As a liaison librarian you receive an instruction request from a faculty member asking you to provide information on identifying and using less-biased and more inclusive sources and databases.
Many librarians acknowledge that library collections, like other human legacies, contain biased content rooted in colonization, discrimination, and oppression due to historical and political reasons. Responding to faculty requests, as previously mentioned, is challenging. It necessitates reflecting on our general practices, gaining a deep understanding of relevant collections and resources, and closely collaborating with faculty and students. Here we provide some suggestions on personal practice:
- Conduct a diversity audit of the key collections and databases in your subject areas, considering the publication and historical contexts of the works; searching for equity deserving authors to evaluate the collections; asking diversity questions to the vendor representatives. Always start small, hence don’t expect to conduct an audit of your entire collections in a week or two.
- Review and provide annotations to resources highlighted in your libGuides and course guides from the perspective of decolonization, anti-racism and cultural competency. For example, besides the standard commercial introduction, based on their research and critical evaluation, librarians can provide information on the context of the collection, from which perspective, historical limits, and where to find alternative perspectives available in other materials.
- Consider creating a list of subject headings and author names, including international authors and those from marginalized, Indigenous, Black, and visible minority backgrounds within the discipline. Avoid assuming an author’s identity based solely on their name; instead, research biographical information for accuracy. There can be some lists of authors from equity deserving communities online such as Finding Diverse Sources for Science Stories.
- For library instruction sessions, engage with instructors about the diverse student demographics within the class, including international and domestic students, as well as individuals from varying cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Keep in mind the hidden diversity of students.
- Based on the course topics, brainstorm and research about the voices that could be silenced and the possible counter-narratives and highlight library resources that represent diverse voices and perspectives to the faculty and discuss how the resources can benefit the students’ learning.
- Encourage faculty to incorporate cultural context into the assigned texts, allowing students to gain a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural contexts in which the material was produced.
- Discuss what constitutes “authoritative sources” with students and consider including non-traditional scholarly content in your subject/course guide or recommend them to faculty and students. Encourage students to critically evaluate and proactively seek out resources that incorporate diverse perspectives, authors, and content.
- Engage in discussion with faculty members about the potential presence of colonial mindsets in the course material.
- Sometimes we have to recognize the fact that due to the historical or other reasons relevant sources reflecting diverse perspectives are difficult to identify or not available. This might be the opportunity to encourage students to critically analyze the existing sources and reflect on what we can do to avoid similar situations in the future.
- Become familiar with publishers and vendors creating and selling diverse work. The resources they produce/sell may become unavailable quickly or may not be represented in the inventories of large multinational vendors.
- Reflect, self-educate and discuss in the library and on campus about our roles of collecting, preserving and mobilizing marginalized knowledge and voices in the local communities and larger society.