Statement of Commitment
Our vision for the William H. Hannon Library inspires us to create a brave and welcoming space for the students, faculty, and staff of Loyola Marymount University. For that goal to become fully manifest at LMU, we must commit ourselves to the principles of diversity, equity, inclusivity, and anti-racism (DEIA) in our collections, our spaces, our operations, and throughout all our work.
We recognize that structures of power and privilege remain largely in the hands of a few, and that we are part of a system, specifically academia, that perpetuates white supremacy. As librarians, information professionals, researchers, teachers, and practitioners, we aim to redress social and historical injustices through critical examinations of our operations, the development of diverse collections, the creation of inclusive spaces, and by centralizing the voices of historically oppressed and/or marginalized communities. These groups include, but are not limited to, Black, Indigenous, persons of color, LGBTQ+ people, and those with differing abilities, as well as those at the intersectionality of these communities.
We strive to maintain an inclusive environment where our students, faculty, and staff (including our own staff) are seen and respected. As academic library workers, our professional standards and ethics compel us to acknowledge and address historical racial inequities; challenge oppressive systems within academic libraries; value different ways of knowing; and identify and work to eliminate barriers to equitable services, spaces, resources, and scholarship. We use critical information literacy to help students identify oppressive power structures within information ecosystems so they may develop a critical consciousness to act upon their findings of inequalities and bias. We believe that this responsibility does not fall to one person or group, but that it belongs to everyone at the library.
We aim to foster an environment that embeds diversity, equity, inclusivity, and antiracism in all that we do, to create a library where inclusivity is automatic. With these goals in mind, we commit ourselves to the institutional change necessary to build a better, more just library community.
Our DEIA Committee
The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Antiracism Committee (DEIAC) is responsible for educating and supporting library colleagues in integrating and upholding principles of diversity, equity, inclusivity, and anti-racism (DEIA) in our collections, our spaces, our operations, and throughout all of our work. Activities include, but are not limited to:
- Track the library's initiatives, projects, programming, collections, and day-to-day interactions that reflect our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Identify and recommend strategies for challenging structural inequities in library operations and participate in implementing changes as needed.
- Develop content for the library's DEIA web page, DEIA LibGuide, Accessibility @ the Library web page, and Antiracism and Inclusion Teams channel (working with the Web Committee).
- Identify and recommend opportunities for internal professional development related to DEIA to LSOD and Management Council.
- Serve as liaisons between the library and campus DEIA initiatives.
To learn more about the work of our committee and the library's evolving DEIA work, please review our DEIA Reports and DEIA Action Plan.
Additional Resources
The following resources may be helpful for contextualizing and learning more about the library's DEIA efforts.