ARL has published Research Library Issues (RLI) no. 286, a special issue focusing on fostering diversity and inclusion in research library operations and culture. The three articles in this issue of RLI cover recruitment and retention of staff from traditionally underrepresented groups, organizational climate and health, and library services to people with disabilities.
In the first article in this issue, Kathel Dunn and Joyce E. B. Backus of the US National Library of Medicine (NLM) describe NLM’s strategic efforts to diversify its own staff as well as the broader workforce in medical and health sciences libraries in the US.
Next, Michael Crumpton of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) discusses UNCG Libraries’ ClimateQUAL survey results and the improvement strategies the libraries implemented based on staff feedback collected with this tool for improving workplace climate.
Finally, Darlene Nichols and Anna Ercoli Schnitzer of the University of Michigan review issues for libraries to consider as they work to make content and services accessible to a growing population of users with disabilities. Nichols and Schnitzer also discuss strategies for making libraries welcoming organizations for staff of all abilities.
The complete table of contents with links to the articles follows:
- Introduction
Mark A. Puente - Pipelines and Partnerships in Diversity at the National Library of Medicine
Kathel Dunn and Joyce E. B. Backus - Strategically Focusing on Focus Groups to Improve Organizational Climate
Michael Crumpton - Developing Inclusive Research Libraries for Patrons and Staff of All Abilities
Darlene Nichols and Anna Ercoli Schnitzer
Research Library Issues no. 286 (2015) is freely available from ARL Digital Publications.
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 124 research libraries in the US and Canada. ARL’s mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the web at https://www.arl.org/.
