Intentional Inclusivity: Conducting a Diversity Audit on a STEM Monograph Collection

Authors

  • Janet Calderon Central Washington University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29173/istl2775

Keywords:

Science librarianship, Diversity audit, Collection development, BIPOC students

Abstract

A diversity audit of the natural resources monographs took place in the spring and summer of 2022 at the California Polytechnic University, Humboldt Library. The goals of the audit were to construct a diversity audit that could be undertaken with very limited time and personnel availability. The findings have provided the library with important information about diversifying its science collections. This paper covers the audit methods, results, a discussion of the findings, and recommendations on best practices for diversifying science collections.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

American Library Association. (2006, July 26). Diverse collections: An interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/diversecollections

Arif, S., Massey, M. D. B., Klinard, N., Charbonneau, J., Jabre, L., Martins, A. B., Gaitor, D., Kirton, R., Albury, C., & Nanglu, K. (2021). Ten simple rules for supporting historically underrepresented students in science. PLoS Computational Biology, 17(9), e1009313. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009313

Bevan, B., Calabrese Barton, A., & Garibay, C. (2020). Broadening perspectives on broadening participation: Professional learning tools for more expansive and equitable science communication. Frontiers in Communication, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2020.00052

Blume, R., & Roylance, A. (2020). Decolonization in collection development: Developing an authentic authorship workflow. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 46(5), 102175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102175

California Polytechnic University, Humboldt. (2021). Polytechnic prospectus. https://www.humboldt.edu/sites/default/files/hsupolytechnicprospectus.pdf

California Polytechnic University, Humboldt. (n.d.). Enrolled student demographics report. https://pine.humboldt.edu/~anstud/humis/demo-AAFHEV.html

California Polytechnic University, Humboldt Library. (2022). Diverse collections: Recent acquisitions. https://libguides.humboldt.edu/c.php?g=1126405&p=8217220

Castrillo, J. (2021, February 17). Library aims to measure diversity in collection. University Wire. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2490274284/citation/A89DFA0469745F3PQ/1

Ciszek, M. P., & Young, C. L. (2010). Diversity collection assessment in large academic libraries. Collection Building, 29(4), 154–161. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604951011088899

Coates, T.-N. (2019, October 5). Reparations in higher education [Video]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/scholarssocialjustice/videos/please-bear-with-us-if-video-cuts-out-we-will-resume-as-soon-as-possible/2551857058239464/

Cruz, A. M. (2019). Intentional integration of diversity ideals in academic libraries: A literature review. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 45(3), 220–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2019.02.011

Curran, F. C. (2023, March 28). Proposed legislation threatens viewpoint diversity in higher education. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2023/03/28/proposed-legislation-threatens-viewpoint-diversity-in-higher-education/

Emerson, M. E., & Lehman, L. G. (2022). Who are we missing? Conducting a diversity audit in a liberal arts college library. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 48(3), 102517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2022.102517

Espinal, I., Sutherland, T., & Roh, C. (2018). A holistic approach for inclusive librarianship: Decentering whiteness in our profession. Library Trends, 67(1), 147–162. https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2018.0030

Estrada, M., Burnett, M., Campbell, A. G., Campbell, P. B., Denetclaw, W. F., Gutiérrez, C. G., Hurtado, S., John, G. H., Matsui, J., McGee, R., Okpodu, C. M., Robinson, T. J., Summers, M. F., Werner-Washburne, M., & Zavala, M. (2016). Improving underrepresented minority student persistence in STEM. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 15(3), es5. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-01-0038

Frederick, J. K., & Wolff-Eisenberg, C. (2021). National movements for racial justice and academic library leadership: Results from the Ithaka S+R US library survey 2020. Ithaka S+R. https://doi.org/10.18665/sr.314931

Garcia, G. A. (2019). Becoming Hispanic-serving institutions: Opportunities for colleges and universities. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Gonzalez, M. (2023, November 29). LibGuides: Diversity collection audit & assessment: Methods. University of West Florida Libraries. https://libguides.uwf.edu/divassess/methods

Halsey, S. J., Strickland, L. R., Scott-Richardson, M., Perrin-Stowe, T., & Massenburg, L. (2020). Elevate, don’t assimilate, to revolutionize the experience of scientists who are Black, indigenous and people of colour. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 4(10). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-01297-9

Harris, S. R. (2020). Strange career: Reconciling race and profession in American librarianship. Progressive Librarian, 47, 81-106. https://neiudc.neiu.edu/lib-pub/6

Hathcock, A. (2015, October 7). White librarianship in blackface: Diversity initiatives in LIS. In the Library with the Lead Pipe. https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2015/lis-diversity/

Herrera, G. (2016). Undergraduate library collection use and diversity: Testing for racial and gender differences. portal: Libraries and the Academy, 16(4), 763-774. https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2016.0051

Internal Revenue Service. (2023). Nonresident Aliens. Retrieved October 01, 2023, from https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-aliens

Jahnke, L., Tanaka, K., & Palazzolo, C. (2022). Ideology, policy, and practice: Structural barriers to collections diversity in research and college libraries. College & Research Libraries, 83(2), 166. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.83.2.166

Lee & Low Books. (2020, January 28). Where is the diversity in publishing? The 2019 diversity baseline survey results. Lee & Low Blog. https://blog.leeandlow.com/2020/01/28/2019diversitybaselinesurvey/

Leung, S. (2019, September 30). Whiteness as collections. Thoughts. https://www.sofiayleung.com/thoughts/whiteness-as-collections

Litzler, E., & Samuelson, C. (2013, June 23-26). How underrepresented minority engineering students derive a sense of belonging from engineering [Paper presentation]. ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, GA. United States. https://peer.asee.org/how-underrepresented-minority-engineering-students-derive-a-sense-of-belonging-from-engineering

Massey, M. D. B., Arif, S., Albury, C., & Cluney, V. A. (2021). Ecology and evolutionary biology must elevate BIPOC scholars. Ecology Letters, 24(5), 913–919. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13716

Massey, M. D. B., Arif, S., Embuldeniya, S., Nanglu, K., & Bielawski, J. (2022). Ten simple rules for succeeding as an underrepresented STEM undergraduate. PLOS Computational Biology, 18(6), e1010101. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010101

Mathews, E. (2021). Representational belonging in collections: A comparative study of leading trade publications in architecture. Library Resources and Technical Services, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.5860/lrts.65n3.96

Monroe-Gulick, A., & Morris, S. E. (2023). Diversity in monographs: Selectors, acquisitions, publishers, and vendors. Collection Management, 48(3), 210-233. https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2022.2163019

Mortensen, A. (2019, May 8). Measuring diversity in the collection. Library Journal, 144(4), 28. https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/Measuring-Diversity-in-the-Collection

National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Characteristics of postsecondary faculty. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved August 30, 2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/csc

New England Board of Higher Education. (n.d.). Reparative justice. Retrieved September 10, 2022, from https://nebhe.org/reparative-justice/

Santamaria, M. R. (2020). Concealing white supremacy through fantasies of the library: Economies of affect at work. Library Trends, 68(3), 431–449. https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2020.0000

Trujillo, R. G., & Weber, D. C. (1991). Academic library responses to cultural diversity: A position paper for the 1990s. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 17(3), 157–61. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ433187

Vega García, S. (2002). Inflation of diversity journals in an academic library collection: Implications for data tracking in diversity collection development and maintenance. Iowa State University Institutional Repository. https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/entities/publication/2582aa87-36cc-42ea-968c-cc58d734adca

Walters, W. (2023). Assessing diversity in academic library book collections: Diversity audit principles and methods. Open Information Science, 7(1), 20220148. https://doi.org/10.1515/opis-2022-0148

Wells, V., Gibney, M., Paris, M., & Pfitzer, C. (2023). Student participation in a DEI audit as high-impact practice. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 49(1), 102615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2022.102615

Wood, C. (2021, May 25). Counting the collection: Conducting a diversity audit of adult biographies. Library Journal, 146(5), 26. https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/Counting-the-Collection-Conducting-a-Diversity-Audit-of-Adult-Biographies

Downloads

Published

2024-04-22

How to Cite

Calderon, J. (2024). Intentional Inclusivity: Conducting a Diversity Audit on a STEM Monograph Collection. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, (106). https://doi.org/10.29173/istl2775

Issue

Section

Refereed Articles
Share |