Diversity Statement
As a Hispanic-Serving Institution[1] located on the traditional lands of the indigenous Kumeyaay people,[2]San Diego State University Library is deeply committed to supporting our diverse population of students, faculty, and staff. We strive to honor the broadest range of intersectional identities and diverse social and historical experiences expressed across our campus, and pay particular attention to the myriad forms of structural, systemic, and historic oppression that impact our campus community. We are an organization of information professionals dedicated to empowering others to access, interpret, and create knowledge that encourages evidence-based analysis and respectful scholarly debate.
We do this by intentionally developing a vibrant collection of print and electronic resources and unique special collections that reflect and amplify the diversity of SDSU. Our collection spans a spectrum of scholarly perspectives and disciplines. Per the American Libraries Association’s Library Bill of Rights, we support intellectual freedom within an environment of academic freedom and neither censor nor limit access to information while protecting the privacy of our users.
We develop comprehensive services that contribute to student success, including information literacy instruction, student research engagement, providing access to affordable educational materials, ensuring accessibility across a range of abilities, and providing the technologies necessary for student retention and persistence. We strive to support the success of the whole student both in and out of the classroom by creating programming and spaces that support student wellness and promote lifelong learning.
We collaborate with faculty to fulfill SDSU’s teaching and research missions. We emphasize the importance of information literacy and provide faculty with the support structures necessary to advance their curricular and research agendas.
We strive to make the library welcoming and accessible to everyone, including members of the public. We intentionally create physical and virtual environments that provide a sense of belonging for all, from the people who greet our community members, to our graphics, informational messages, artwork, furnishings, and facilities.
We invest in our employees through practices that advance diversity in hiring, retention, and promotion. We mentor each other and our student assistants in exploring career opportunities in libraries and celebrate the range of experiences, training, and expertise that we all bring to our positions. We encourage our colleagues to develop cultural competencies so that the Library “reflects the diverse communities we serve.”[3]
We believe that the library is the heart of the university, and we work tirelessly to make sure the SDSU Library continues to be a site of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
October 30, 2020
References
This statement was inspired by many library diversity statements, including:
- Iowa State University Library: https://www.lib.iastate.edu/about-library/library-diversity
- IUPUI University Library: https://www.ulib.iupui.edu/about/diversity
- University of California Irvine Libraries: https://www.lib.uci.edu/diversity-statement-and-plan
- CSU Monterey Bay Library: https://csumb.edu/library/library-diversity-statement
- University of Illinois Library: https://www.library.illinois.edu/geninfo/diversity/
- University of California San Francisco Library: https://www.library.ucsf.edu/about/diversity-and-inclusion/
- Association of College and Research Libraries Commitment to Diversity: http://acrl.libguides.com/edi
We also took inspiration from the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly the recognition that “the inherent dignity and … the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”
Footnotes
[1] “Hispanic-Serving Institution” is a federal designation based on a 25% threshold population of Hispanic students: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/idues/hsidivision.html. SDSU received HSI designation in 2012: https://universe.sdsu.edu/sdsu_newscenter/news_story.aspx?sid=73530.
[2] SDSU Land Acknowledgement: https://sacd.sdsu.edu/diversity-resources/land-acknowledgment.
[3] CSU Monterey Bay Library Diversity Statement: https://csumb.edu/library/library-diversity-statement