Creating an Inclusive Library: Approaches for Increasing Engagement and Use with Students of Color

The critical work of being more inclusive and anti-racist in academic library teaching, collections, and community is even more important in today’s social and political climate. Creating an Inclusive Library: Approaches for Increasing Engagement and Use with Students of Color explores the various methods used by librarians, archivists, and library workers to increase or enhance engagement with and use of library spaces, resources, services, and materials by students of color.   Six themed sections provide an opportunity to further engage with issues affecting students of color and to take action to provide more just and equitable teaching and learning environments. Welcoming and Sense of Belonging Culturally Relevant Practices Building Representation and Inclusion Collaborations and Co-Creation Community Building and Engagement Fostering Diverse Student Employees  The resources, strategies, and approaches in Creating an Inclusive Library can help all library workers engage with this vital work and build a community of support. As the nature of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism work in higher education and academic libraries continues to evolve, it is ever more critical to continue this work, to be allies for those engaged in it, and to share how you are creating more inclusive and anti-racist spaces, materials, and services at your library.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction Ngoc-Yen Tran, Michael J. Aguilar II, and Adriana Poo   Section I: Welcoming and Sense of Belonging Chapter 1. Moving Toward Belonging: Library Integration in a Summer Bridge Program Becky Leathersich, Alessandra Otero Ramos, Alan Witt, and Brandon K. West   Chapter 2. Beyond the Filter: Using Photographs and Storytelling to Build Community for AALANA Student Retention Mary Jo Fairchild, Aaisha Haykal, Allison Jones, Amanda Kraft, Elena Rodriguez, Dale Rosengarten, and Gretchen Scronce   Chapter 3. Making the Invisible Visible: Library Outreach and Engagement at the Intersections Jade Alburo, Renee Romero, and Ibraheem Ali   Chapter 4. The Black Student Experience at California State University San Marcos and the University Library’s Role in Amplifying Black Voices Jennifer Ho, Rosa Y. Rodriguez, Sean D. Visintainer, Antonia P. Olivas, and Holly Hampton   Section II: Culturally Relevant Approaches Chapter 5. Doing Things with Metaphors: Mobilizing Cultural Humility from the Guest Perspective as Antiracist Pedagogy Carol A. Leibiger and Alan W. Aldrich Chapter 6. Walk It Like We Talk It: Library Programming for Black Student Engagement Angel Truesdale, Adreonna Bennett, Randi Beem, Christin Lampkowski, Natalie Ornat, and Oliva Patterson   Chapter 7. Taking It to the Street: Designing Archival Walking Tours for Cultural Heritage Months Catherine Fonseca   Section III: Building Representation and Inclusion Chapter 8. Creating a More Inclusive Environment: The Importance of Mindful Collection Development and Cataloging Kelly Williams and Jennifer Batson   Chapter 9. Facilitate Then Curate: Highlighting Student & BIPOC Voices in the Library Collection with the Reading Resilience Project Kelly Marie Blanchat   Chapter 10. Student Outreach as BIPOC Collection Development: The Creation of a Native Hawaiian Collection in an Academic Library Shelley Carr   Section IV: Collaborations and Co-Creation Chapter 11. Demonstrating Inclusion and Allyship: Amplifying an Indigenous Voice Through Physical and Digital Exhibition Jaime Valenzuela   Chapter 12. Co-Creativity for Inclusivity: Designing the Library User Experience Michael J. Aguilar II and Sharesly Rodriguez   Chapter 13. Zines as Praxis: Making Space for Participatory Culture in the Academic Library Jerilyn Tinio and Melissa Chomintra   Chapter 14. Building BIPOC Community with Wikipedia Rosalinda Hernandez Linares-Gray and Leah Valletta   Section V: Community Building and Engagement Chapter 15. We Need to Talk: Creating a University Library-Driven Series on the UNLV Campus to Address Systemic Racism Brittani Sterling and Su Kim Chung   Chapter 16. A Tale of Two Ethnic Studies Libraries: A Community-Driven Model for BIPOC Inclusion Xaviera Flores and Joy Holland   Chapter 17. Building an Inclusive and Antiracist Library: East Asian Library Initiatives at the University of Toronto Hana Kim   Chapter 18. Centering Comunidad in the Central Valley Ginny Barnes, Karina Cardenas, and Balladolid (Dolly) Lopez   Section VI: Fostering Diverse Student Employees Chapter 19. Reimagining and Reflecting on Efforts to Build an Inclusive Library with BIPOC Students Kate Pham and Daisy Muralles   Chapter 20. Cultivating and Supporting BIPOC Student Success via the Peer Information Consulting Program Jesus Espinoza and Alexandra Rivera   Chapter 21. Diversity in Libraries IT: A Cohort Case Study of an Internship Program Daniel M. Coughlin and Binky Lush   About the Editors and Authors

About the Author :
Ngoc-Yen Tran is an associate librarian at Seattle University. She holds an MLIS from the University of Washington. Belonging to an immigrant family, the library workers at her undergraduate library provided support and opportunities to engage with the library and scholarly research. Throughout her academic library career, Yen has tried to provide the same type of support that she received to the diverse populations that she has served. Yen’s research focus is on high-impact educational practices (specifically, undergraduate research experiences), scholarly communication, and information literacy. She has published her research and writing in multiple journals and is the co-editor of Supporting Today’s Students in the Library: Strategies for Retaining and Graduating International, First-Generation, and Re-entry Students (ACRL Publishing, 2019) and Embracing Change: Alternatives to Traditional Research Writing Assignments (ACRL Publishing, 2022).   Michael J. Aguilar II is a senior assistant librarian at San Jose State University, currently serving as the user engagement and insights librarian, and is a Public Voices fellow with The OpEd Project. Michael is interested in the role design plays in addressing our most pressing social issues, and his current work examines the role of design in the formation of relationships with library resources, services, and spaces. As an undergraduate graduate student, he rarely used his university library due to lack of knowledge of its resources and being intimidated to use its spaces. He engages with these issues for future generations of students through his current work, which includes leading a user experience working group that aims to embed student voices and perspectives into library services. His recent research additionally examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student engagement and perceptions of the library along with its impact on academic performance. He holds graduate degrees in the social sciences and information science from UCLA, with a focus on user experience research and design.   Adriana Poo is a senior assistant librarian at San Jose State University (SJSU) and received her master of library and information science degree at SJSU. Adriana was among fifteen individuals who were awarded a full scholarship to attend the SJSU MLIS program. This opportunity was made possible through the Librarians for Tomorrow Grant, which was sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program. The primary objective of this program was to foster diversity within the library profession. Adriana has had the privilege of observing the active involvement and being mentored by many Librarians of Color and allies while working at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, a joint library serving the San Jose Public and SJSU communities. As an academic librarian for over ten years, co-coordinator of the Affordable Learning Solutions program, and co-chair of the Anti-Racism Advocacy & Assessment Committee, which was previously the anti-racism assessment working group, she has extensive experience organizing, engaging, and informing employees and students from diverse backgrounds. This includes working with international students, Equal Opportunity Program students, student success centers, student organizations, and students of color to educate them about library services, information literacy, and textbook affordability.