Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

EDI Action Group

The EDI Action Group was formed in early 2022 and met for the first time in June 2022.  It is chaired by Dave Curtis (University of York) and Sally Dalton (University of Leeds). The group's Terms of Reference will be regularly reviewed to ensure its currency and that it is still meeting the needs of the ALN community.

The group plans to liaise closely with other existing ALN CoPs and SIGs and build an especially strong link with the ALN Enabling Group.  It has begun establishing connections with other EDI focussed groups within the wider library community such as the SCONUL BAME group, RLUK, WHELF and DILON to help inform its focus and prioritize activities. 

Activities of the group include: 

  • scanning current activity across ALN libraries and developing case studies for wider sharing to support development of best practice 
  • supporting the work of the Staff Development Planning Group by providing suggestions and ideas for a regular cycle of EDI focused events as part of the wider programme 
  • exploring and scoping opportunities for focused projects to increase confidence, awareness or familiarity with specific EDI issues for the benefit of all ALN members 
  • exploring and identifying how inclusive practices can be fully embedded within ALN activities in the future 
     

EDI Innovation Fund
The intention of the ALN EDI Innovation Fund is to provide small grants to ALN institutions (up to a max of £500), to support a project, event or activity that will improve, enhance or develop approaches to equality, diversity and inclusion. 

We asked for bids to be submitted which demonstrated collaboration with another ALN member or ALN group, to help support the collaborative ethos of ALN. Bids could be related to any topic connected to EDI. 

The following criteria was used to assess the bids:

  • Is it a collaborative project including 2 or more ALN members?
  • Does it outline what the expected impact of the project will be?
  • Does it demonstrate how the outputs and learning of the project will be shared and disseminated across the breadth of the ALN community, e.g. a conference presentation, an online resource etc?
  • Are the costs of the project under £500 and does it outline how the money will be spent?

 

Timeline

  • Deadline for bids: 22 March 2024
  • Successful bids informed by: 28 March 2024
  • Projects start: April-May 2024
  • Projects duration: 6-9 months

Successful projects will be expected to share information about their projects at the end of the 9 months, in the form of a report, a conference presentation, an online resource etc. ​​​​​​

2024

In April 2024, we funded 5 projects:

  • Evaluating university family study rooms. Aim: To evaluate the family study rooms at the University of Hull & the University of Bradford and to discover possibilities to expand our resources to meet the needs of families within the constraints of limited library space. (Bradford and Hull)
  • Breaking the Mold - Tackling Preconceptions and Unconscious Bias. Aim: To investigate biases and preconceptions and how these can be analysed to enhance our interactions with others. (Teesside and Sunderland)
  • Student Engagement with Disability Support in the Library: Are we doing enough? Aim: To ensure the Library Disability Support service effectively assists all students with disabilities. Investigate the lack of engagement and whether there is more that can be done to encourage students to exploit the support that is on offer and thereby have a better, more equitable experience. (Huddersfield and York St John)
  • Menopause Meetups. Aim: To support the running of future Menopause Meetups between April 2024 and December 2024. Using these as a springboard to open up communication between current and potential meetup and/or cafe hosts across the ALN network to share ideas and experiences, helping menopause support events grow and thrive. (Hull and Lancaster)
  • Developing Zine Collections with Students. Aim: To evaluate our collections with students and consider if our current collections reflect a diverse range of creators, narratives, and lived experiences. Opening the collection development process and sharing decision-making powers would be part of the project work to diversify collections. (Special Collections Museum MMU and Salford)

Please check back for links to events and other outputs.

2022-23

This was the pilot year and the deadline for bids was 31st October 2022, with an aim for the projects to start in January 2023, running for 6-9 months.

In January 2023, we funded 6 projects:

  • Neurodiverse Library Leaders: strengthening ALN leadership through neurodiversity.  Aim: To champion neurodiverse library leaders and potential leaders, strengthening library leadership by inclusion of under-utilised talent. (Lancaster and Huddersfield)
    Outputs
     
  • Library access and support for local refugee & asylum seeker groups. Aim: To support Asylum seekers and Refugees (AS&R) in the Lancaster & Morecambe District, working with three groups that interact with AS&R in the local area. These include Global Link, East meets West: a cross-cultural group of women; and the Ukrainian Hub. (Lancaster and Cumbria) Report
     
  • Inclusive Imaginations. Aim: To use the range of the collections of the UoL Special Collections & Archives and Museums & Galleries, and LJMU Special Collections & Archives to develop and deliver a series of student-focussed, creative workshops linked to EDI events throughout February – April 2023. Working with an artist, the project will reference significant dates, including (but not exclusively) Race Equality Week, LGBTQ+ History Month, International Women’s Day and Autism Awareness Day. (Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores)
    Review of the workshops
     
  • Living while black - anti racism talk for student-facing teams. Aim: The aim of the project is to provide an informed and different view of anti-racism from speaker Marsha Garrett, an advocate for anti-racism who uses her own personal experience to share her story. Sharing this insight with Library and student facing teams, as part of an ongoing professional development programme, will help with understanding of what it is like for a person of colour living in today's society. (Teesside).
    Output: Staff at Teesside worked with Marsha to develop a set of modified slides for staff working with students to be able to go back and consult/review. These slides were then developed into a libguide Beginning to understand racism and anti-racism - Living While Black - LibGuides at Teesside University.
     
  • Library services for international students in ALN member institutions. Aim: To research how many library services follow the 'key concepts' recommended in the SCONUL report of 2007, Library Services for International Students. The project teams plan to conduct some focus groups with researchers and PGT students on their experiences of studying in HE.  At the end of the project, we will make some recommendations for good practice in ALN libraries. (Bradford and York)     
     
  • Human Library Joint Initiative. Aim: to work together to create two separate in-person Human Library events at each of the institutions, both project teams meeting regularly to share learnings and best practice and to develop a toolkit for ALN staff who would like to create and/or host Human Library related content and events in the future. Hull plans to host their event in the spring, using both staff and students as “books”. The Huddersfield event will run in the summer for staff only. (Huddersfield and Hull) The Human Library Toolkit is now available.
     

Case Studies

The EDI Action Group is interested to hear about what ALN members have been doing to support their institutions' EDI aims. If you have a case study to share, please complete this form with all the details and a member of the group will be in touch to discuss next steps. 

The group is pleased to share some case studies of activities across the ALN membership:

Decolonising curriculum and diversifying reading lists

Inclusive collections and cataloguing

Partnering with community groups

Inclusive Recruitment

Anti-racism