Background and Context
We acknowledge that libraries and academic institutions embody and perpetuate racism and white supremacy. The Kathryn A. Martin library has a predominantly white staff with exclusively white leadership. We understand that we have explicitly and implicitly supported the policies, systems, and structures that privilege white people at the expense of Black people, People of Color, and Indigenous people.
We are actively working to make our library more just, accessible, equitable, and inclusive.
We library staff — as individuals and as representatives of an institution — are in positions of power and influence. We are committed to inclusion and to changing library practices that currently embody or perpetuate racism and white supremacy in our services, our collections, our spaces, and our organization. This is a key part of how library staff work towards UMD’s goal to “advance equity, diversity, inclusiveness, and social justice within the campus community.”
Definitions
We define our ideals as follows.
- Equity is the fair treatment of individuals based on their needs, viewed through the lens of historical power structures.
- Diversity describes human difference within a community. This includes, but is not limited to, ability, age, body size, cultural background and values, race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender and gender expression, language, nation of origin, religion, socioeconomic status, and intersections of these identities.
- Inclusion means enabling all individuals to succeed, thrive, and shape the intentional creation of equitable spaces and services.
- Accessibility means allowing all library users to use our collections, services, and spaces equitably.
- Antiracism is active resistance against individual racism as well as racist and white supremacist structures.
- Social justice aims to create a society in which wealth, opportunity, and political and social rights are distributed equitably.
Aspirations and Commitments
We acknowledge that we may never fully realize our aspirations, but we will continue to grow and work towards these ideals.
Aspirations
- Create accessible and inclusive learning communities and spaces for all library users and library workers.
- Actively reject intolerance, racism, and hate. Advocate for the rights and safety of our community.
- Identify and combat systems of oppression in libraries and archives.
- Continue to change. Recognize that continuous learning and transparency are necessary in order for the library to successfully serve the UMD community.
Commitments
- We commit to increasing representation in our collections and mitigating the harms caused by racist materials.
- We commit to accepting feedback, acknowledging our mistakes as we learn, and changing our services and spaces to reflect our learning.
- We commit to transparency in library decision making and welcome questions from library users.
- We commit to increasing the accessibility of our spaces, website, and collections.
- We commit to working to ensure our hiring, onboarding, and retention practices are inclusive and equitable. Library workers, including student workers, deserve to feel safe and supported.
If you have questions, feedback, or ideas, please contact us at [email protected].