I have created this Diversity & Inclusion ePortfolio (D&I-eP) as part of my work for the CIS 650 course (Applying Diversity Leadership Theories & Praxis) during the Spring of 2025. In my D&I-eP, I analyze existing communication and information responses for Emory Libraries User Services Division for Emory Libraries and Museum located in Atlanta, GA In this course, I aim to think critically and develop the tools necessary to design a project that meaningfully addresses the diverse needs of the Emory University community. Through engagement with relevant scholarship and exploration of initiatives that center diverse student communities, I hope to design a project that responds to our academic community's specific and evolving needs.
1.1 Reflection
I have worked in academic libraries for 8 years and have had the opportunity to serve in many leadership roles. Some of those roles include co-chair for the Emory Libraries Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. I have also represented Emory Libraries to the campus-wide Diversity Liaison Commission. In addition, I represented Emory Libraries at the Universities Studying Slavery Conference in 2022.
I believe that leaders who understand Diversity and Inclusion and implement intentional policies that lead to impactful practices empower diverse users. Leaders who understand diversity improve libraries, and libraries that practice diversity and inclusion improve society.
I am passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion in libraries because this framework gives meaning to my academic and research pursuits. I believe that all research should be at the service of humanity, and humanity as a definition should be inclusive. However, in a nation with a history and present of redlining humankind, we know that so many of our institutions still carry vestiges of this framework within them. Diversity Leadership can change this and create a more inclusive society.
1.2. Diversity Focus
As part of my Diversity & Inclusion ePortfolio (D&I-eP), I will collaborate with the User Services Unit within the Access and Resource Services Division of Emory Libraries and Museum to develop a diversity and inclusion project that contributes to a broader customer service philosophy document.
A central focus of this project is to critically examine how the User Services Unit defines and engages with “community,” using a community engagement framework that centers reciprocal relationships and shared responsibility. In alignment with the Emory + Atlanta: Rich History, Shared Future pillar, I aim to broaden the definition of community beyond the campus, emphasizing collaborative, place-based approaches to service delivery, staff development, and inclusive research support.
An early example of this engagement in practice is the User Services team’s collaboration with a student-led organization to address period poverty on campus. By offering physical space for storage and distribution, and by co-developing a one-to-one product access model, the team has demonstrated how public-facing services can play an active role in removing access barriers. While the program is still in its initial phases, and long-term outcomes are yet to be assessed, my conversations with User Services staff have provided valuable insight into how library spaces and staff can support grassroots efforts that directly respond to community needs.
References:
American Library Association (2017). Strategic Plan. Retrieved May 1, 2024. https://www.ala.org/sites/default/files/aboutala/content/governance/StrategicPlan/Strategic%20Directions%202017_Update.pdf
Emory Libraries (March 2024). Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Retrieved January 21, 2025. https://libnet.libraries.emory.edu/diversity#s-lg-box-17940976.
Mathiesen, K. (2015). Informational Justice: A Conceptual Framework for Social Justice in Library and Information Services. Library Trends 64(2), 198-225. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/lib.2015.0044.
Mehra, B., Rioux, K., & Albright, K. (2010). Social justice in library and information science. Encyclopedia of library and information sciences (3rd ed., pp. 4820–4836). New York: Taylor & Francis.
Paxton, P., & Hughes, M. M. (2015). Chapter 1: Introduction to women in politics. Women, politics, and power: A global perspective. CQ Press. [PDF] Paxton, P., & Hughes, M. M. (2015). Chapter 1: Introduction to women in politics. Women, politics, and power: A global perspective. CQ Press. [PDF] - Alternative Formats