Checkout my guest post on Libfocus on attending the 87th IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Dublin in the summer of 2022, with thanks to a bursary from the Acquisitions Group of Ireland (AGI).
Libfocus is a communal blog with a broad and open-minded take on the subject of library and information studies. Conference website: https://2022.ifla.org/.
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Our library aims to be a safe, warm, welcoming, democratic, and inclusive space at the centre of the university. We seek to create an environment that promotes equality, diversity, and inclusion. We want our students, academics, library team and the wider community to be part of an inclusive environment as we strive to bring down barriers by nurturing and promoting diversity. Yes, we are an academic library with a vast collection of books and other library material that are discoverable and accessible for study and research, but we are so much more. We have growing diversifying collections to celebrate, promote and inspire. We review our content development policies to give more priority to material considering traditionally marginalised groups. We welcome suggestions for titles that will help us develop our collections to be more inclusive. We have collaborated with our EDI office, the student’s union, and the healthy campus team to develop displays, reading lists and social media campaigns for Black History Month, minding your mental health and wellbeing, and LGBTQ+ to aim to improve visibility, recognition, and acceptance. We offer group study spaces if you don’t like working alone, we have comfy sofas if you just want some time out to focus or unwind. We have an independent learning unit with a range of assistive technologies for users with learning differences. We offer monthly book clubs; lunchtime talks and drop-in training sessions as well as one to one sessions to give more personalized, in-depth support. We build accessibility into our information literacy instruction to create an inclusive learning experience. The University is committed to extending flexible staff training to all staff, not just the library team, to build awareness of diversity, equality & inclusion, including but not limited to LGBTQ+ awareness, anti-racism, managing unconscious bias and universal design for learning. There is, of course, capacity for greater diversity, equality, and inclusion, we will continue to learn, embed, and share good equality, diversity and inclusion practices demonstrating that our library has something to offer everyone, reflecting the diverse communities we support and work with. Library Ireland Week is an annual initiative of the Library Association of Ireland, checkout the Library Ireland Week website for more information. I have entered this post into the Library Ireland Week 2022 Public Competition. Full disclosure, I am a librarian in the ATU Galway Library. #LIW22 @LAI Online |
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December 2023
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