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LIS 770
Prof. Walter Scott
Ly Nguyen
Issue Paper

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the LIS Management

Definition

The topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion (EDI) is one that often discussed in the library and
information science literature. The American Library Association (2004) lists diversity as one of its core
values of librarianship. Many organizations have developed their own definitions of diversity, although
most of them point to the unique and differing identities that make up library workers and their patrons.
In her article “Diversity in Public Libraries: Strategies for Achieving a More Representative
Workforce,” Sarah Larsen (2017) offers the definition of “inclusiveness with regard to differences in age,
gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, and ethnic, racial, or cultural background within a given
population” (p. 32). One of the more comprehensive definitions of EDI is expressed by the Association of
Research Libraries (ARL) (n.d.), which states “diversity and inclusion as embracing the full spectrum of
human and social identities, including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, national origin, gender and
gender identity and expression, sexuality, ability, veteran status, class, and religion. Equity can be
defined as fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement while striving to identify and eliminate
barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups” (para. 1). This definition stands out
because the last part of the definition offers actionable ways to address diversity, rather than just
passively defining it. With dynamic words like “embracing the full spectrum” and “eliminate barriers,”
it’s clear that library organizations are trying to think about EDI in terms of change management and
future thinking. In order to effectively work towards a more inclusive professional field, practical and
implementable plans must be drafted and engaged in all aspects of library and information science,
from education, research, and employment, to programming, professional development, published
literature, and training (Larsen, 2017).

History and Background

Before delving into the ways libraries can focus on diversity and inclusion for their own
institutions, it’s helpful to understand the historical context of diversity issues in the library science field.
Lakeshia Darby (2005) presents a brief, yet informative timeline about the history of diversity in
American libraries in her essay “Abolishing Stereotypes: Recruitment and Retention of Minorities in the
Library Profession.” She says that the powder keg that put diversity at the forefront of American
consciousness was the historic Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954, which integrated schools for
white and African-American students (p.8). Although Brown v. Board was addressing the larger issue of
human rights, it gave students of color legal access to places of education that historically denied them
opportunities. This was the first step in providing representation for marginalized groups in terms of
equitable access to education.
Darby goes into the history of the ALA in her paper as well. It’s essential to understand the
background of the American Library Association because it is one of the largest and readily recognized
professional organization in the field. Darby (2005) cites that the ALA “held its first integrated meeting in
1956, 80 years after the organization began,” and two years after the Brown v. Board supreme court
ruling (p. 8). The ALA also updated its Library Bill of Rights document to reflect the changing attitude
about diversity that came along with the 1960’s. The amendment added in 1961 was added “to support
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the rights of an individual to the use of a library,” which “should not be denied or abridged because of
his race, religion, national origins or political views" (Darby, 2005, p. 8). With the 70’s, active
appreciation of social identity was emerging from diverse populations around the country. Proliferation
of library associations catering to different aspects of minority identities began to materialize, such as
the American Indian Library Association (AILA) and REFORMA (n.d.), an affiliate of the ALA and a national
association that promotes LIS services to Spanish-speaking communities. Clara Stanton Jones became
the ALA’s first African-American woman to be president in 1976 (Darby, 2005, p. 8). From the 1980’s to
the present, many advances and initiatives have evolved to address diversity, equity, and inclusion, such
as various taskforces and divisions that created discourses about diversity, including the Association for
Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) task force formed in 2011, whose purpose was to
investigate and develop a statement of diversity for the association (Lee, et al., 2015); residency
programs, such as the Diversity Scholar position offered at Penn State University, through the ARL’s
Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce (IRDW) (Gant, 2017); and many scholarships geared towards
underrepresented communities, which bridges barriers and offers more equitable access to
opportunities in the library and information science field.

Statistics

Although the LIS field has taken steps since the 1980’s to work towards more inclusive
environments, the current statistics on diversity in the library workforce show that there is still not
enough being done about the issue. Diversity Counts, which was a demographic study conducted by the
ALA (2012) in 2006 and later repeated in 2012, shows the most current statistics available regarding the
workforce in library and information science. The report shows that the profession is dominated by
white (88%), able-bodied (96%) women (83%), who are older than 45-years of age (61%). Even though
the studies were conducted almost a decade apart, these statistics do not largely differ from the ones
reported in Darby’s (2005) article, which were aggregated in 2004. Darby states that 86% of library
professionals are aging white women (p. 7). To show the disparity in the LIS field, only 5% of accredited
librarians are African-American, 3% are Asian, and less than 1% identify as mixed race or Native (ALA,
2012). Larsen (2017) opts to show the statistics in a different view, citing that “only 62 percent of the
United States population identifies as white, and 12 percent are black, 6 percent are Asian, and 19
percent identify as Hispanic or as more than one race” (p. 32). Comparing the national race statistics to
representation in the LIS field, it is clear that people of color are still underrepresented in libraries, a
sentiment that is echoed in all of the library literature on diversity. It seems that despite much
discussion of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field, the numbers are remaining static, in terms of
inclusion of people of color and other minorities in the profession. This lack of representation not only
affects the workforce, but the service population who use libraries as well. Darby (2005) thoughtfully
writes that “diversity is an action word; if nothing is done to bring it about, nothing will happen,” (p. 7)
which is why actionable strategies are needed to engage with, rather than just passively discuss,
diversity as an issue.

Implementable Strategies

The library literature on diversity offers many strategies that managers, educators, and
employees can work with to ensure that their institutions are inclusive to diverse communities. To work
through these strategies, Darby suggests four aspects in which diversity can be approached, which are
education, representation, recruitment, and retention. These four categories encompass the many
branches of the library and information science field, such as academic and public institutions,
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employment, professional associations, and professional development. Library management can have a
crucial role in increasing diversity in all of these categories.

Education

Education is often the start of the journey to becoming a professional in the LIS field, which is
why addressing diversity in LIS education is so critical. If students, educators, and scholars are not
exposed to and talking about issues of EDI in their classrooms or research, it is hard to establish why
diversity is key to improving the LIS profession. The classroom is a rich environment to facilitate
engaging discussion about EDI, particularly for those new in the program. Shari Lee, Renate Chancellor,
Clara M. Chu, Howard Rodriguez-Mori, and Loriene Roy (2015) were all involved in a taskforce put
together by Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) to specifically talk about
diversity in LIS education. The five professionals each wrote a section of the report that was a result of
the diversity initiative to propose actionable goals that LIS educators and managers could implement.
These included suggestions for assignments that weaved diversity issues into introductory LIS courses;
teaching about the history of important figures in the LIS field who are of color to show examples of
people of color shaping the LIS field in impactful ways (p. S49-S51); addressing biases as a researcher by
being aware of race and other identities as a factor in research, creating an open dialogue with the
community being researched, and questioning “objectivity versus subjectivity” (p. S51-S57); training
future librarians in cultural competencies, so they can successfully interact with their diverse user
population (p. S57); and integrating service learning and civic engagement into the curriculum so that
prospective library professionals can actively participate in the community they serve (p. S58-S59).
Another avenue that can offer opportunities to underrepresented students is funding and
scholarships to help those from less privileged backgrounds gain an equal footing. The ALA and other
associations do currently offer diversity scholarships, although better promotion of these opportunities
should also be considered. All of these strategies can help LIS educators and students approach diversity
in a proactive way and get students immersed into the issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion as soon
as they enter into LIS education.

Representation

Representation is an aspect of diversity that is largely missing in the LIS profession. Samantha
Hastings (2015), in her keynote address to University of Maryland, titled “If Diversity Is a Natural State,
Why Don’t Our Libraries Mirror the Populations They Serve?” touches on issues of representation in the
LIS field. She says that diversity should be a “natural state” in libraries, yet the profession has not caught
up to its user population (p. 134). Like the ARL’s definition of EDI, Hastings concentrates on the
importance of inclusion, paired with discussion of diversity as the factor that will take libraries beyond
theoretical concepts and into implementing EDI in the profession. Both Hastings and Lin (2016) talk
about the work that needs to be put into “creating a culture of change” for libraries to look at diversity
in different and innovative ways. Lin suggests that this can be done through professional development
and gives examples from her own library, the Los Angeles County Public Library, which has incorporated
sensitivity training into orientation programs for administrators and employees (p. 38). Another
librarian, Sarah Park Dahlen (2017) believes that better representation in libraries can be applied
through offering diverse programming and collection development. Dahlen says that industries that are
connected to library science, like the publishing and media industries, needs to address diversity as well,
so that the resources offered to librarians and patrons are representative of their communities and
interests (p. 31). Paul Jaeger, Lindsay Sarin, and Kaitlin Peterson (2015) write about how accessibility is
imperative when talking about diversity in libraries, for providing equitable access to all patrons should
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be a working goal for libraries. They contend that assessing user needs by the library administration will
help libraries know how, and which, services to offer to diverse populations. Community engagement is
another important strategy to understanding user needs (p. 130-131).

Recruitment and Retention

The last two aspects of EDI, recruitment and retention, are tightly intertwined and are
categories that library administrators and mangers play a large role in. Alesia McManus (2017), the
current president of Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) writes about the ways that libraries
can ensure diversity for their institutions. McManus asserts that the work of contending with issues of
EDI includes “addressing, dismantling, and transforming policies, structures, and biases throughout
both the organization and the field of librarianship” (p. 226) and she offers strategies such as revising
strategic plans and policies to reflect a goal of inclusion within the library and adopting best practices
guidelines that are available through the ALA’s Task Force on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and other
diversity plans such as the Association and College Research Libraries’ “Diversity Standards for Academic
Libraries.” These changes to the institution will signal to employees and patrons of color that their
identities are valuable to the institution, thus encouraging them to become a more integral part of the
library.
The human resources department also plays an important part in recruitment and retention of
diverse library employees because it is their responsibility to make sure that positions are being
marketed to a diverse population (Darby, 2005), hiring practices are ethical and fair for all candidates,
and professional development opportunities are addressing diversity (Larsen, 2017), and resolution of
conflicts between colleagues because issues of diversity are taken seriously. Otherwise, if the
administrators who are supposed to be mediators and in charge of employee well-being do not show
that they are concerned with EDI, they will not attract or retain a diverse workforce. Just as fostering an
encouraging space for discussion of EDI is important in an academic setting, enabling open discussion of
EDI in the workplace is also essential for administrators and staff to promote trust and support in the
workplace.

Conclusion

To recap, diversity, equity, and inclusion are issues that widely talked about in the LIS
profession, yet the pace of change in the workforce is not happening as quickly to reflect the current
diverse user population. Innovators in the field who are engaged in this field understand that
successfully addressing EDI must be done on a systemic level, rather than through theoretical thinking.
Much of the literature states that because diversity is such an important strategic direction to work
towards, the work that must be put into implementing EDI is demanding and ongoing. Therefore,
understanding how to successfully implement change management to transform stagnant
organizational cultures can be valuable for administrators and educators in the LIS field. Creating
actionable plans for LIS education and institutions is crucial to remedying the lack of representation for
underprivileged groups in the profession. Not only must history and statistics be studied, but it is the
responsibility of those already established in the field to create a space to talk about inclusion for their
fellow and future colleagues. Diversity affects all aspects of life experiences, so it makes sense that it
would factor into all aspects of library science, from education to the workplace. For the LIS field to
continue to support diverse populations, it must offer more resources and opportunities to
disenfranchised groups to show that those in the field are ready to include more diverse communities.
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References

American Library Association. (2004). Core Values of Librarianship. Retrieved from

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/corevalues.

American Library Association (2012). Diversity Counts. Retrieved from

http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/diversity/diversitycounts/divcounts.

Association of Research Libraries. (n.d.). Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Retrieved from
http://www.arl.org/focus-areas/diversity-equity-and-inclusion.

Darby, L. (2005). Abolishing stereotypes: recruitment and retention of minorities in the library
profession. Rural Libraries, 25(1), 7-17.

Dahlen, S. P. (2017). Diversify everything. American Libraries, 48(3/4), 31.

Gant, A. (2017). Diversity and inclusion in academic and research libraries: A diversity resident librarian’s
perspective. Pennsylvania Library Association Bulletin, 72(1), 8-9.

Hastings, S. K. (2015). If diversity is a natural state, why don't our libraries mirror the populations they
serve?. Library Quarterly, 85(2), 133-138.

Jaeger, P. T., Sarin, L. C., & Peterson, K. J. (2015). Diversity, inclusion, and library and information
science: An ongoing imperative (or why we still desperately need to have discussions about
diversity and inclusion). Library Quarterly, 85(2), 127-132.

Larsen, S.E. (2017). Diversity in public libraries: Strategies for achieving a more representative
workforce. Public Libraries, 56(3), 32-36.

Lee, S. A., Chancellor, R., Chu, C. M., Rodriguez-Mori, H., & Roy, L. (2015). Igniting diversity: Actionable
methods and ideas for advancing diversity in LIS education in the US. Journal of Education for
Library & Information Science, 56 (S1), S47-S60. doi:10.12783/issn.2328-2967/56/S1/6.

Lin, G. (2016). Aspiration to action: Public and academic libraries offer replicable examples of how
to help build a more inclusive society. Library Journal, 141(20), 38-41.

McManus, A. M. (2017). Thoughts on equity, diversity, and inclusion in reference and user services.
Reference & User Services Quarterly, 56(4), 226-227.

REFORMA. (n.d.). About REFORMA. Retrieved from

http://www.reforma.org/content.asp?pl=2&contentid=2.