Diversity, Equity & Inclusion @ IU Libraries

Libraries and librarians are committed to diversity as a foundational value. Diversity goes to the heart of who we are and what we do: a profession that serves everybody.

IU Libraries commits to being self-critically aware – as individuals and an organization – of the world’s diversity and complexity, in order to be an open gateway and effective nexus for people and information.

IU Libraries is a proud member of the Association of College & Research Libraries Diversity Alliance. The ACRL Diversity Alliance program unites academic libraries committed to increasing the hiring pipeline of qualified and talented individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.

Read Our Diversity Strategic Plan

Review Our Summary of 2020 Initiatives

IU Libraries Resources for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We often say "at IU Libraries we have been collecting the greatest ideas for 200 years and are ready to inspire yours." But that is not our whole story.  To present a fuller picture, we begin by acknowledging that we may have overlooked, ignored or set aside underrepresented voices. Our profession strives for a legacy of neutrality, and for this reason, we collect and preserve many moments, philosophies, and documents none of us describe as "great."  It is also true that each of us holds our own biases as we build collections. We recognize that over the course of two centuries, it has been the hundreds of individuals working as IU Librarians and Archivists who have curated the millions of items we now hold.  

Today the individuals of IU Libraries have come together to offer an online guide to our most relevant resources and first person documentation of underrepresented experiences in America. Hundreds of databases, primary sources, journals and digital exhibits are available to the IU community and featured in this Diversity Library Guide, which will continue to expand as more resources are suggested and discovered.

 

  • Gwen Kirk (co-chair)
  • Ilana Stonebraker (co-chair)
  • Emily Alford
  • Allison McClanahan
  • Bri McLaughlin
  • Amy Minix
  • Laikin Dantchenko
  • Haley Norris
  • James Henry Smith
  • Maddye Webb-Mitchell
  • Jennifer Witzke
  • Michelle Crowe (ex-officio)
  • Jennifer Chaffin (ex-officio)
  • Erin Ellis (ex-officio)

Diversity Committee is a standing committee that expresses the priorities of IU Libraries' diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility mission. The diversity committee works directly with the Associate Dean of Diversity and Organizational Strategy on implementation of those priorities and initiatives. It keeps abreast of current theories and changes in DEIJA at the national, state, and university, and educates the IU Libraries community as able.

IU Libraries offers a carefully researched Diversity Resident program.