Articulate the importance of designing programs and services supportive of diversity, inclusion, and equity for clientele and employees.

Introduction

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are “a set of values and related policies and practices focused on establishing a group culture of equitable and inclusive treatment and on attracting and retaining a diverse group of participants” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). The Society of American Archivists (SAA), the main professional organization for archivists in North America, has released a statement on DEI that was first adopted in 2010, then revised in 2016 and 2020 (SAA, 2020b). This DEI statement is in addition to SAA’s core values statement, which identifies diversity as a core value of the archival profession (SAA, 2020a). The statement refers to DEI only as it applies to archival workers, not users served by archives.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Definitions

According to SAA’s DEI statement, diversity encompasses “socio-cultural factors related to individual and community identity,” as well as “professional and geographic factors,” which refers to SAA wanting “broad participation from archivists working in various locations, repository types and sizes, employment classifications and rank, and professional specializations” (SAA, 2020b).

SAA defines equity as “equitable access to educational, funding, leadership, and award opportunities,” in addition to “fair pay, benefits, and labor practices for all archives workers” (SAA, 2020b). The concept of equity is different from equality, even though the two are often used interchangeably; equity “considers the specific needs or circumstances of a person or group and provides the types of resources needed to be successful” (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2023).

SAA identifies inclusion as “a commitment to ongoing and cumulative efforts … for creating an increasingly diverse community in a welcoming, equitable, and responsive manner,” and “continuous proactive steps to ensure that marginalized members of our organization are seen and cared for” (SAA, 2020b).

DEI for Users

One DEI-related concept that can significantly impact archives users is reparative description, which the SAA defines as “remediation of practices or data that exclude, silence, harm, or mischaracterize marginalized people in the data created or used by archivists to identify or characterize archival resources” (SAA, n.d.).

Luke & Mizota (2024) interviewed librarians and archivists from nineteen institutions that have implemented reparative practices and found that nine of those institutions reported receiving “feedback on the impact of the work … from users and communities” (Luke & Mizota, 2024, p. 493). Eight institutions reported performing reparative work at the item level, the most time-consuming and detailed level of archival work (Luke & Mizota, 2024, p. 490). They speculate that digital assets at the item level might be “where users experience the most harm, particularly because items appear out of the context of their collections.” For example, a user may come across a digitized racist cartoon, which could be especially harmful if they were not looking for something like that.

Evaluating DEI Initiatives

Library science professor Dr. Kawanna Bright created the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Self-Assessment Audit (DEISAA) as a way for libraries and information organizations to evaluate their DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, & accessibility) policies and actions (Bright, 2021). An archive could use the DEISAA to find their strengths and weaknesses on topics like diversity statements, collection of DEI-related data, and accessibility for users and employees.

Evidence

Artifact 1

Assignment: Archivist Interview: Jennifer Coggins
Course: INFO 256, Archives and Manuscripts
Description: For this assignment, I was tasked with interviewing an archivist from a list of volunteers. After the interview, I had to write a blog post including the interviewee’s background information, a description of the repository where they work, their views on archival issues and their views on the future of the profession.

I had the opportunity to interview an archivist from a repository I love, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University in my hometown, New Haven. Jennifer Coggins is the Community Engagement Archivist at Beinecke, where she teaches workshops, works with individuals and organizations to preserve their collections, and helps people host archival events. Before this interview, I had not heard of this type of archival work that centers DEI principles. In addition to working with the community with their interests and needs in mind, Coggins is the co-chair of Yale’s working group on reparative description. This blog post demonstrates my knowledge of diversity work in archives.

Artifact 2

Assignment: Unit 5 Discussion
Course: INFO 210, Reference & Information Services
Description: This discussion had two prompts. The first prompt was to discuss reference services as library programming; these include programs such as bibliographic instruction, digital literacy, and support for immigrants. The second prompt was to discuss diversity in libraries based on readings, videos, and a pre-recorded guest lecture.

This post demonstrates my awareness of issues of diversity in libraries, especially regarding accessibility as a component of DEI work. Information professionals need to be willing to work towards diversity and cultural competence. Cultural competence and diversity are not achievable goals; they are aspects of libraries to work on, but diversity is not an issue that can be “solved.” In this post, I especially focused on disability and accessibility in library settings, because it can be overlooked in DEI discussions. The question “Who are we missing?” from an ALA video has stuck with me as a simple, but poignant way to consider accessibility.

Artifact 3

Assignment: Getty Villa Strategic Plan
Course: INFO 204, Information Professions
Description: This group assignment required us to select a real information organization and develop a strategic plan for it. We needed to prepare a report that gave historical background information on the organization, conduct an environmental scan including a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis, and prepare goals, strategies, and an assessment plan. We chose to focus on the Getty Villa Museum in Los Angeles.

The assignment demonstrates my ability to research an information organization in the context of their diversity policies and initiatives. My main contribution to the report was researching and writing the environmental scan and SWOT analysis. My research showed that the Getty Villa is located in a disproportionately wealthy and white area of Los Angeles. Pacific Palisades, the neighborhood where the museum is located, is made up of 82% white residents, despite Los Angeles overall having 25% white residents. In addition to the demographic disparities in the surrounding area, the Getty Villa has major accessibility issues that make it difficult for people outside the neighborhood to visit. It is not easily reachable by foot or public transportation. Based on this information, our group developed goals for the museum, including increased public access.

Conclusion

I am dedicated to DEI principles and working towards cultural competence in my work as an archivist. On the day that I’m writing this, the Trump administration has announced over 50 investigations of universities for racial discrimination as part of an anti-DEI campaign. It is not lost on me that I am writing about my dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion as those principles are being slammed for, of all things, racism. Regardless of what becomes of DEI programs, I am committed to upholding the principles in my career.

References

Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2023, November 20). What’s the difference between equity and equality?. https://www.aecf.org/blog/equity-vs-equality

Bright, K. (2021). Diversity, equity, inclusion audit v3 w/ accessibility. http://www.kawannabright.info/uploads/1/3/2/6/132654087/diversity_equity_inclusion_audit_v3_w_accessibility_9-26-2021.pdf

Luke, S. M., & Mizota, S. (2024). Instituting a framework for reparative description. Archival Science, 24, 481-508. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10502-024-09435-z

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Diversity, equity and inclusion. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved March 9, 2025, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diversity%2C%20equity%20and%20inclusion

Society of American Archivists [SAA]. (n.d.). Reparative description. In Dictionary of archives terminology. Retrieved March 11, 2025, from https://dictionary.archivists.org/entry/reparative-description.html

Society of American Archivists [SAA]. (2020a). SAA core values statement and code of ethics. https://www2.archivists.org/statements/saa-core-values-statement-and-code-of-ethics

Society of American Archivists [SAA]. (2020b). SAA statement on diversity, equity, and inclusion. https://www2.archivists.org/statements/saa-statement-on-diversity-equity-and-inclusion