- Main
Statement on Inclusion and Equity in Special Collections, Archives, and Distinctive Collections in the University of California Libraries
- Author(s): Tennant, Elaine
- Hanff, Peter
- Miller, Kevin
- Eagle Yun, Audra
- Jackson, Athena N
- Lin, Emily S
- Williams, Cherry
- Corey Claassen, Lynda
- Ilieva, Polina E
- Moon, Danelle
- Mora, Teresa
- et al.
Abstract
We acknowledge historical absences in library collections, including those of the University of California Libraries. We will develop practices that counteract a paradigm of racist, sexist, and white-centered collecting, description, instruction, and access. Metadata, digital exhibits, and archival descriptions in particular have disadvantaged communities of color, limited points of subject-based access, and contributed to a culture of exclusivity and inequity. We commit to immediate and enduring work to elevate the narratives, perspectives, and expertise of the marginalized: those who identify as Black, Indigenous, persons of color, immigrants, women, disabled people, and those from the LGBTQ+ communities. We recognize that this work is iterative and ongoing, inherently risky, and messy, but entirely necessary.