal DEI programs, specifically addressing program objectives and outcomes. We will include examples of programs that are awareness building (head), programs that promote bridge building and relationship building (heart) and programs that challenge us to take action (hand).

Diversity in Action: A LISSA 30th Anniversary Initiative

Link to Poster (PDF)

Ashlea Johnson, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

In honor of our 30th anniversary, the UNCG Library and Information Studies Student Association has focused the 2018-2019 academic year on educating our members about promoting diversity within the library profession. We selected this anniversary initiative in response to student concerns about the amount of diverse representation within our LIS department and a lack of discussion taking place within our graduate courses. Our poster will highlight some of the steps we have taken this year to encourage awareness, inclusion, representation, and alliance with diverse groups among LISSA members within their university, current jobs and internships, and in their future library careers.

Leveling the Playing Field: Inclusivity through Gaming

Somaly Kim Wu, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Beth Caruso, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

In August 2017, Atkins Library launched a Gaming Lab to support the game design and development curricula at UNC Charlotte. This lab offers popular consoles and games for checkout by the campus community and students studying gaming. Anticipated disparities in availability to the games and equipment necessary to complete course assignments initiated the effort for this university-supported lab. This poster highlights usage statistics from a survey conducted in Spring 2018 by the Library Assessment Team and trends in the gaming industry. This lab eliminates the barrier preventing students from being exposed to gaming culture and combats misconceptions about traditional roles of academic libraries. Initial findings indicate the space is widely popular and is used by students from across the disciplines. This trend supports the need for libraries to create diverse service offerings and maintain inclusive spaces to support research and learning.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries Diversity Committee Brown Bag Series

Link to Poster (PDF)

Monica Figueroa, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Lisa Ruth, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Kristan Shawgo, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

In fall 2018, the UNC-CH University Libraries Diversity Committee developed a monthly brown bag lunch series aimed at bringing into focus the diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility work being conducted by library staff and graduate students. This series seeks to bring together library workers from across libraries, departments, and units, to break down silos that have, traditionally, presented obstacles for collaborative thought and work. This series, moreover, has resulted in: a high participation rate of library staff and students (each session consists of approximately 30-35 participants and 1-2 designated presenters), University Libraries Diversity Committee sponsored workshop ideas (a mini-zine making workshop was held in conjunction with a lunch presentation), and more in-depth conversations about how to apply the lens of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility to our work in and for the libraries. Topics have included critical librarianship, feminist pedagogy, and library support for students from underrepresented groups in STEM fields. Our poster will detail how this innovative series fits squarely into the mission of the UNC-CH University Libraries. We will also feature examples and take-aways from past brown bag sessions as well as ideas for upcoming presentations and workshops.

Setting the PACE with Seniors: Digital Literacy Instruction for Older Adults

Link to Poster (PDF)

Joselyn Williams, Cumberland County Public Library

Christopher Robinson, University of North Carolina at Wilmington

The PACE model extends far beyond public libraries and into other areas of librarianship such as academic libraries. Many older adults have been left behind on the wrong side of the digital divide. This population is often underserved because they may move at a slower pace and lack the skills that would enable them to join a class filled with younger, more tech-savvy participants. Due to adults living longer and technological advancement, older adults are now entering colleges and universities for varied reasons. Some of these reasons may include, becoming first-time college students, re-entering for advanced degrees, serving as active duty military or a veteran, choosing a second career, or looking for a new challenge. No matter the reasoning many older adults struggle with the demands of technology within their programs of study. By setting the PACE, with this teaching model, older students can reap the same learning benefits as public library patrons and learn at their own PACE.

Normalizing Difference: Everyday Diversity in a Small Rural Academic Library

Link to Poster (PDF)

Rebecca Freeman, University of South Carolina Lancaster

Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, University of South Carolina Lancaster

Collection development and outreach in a small rural academic library can be challenging due to limited staffing and limited funds. Diversifying the library within these limitations is even more daunting. Why is it important to diversify your library? How does collection and outreach diversity affect the welcomeness of the institution? How can you work with faculty, staff, and students to help your efforts? This poster will discuss these questions and include a discussion on how and why a small academic library took on the challenge to provide the most for its students and the progress made. Attendees will come away with tips and ideas for how to make changes to their library.

Untangling the Roots: Surfacing the Lived Experience of Enslaved People in Wilson Special Collections Library

Link to Poster (PDF)

Lydia Neuroth, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

This poster visually demonstrates our understanding of barriers to accessing records of slavery in Wilson Library's Southern Historical Collection (SHC). We use statistics and data to represent the size of our collections and the potential resources we have to offer towards the study of American slavery in the antebellum South. Unfortunately, many of those materials are obstructed by the stories and details of elite, slave-holding families for which our collections are described. Our collections have historically been collected, arranged, and described by those in power, for those in power. Discovering the identities and stories of those who were enslaved is difficult, often impossible. In September 2018, we launched a project that aims to identify these barriers to access. We want to create and implement long-term and sustainable solutions that elevate the stories and the lives often overlooked in our collections. Our poster offers three possible solutions that our team has been discussing and describes them in brief. They include a tutorial that assists novice researchers in finding and utilizing resources about slavery in the SHC; targeted description remediation; and advocacy and collaboration among our colleagues and our users.

Diversity and Inclusion at NC State University Libraries

Link to Poster (PDF)

Sydney Thompson, North Carolina State University

Ashley Morrison, North Carolina State University

Silvia Sheffield, North Carolina State University

The NC State University Libraries has a long-standing Diversity Committee which provides guidance and feedback to the Libraries in all components of its operation as it deals with ensuring and enhancing the diversity in the organization. This poster will highlight specific committee activities and projects that promote diversity and inclusion. These include: “Diversity Talks,” a monthly workshop, speaker, discussion group, or campus event sponsored or co-sponsored by the Libraries Diversity Committee to foster engaging, open discussion about current diversity topics in the library, on campus, and in our larger communities. Diversity & inclusion indicators on staff profile pages, such as Project Safe Ally electronic badges for staff who have taken a three-hour workshop led by NCSU GLBT Center staff and a field for staff to include preferred pronouns, as well as pronoun buttons that public service staff, including students, can affix to the name tag lanyards. A “Good Idea Grant” awarded to the committee to support a large number of Libraries managers attending the Racial Equity Institute. Updates to our job postings to signal to candidates that the Libraries is an inclusive workplace that welcomes candidates of all identities and backgrounds, including agender and gender non-binary individuals. Inclusion of Diversity Committee members in every interview date to ensure that all candidates are assessed for their commitment to and experience with serving diverse communities. And e-board slides created to highlight material in the Libraries’ collection that reflect a variety of identities and viewpoints.

Valuing Diversity: The JWU Library

Valerie Freeman, Johnson & Wales University

Abriana Gibbs, Johnson & Wales University

We will provide description and photos of efforts that we have made, including library renovations and student involvement efforts, to ensure that Johnson & Wales University Charlotte Campus patrons feel welcome and valued in the library. This will include a renovation which resulted in student focused displays and art. Our renovation resulted in art that represents the students, and in some cases is by students themselves. We also display works created by students in class. Additionally, we will also seek some opinions from our student workers about the effectiveness of our efforts. This will include their comfort working together as well as their impression about other patrons using the library.

Inclusion in the Curriculum: How to Weave Diversity into Online Teaching

Link to Poster (PDF)

Kim Thompson, University of South Carolina

Clayton Copeland, University of South Carolina

There is a fairly popular billboard that shouts “Unsee this!” at drivers along highways, enticing local businesses to rent that billboard space. Yet, no one who drives by will be able to unsee it. This same idea applies to fundamental theories of inclusion when applied in the higher education classroom. Once students “see” inclusion as core to their field of study, the workplace, and daily life, it will be very difficult for them to overlook, or “unsee,” these basic principles in their practice as professionals after graduation. Educators use theoretical frameworks in foundational and core courses to help students feel and recognize the pulse of the ethos of their given field. Once students learn to feel this pulse and “see” the their field or profession as a growing organism they have the power to influence, they become players in designing a more diverse and flexible workplace and creating increasingly inclusive services and spaces. This poster will be interesting and useful not only to educators as they design courses and curricula, but also to graduating professionals who engaging in diversifying their field, working with stakeholder communities, reaching out to the under-represented, improving usability and accessibility, and so on.

Diving Deeper Into Diversity: Identity>Demographics

Link to Poster (PDF)

Danisha Baker-Whitaker, Bennett College

Upon first glance, the Bennett college campus community might mislead observers into thinking we are less diverse than other academic campuses. We are one of only two all-women historically Black colleges, so we have a treasured legacy of educating often-underrepresented minority populations. However, Holgate Library supports our institution in recognizing students as individuals as we provide learners with opportunities to engage with resources and services. Our poster highlights strategies of support and engagement that institutions of any size and budget can successfully utilize to foster inclusion and recognize diversity beyond surface-level. Our library strives to be a hub for scholarship and exploration. Therefore, we endeavor to provide relevant information and resources to young ladies with broad personal interests, professional aspirations, academic backgrounds, and preferences.

Library Diversity Institutes Pilot Project – U.N.C. at Greensboro

Gerald Holmes, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Deborah Yun Caldwell, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

The poster presentation will highlight the Library’s development of a 2-year Library Diversity Institutes Pilot Project. UNC Greensboro’s University Libraries in collaboration with the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Diversity Alliance was awarded a $211,783 Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant in April of 2018 to pilot a national Library Diversity Institute program that will address the needs of professionally underrepresented racial and ethnic groups and broadly advance diversity in U. S. academic libraries.