Diversity Committee Annual Report 2021

submitted by Callie Holmes

Current Roster

  • Misti Shaw, member (2021)
  • Winston Barham, member (2022)
  • Terra L. Merkey, member (2022)
  • Sara D. Outhier, member (2022)
  • Zachary L. Tumlin, member (2023)
  • Nurhak Tuncer, member (2023)
  • Callie Holmes, chair (2024)
  • Ellen Ogihara, member (2024)
  • Abbey Thompson, member (2025)
  • Mallory Sajewski, ex-officio (2021)
  • Z. Sylvia Yang, ex-officio (2022)

List of Previous Goals and Progress Made

  • Help develop a public facing Statement of Diversity
    • The Diversity Statement Working Group has been formed, consisting of members of the Diversity Committee, the Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee, and a member of the Board. The working group is meeting regularly and drafting a statement for MLA, to be presented to the Board for approval in the near future.
  • Formalize commitment to having a student and/or MLStEP representative on the Diversity Committee at all times
    • Diversity Committee Handbook will be updated with this requirement.
  • Develop anti-racist goals and actions for MLA
    • Drawing from posts on MLA-L in June 2020 that discussed what MLA could be doing to better address systemic racism in the organization and other related concerns, the Diversity Committee has developed a list of potential projects to work on to help MLA in this area, and is current working on a few of these projects (see Future Goals).

List of Future Goals

  • Restructure the Diversity Committee and the Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee into an Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee
    • Aligned with the goal areas of  Organizational Excellence: Objective 2: Improve access to information by and about the Association to meet the needs of members and other interested parties; and of Membership: Objective 1:  Increase outreach efforts to members from underrepresented groups.
    • As the current narrow focus of the Diversity Committee on racial and ethnic diversity has caused confusion and difficulties, a working group comprised of Diversity Committee and Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee members plus one board member has been formed to develop a new charge and structure for a combined Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee to better address DEIA-related concerns in the organization and to eliminate the confusion caused by the current structure and charges, while not abandoning the necessary imperative to continue actively addressing racial and ethnic representation and disparities within the organization and field.
  • Write Diversity Statement for MLA
    • Aligned with the goal areas of  Organizational Excellence: Objective 2: Improve access to information by and about the Association to meet the needs of members and other interested parties; and Membership: Objective 1:  Increase outreach efforts to members from underrepresented groups.
    • The Board has formed a working group comprised of Diversity Committee and Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee members plus one board member to write a Diversity Statement for MLA. This statement should be written and presented to the Board for approval before the end of 2021.
  • Developing Suggested Guidelines and Best Practices for the MLA-L Mediator
    • Aligned with the goal areas of Organizational Excellence: Objective 2: Improve access to information by and about the Association to meet the needs of members and other interested parties; Membership: Objective 1:  Increase outreach efforts to members from underrepresented groups; and Education: Objective 1: Increase enrollment in MLA-sponsored training and professional development programs.
    • A member of the Diversity Committee is working with the MLA-L Mediator to develop both a working list of potential conflict resolution training opportunities for the MLA-L Mediator and Assistant Mediator and a set of specific and concise criteria for resolving conflicts that arise on the MLA-L.
  • Diversity Committee Corner/Regular column in newsletter
    • Aligned with the goal area of Membership: Objective 1:  Increase outreach efforts to members from underrepresented groups.
    • A small team of Diversity Committee members are developing a plan for a regular column in the MLA Newsletter focusing on diversity.
  • Cultural Competency Training
    • Aligned with the goal areas of  Organizational Excellence: Objective 2: Improve access to information by and about the Association to meet the needs of members and other interested parties; Membership: Objective 1:  Increase outreach efforts to members from underrepresented groups; and Education: Objective 1: Increase enrollment in MLA-sponsored training and professional development programs.
    • Per a suggestion from a MLA member on the MLA-L, a small team of Diversity Committee members are exploring cultural competency training options for members of MLA’s administrative structure, as an expansion of the implicit bias testing and/or training currently required.
  • Sponsoring multiple panel sessions at MLA Annual Meeting 2022, including organizing a session:  “Putting Words Into Action: How Every Librarian Can Help Dismantle Systemic Oppression”
    • Aligned with the goal area of Membership: Objective 1:  Increase outreach efforts to members from underrepresented groups.
    • The Diversity Committee will be sponsoring/co-sponsoring 3 presentations at the 2022 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City. In addition, the Diversity Committee will be organizing and running a session entitled “Putting Words Into Action: How Every Librarian Can Help Dismantle Systemic Oppression”.