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ACRL Core Commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ACRL is dedicated to creating diverse and inclusive communities in the Association and in academic and research libraries. This core commitment permeates the work of the Association, cutting across all ACRL sections, committees, interest and discussion groups, and communities of practice. The Association will 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. (ACRL Plan for Excellence) |
To support academic librarians and to align ACRL's strategic plan with ALA's Strategic Directions, the ACRL Board of Directors approved, in the fall 2018, a new Core Commitment to Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) to be added to the ACRL Plan for Excellence. The goal of the Core Commitment is for EDI to permeate all areas of the association, so that ACRL is poised to best support equitable, inclusive, and diverse librarianship. Through this commitment, ACRL will 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. An overview of ACRL EDI activities can be found on the ACRL EDI Website the ACRL EDI LibGuide.
EDI Committee
The ACRL Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee's is charged, "To oversee and coordinate ACRL’s Core Commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, as described in the strategic plan. Work with the Board and other units to initiate, advise and mobilize support for appropriate action related to issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in academic librarianship—including recruitment, advancement and retention of underrepresented groups to academic and research librarianship and the promotion of library and information services for diverse library users. This new charge was approved by the ACRL Board of Directors on April 25, 2019, and aligned the work of the committee from focusing on the ACRL Diversity Standards: Cultural Competency for Academic Libraries (2012) to supporting the Core Commitment.
Diversity Alliance Committee
The ACRL Board of Directors approved the ACRL Diversity Alliance Committee at their ACRL Board Virtual Meeting (make-up for Annual) on August 1, 2022. Committee charge: "The Diversity Alliance Committee oversees the ACRL Diversity Alliance program and works closely with ACRL staff to regularly evaluate program goals and materials; cultivates community and development among residency coordinators; fosters engagement and support for residents in conjunction with the ACRL Residency Interest Group (RIG). Oversees and ensures accountability to Diversity Residents and for host institutions, their leaders, and their residency coordinators. Provides a reservoir of expertise and a knowledge base for diversity residents and institutions on relevant issues. Leverages a resident-centered frame in its work."
Diversity Alliance Task Force (completed)
The ACRL Board of Directors approved the creation of the original task force at its June 27, 2016 meeting. After the original task force completed its work, the ACRL Board of Directors approved, on April 8, 2020, a new Diversity Alliance Task Force, charge, tasks, composition and timeline. The new task force will seek to expand member benefits and consider how to include institutions that are committed to diverse hiring practices, but may not have the resources to create a residency. In summer 2022, the ACRL Board reviewed and approved the task force's recommendations, including a new program model, program goals, letter of commitment, as well as a new division-level committee to oversee the program.
ACRL/ARL/ODLOS/PLA Building Cultural Proficiencies for Racial Equity Framework Task Force (completed)
ACRL, along with ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services (ODLOS); the Public Library Association (PLA); and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), launched a Call for Volunteers in September 2019, and formed a Joint Task Force to develop a framework for cultural proficiencies in racial equity. The Building Cultural Proficiencies for Racial Equity framework will serve as a foundational resource to help public and academic libraries build inclusive cultures, within libraries and their broader communities, through guidelines on the development and implementation of organizational policies and professional practices that support diverse libraries with a diverse workforce. The Joint ALA/ARL Building Cultural Proficiencies for Racial Equity Framework Task Force’s final draft of the Cultural Proficiencies for Racial Equity: A Framework (PDF) was approved by the boards of directors of the four partner organizations, the American Library Association (ALA), Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and Public Library Association (PLA), during summer 2022.
Joint Board and Budget & Finance EDI Working Group (completed)
In Fall 2020, the ACRL Board created an ACRL Joint Board of Directors/Budget and Finance Working Group to review with a financial lens how ACRL is supporting its Core Commitment, and what gaps might need to be addressed. The group's charge is to, "Further explore and study existing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) work across ACRL through a financial lens, and consider how to prioritize and fund social justice or antiracist work that will be beneficial to workforce development, training and professional development." The working group's final report is publicly available as documents #B, #B.1, #B.2, #B.3, #B.4, #B.5, #D in the 2022 ACRL Joint Board & Budget and Finance Committee Meeting packet.
ACRL is active in advocating for policy and legislation through the ALA Washington Office, as well as through coalition work with groups such as the Open Access Working Group and the Library Copyright Alliance (LCA) for joint work with ALA and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). To increase ACRL's visibility and influence in the arena of higher education policy development, legislation, and best practices, ACRL speaks out on important issues, including equity, diversity and inclusion. When ACRL signs a letter of support or responds to a request for comments, it is shared through ACRL communication channels, including ACRL Insider, and added to the ACRL Speaks Out webpage.
ALA, ACRL issue joint statement in support of HBCUs after recent bomb threats (February 9, 2022)
The American Library Association (ALA) and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) stand in solidarity with the faculty, students, and staff of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and in particular we voice our support for those whose campuses have recently received bomb threats.
We especially wish to reach out to our library colleagues whose libraries anchor these important institutions. We lament that racism and the threat of violence continue to plague our colleagues in higher education, places where students, faculty, and workers come to learn and expand understanding. HBCUs do not exist as places apart. They belong to all of higher education and hatred directed towards these schools affects us all. ALA and its more than 49,000 members, including ACRL and its nearly 9,000 members, are united in their support of our fellow library workers at HBCUs
ACRL Supports APALA and ALA in Condemning Anti-Asian Hate Crimes (March 24, 2021)
ACRL stands in solidarity with the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) and amplifies ALA’s Executive Board in recognizing and condemning anti-Asian hate crimes. ACRL affirms APALA’s March 3, 2021, statement which noted that the association “recognizes and strongly condemns the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes that have permeated our country over the past year. Our Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities have been deeply impacted by attacks that have caused physical and psychological harm.”
ACRL Statement on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and the Print Collecting Imperative (October 7, 2020)
In keeping with its Core Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, ACRL recommends that North American research libraries continue to collect and preserve valuable print materials, even as the global COVID-19 crisis and associated financial circumstances may compel them to shift, at least temporarily, to digital formats where available. The association strongly urges libraries to take a deliberate, measured approach to any shift, temporary or permanent, toward an e-centric collection development model, an approach that balances fiscal exigencies with equity, diversity, and inclusion imperatives; takes full stock of the important research and teaching that cannot be accommodated through electronic resource collecting alone; and ensures support for continued print collecting in relevant areas.
ACRL Supports ALA, BCALA, and APALA Statements Condemning Violence and Racism (June 2, 2020)
ACRL supports ALA in condemning violence and racism towards Black people and all people of color. ACRL endorses the statement of the Black Caucus of The American Library Association (BCALA), which condemns the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers within the Minneapolis Police Department. ACRL endorses the statement of the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association, which denounces the rise in racism and xenophobia against Asians and Asian/Pacific Americans in wake of the outbreak of COVID-19.
ACRL Board Statement Against Racism, Harassment, and Discrimination in the Profession (January 31, 2019)
The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Board of Directors is aware that ALA Midwinter attendees have reported experiencing violations of the conference Code of Conduct, including incidents of racism, harassment, and discrimination. We laud the strength of those who have shared their experiences to draw needed attention to violations, and we abhor the systemic inequities in our profession that have normalized discriminatory, harassing, and racist behaviors.
In March 2021, ACRL joined 36 other organizations to sign the ACLS Statement Condemning Anti-Asian Violence. ACRL stands with ACLS and is, "angry and saddened by the recent increase in incidents of violence against Asians and people of Asian descent in the United States and around the world.” ACLS and the signatories “encourage educators, lawmakers, and community leaders to take this moment to listen closely to Asian and Asian-American voices and work with them in stemming this latest scourge of prejudice and violence.”
We commit to learning more and we encourage you to learn more about ways to support anti-violence and anti-hate efforts against the Asian community:
Joint Statement on Legislative Efforts to Restrict Education about Racism in American History (June 16, 2021)
ACRL joined a number of organizations in co-signing an American Association of University Professors, the American Historical Association, the Association of American Colleges & Universities, and PEN America joint statement stating their “firm opposition” to legislation, introduced in at least 20 states, that would restrict the discussion of “divisive concepts” in public education institutions. The statement notes that "Americans of all ages deserve nothing less than a free and open exchange about history and the forces that shape our world today, an exchange that should take place inside the classroom as well as in the public realm generally. To ban the tools that enable those discussions is to deprive us all of the tools necessary for citizenship in the twenty-first century."
Statement Urging Retraction of Executive Order Prohibiting the Inclusion of “Divisive Concepts” in Employee Training Sessions (October 13, 2020)
ACRL joined 28 organizations in signing onto a statement from the American Historical Association urging the retraction of the recent executive order prohibiting the inclusion of “divisive concepts” in employee training sessions carried out within the federal government and by federal contractors and grantees. The statement argues that "Rather than banning the 'divisive concepts' from any educational venue-whether a classroom, a museum, a national park, or a workplace training session-historians seek to draw public attention to these concepts so that they can be discussed, debated, and ultimately challenged. Unity is not achieved by pushing division under the rug; it can be won even in the face of difference."
The ACRL Board of Directors endorsed on August 26, 2019 an American Historical Association (AHA) statement on Domestic Terrorism, Bigotry, and History. The statement notes that “As the largest organization of professional historians in the world, the AHA condemns the recent deployment of histories invented in the interest of bigotry, violence, and division. Many critics of white nationalism have admirably insisted that ‘this is not who we are.’ If the statements of white nationalists do not reflect who Americans are or want to be, they do compose an undeniable part of our collective past. Those aspects of the nation’s heritage should be exposed and overcome, rather than ignored or celebrated. Knowledge of history can help Americans achieve that goal.”
“ACRL wholly supports the American Historical Association’s moving and timely statement on nativism, violence, and history,” said ACRL President Karen Munro of Simon Fraser University. “The sentiments addressed in the statement reflect our Core Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion’s focus on acknowledging and addressing historical racial inequities.”
ACRL is one of more than 30 organizations to sign on in support of the AHA statement.
On May 27, 2020, the ACRL Board of Directors signed the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association's (APALA) statement, which "condemns (the) rise in xenophobia and racism due to the novel coronavirus outbreak." ACRL stands with APALA, and "rejects coronavirus-related hostility, anti-Asian stereotypes, and racism against Asians, Asian/Pacific Americans, or anyone perceived to be Asian." As of June 2020, over 800 individuals and organizations have signed the pledge.
On June 1, 2020, the ACRL Board of Directors endorsed the statement of the Black Caucus of The American Library Association (BCALA), which condemns the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers within the Minneapolis Police Department. The "Statement Condemning Increased Violence and Racism Towards Black Americans and People of Color" includes that "Since George Floyd is the latest in a long line of recent and historical violence against Black people in the United States, the BCALA takes this moment to encourage BCALA members to take proactive and preventative measures in the fight against racism."
In March 2022, ACRL signed a letter of support for an IMLS grant proposal that seeks to study Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) paraprofessionals in academic libraries.
In August 2019, the ACRL Board of Directors approved for ACRL to join eight organizations, institutions, and Native American communities to endorse the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials. The Protocols were developed by nineteen Native American and non-Native American archivists, librarians, museum curators, historians, and anthropologists and published in 2007 with support from the American Library Association Office for Diversity, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, The Bay and Paul Foundations, the Northern Arizona University Institute for Native Americans, and Mary and P. David Seaman.
On July 24, 2018, ACRL joined the National Federation of the Blind and eight other library, research and advocacy organizations to express strong support of the passage of the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act, S. 2559. The letter states that, “The implementing legislation embodies a consensus approach which balances the need to expand access to information for people who are blind around the world with the responsibility to properly safeguard the interests of rights holders.”
The ACRL Diversity Alliance program unites academic libraries committed to increasing the hiring pipeline of qualified and talented individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. By working together and thinking more broadly, ACRL Diversity Alliance institutions will help diversify and thereby enrich the profession.
The commitment of each library leader to create one or more residency positions will expand the opportunities available to individuals from professionally underrepresented groups to gain the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary to thrive in an academic context. Library leaders participating in the ACRL Diversity Alliance are committed to opening doors, sharing their networks, and preparing residents for success in scholarship, professional service, and leadership. Residents and library leaders will each have access to a network so that they can share ideas, resources, and best practices.
Libraries wishing to participate in the Diversity Alliance program to increase the pipeline of professionally underrepresented racial and ethnic groups make the following commitments:
Commitments to the ACRL Diversity Alliance are renewed annually to ensure these principles continue to be a priority.
Oversees the ACRL Diversity Alliance and completes the following tasks:
Dr. José A. Aguiñaga(Co-Chair, July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022)
Ms. Annie Belanger(Co-Chair, July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022)
Tracy Bicknell-Holmes(Member, July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022)
Deborah Yun Caldwell(Member, July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022)
Lori Cawthorne(Member, July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022)
Mr. Jesus I. Espinoza(Member, July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022)
Kenya S. Flash(Member, July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2021)
Mr. Federico Martinez-Garcia, Jr.(Member, July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022)
Ms. Denisse Solis(Member, July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022)
Anastasia Chiu(ACRL Residency Interest Group Representative, July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022)
Twanna K. Hodge(ACRL Diversity Committee Representative, July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022)
April D. Cunningham(Board Liaison, July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021)
Ms. Kara Malenfant(Staff Liaison, July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021)
Ms. Allison Payne(Staff Liaison, July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021)
Joining the ACRL Diversity Alliance requires just two things:
To join, download the ACRL Diversity Alliance Letter of Commitment and Invoice and return the completed forms to apayne@ala.org.
Payment and the ACRL Diversity Alliance Letter of Commitment should be sent to:
ACRL Diversity Alliance
Attn: Allison Payne
50 E. Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611
Fax: (312) 280-2520
Email: apayne@ala.org
Telephone: (312) 280-2519
ACRL Diversity Alliance badges will be delivered to participating institutions upon receipt of the letter of commitment and payment of annual fees.
The fee for the Diversity Alliance is set by the ACRL Board of Directors as recommended by the Diversity Alliance Task Force. The fee is $500, paid annually by calendar year, and partially offsets administrative costs for the program. The ACRL Diversity Alliance Program requires annual commitments by individual institutions and consortial pricing is not available.
