Workshop: Auditing Diversity in the Stacks
Location
Knauss School of Business - Nexus Theatre
Session Type
Workshop
Start Date
29-4-2024 9:00 AM
End Date
29-4-2024 12:00 PM
Abstract
Our university populations are more dynamic and increasingly diverse than ever before – students should see themselves reflected in their academic institution’s collections and should have resources available to help them navigate the complexities of the world today. The impetus is on librarians to find and provide materials to help our students in both their academic pursuits and personal enrichment. In this workshop, participants will gain an overall understanding of diversity audits for academic library collections and come away with concrete examples and strategies for implementation or adaptation at their own institutions. The primary focus will be on monographs, but much of the information can be applied to other collections and formats. Topics will include elements of an audit/assessment plan, factors for consideration when defining the scope of a project, pros and cons of various methods and approaches, potential challenges or limitations, and the interdisciplinary nature of diversity-related titles within the Library of Congress classification system. The workshop will also include some group discussion and a few hands-on activities. Electronic devices are not required, but attendees may find it useful to have access to their respective institutional collections.
Workshop: Auditing Diversity in the Stacks
Knauss School of Business - Nexus Theatre
Our university populations are more dynamic and increasingly diverse than ever before – students should see themselves reflected in their academic institution’s collections and should have resources available to help them navigate the complexities of the world today. The impetus is on librarians to find and provide materials to help our students in both their academic pursuits and personal enrichment. In this workshop, participants will gain an overall understanding of diversity audits for academic library collections and come away with concrete examples and strategies for implementation or adaptation at their own institutions. The primary focus will be on monographs, but much of the information can be applied to other collections and formats. Topics will include elements of an audit/assessment plan, factors for consideration when defining the scope of a project, pros and cons of various methods and approaches, potential challenges or limitations, and the interdisciplinary nature of diversity-related titles within the Library of Congress classification system. The workshop will also include some group discussion and a few hands-on activities. Electronic devices are not required, but attendees may find it useful to have access to their respective institutional collections.
Comments
Melissa Gonzalez is the Collection Development Librarian and History, Philosophy, Religion, Anthropology, Political Science, and Music subject liaison at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. She is a three-time graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a Master of Library and Information Science, a Master of Arts in History, and a Bachelor of Arts in History. She has held leadership positions in the RUSA History section and currently serves on committees for both the Women and Gender Studies and the Anthropology and Sociology sections of ACRL. She also teaches the capstone course for the UWF Bachelor of General Studies program. Her current professional interests center around collection management and assessment, with a particular focus on building and maintaining diverse collections.