Vol 23 | No 2 | Spring 16
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Meet UCI Libraries' New Diversity Team

ImageThe Libraries has formed a new working group - the UCI Libraries' Diversity Team. The team will serve as a catalyst to promote a culture of diversity and inclusive excellence in the Libraries.

On this team, members volunteer their time over a two-year commitment and broadly represent various departments in the Libraries. Inaugural members include: Sheree Baugh, Marketing and Donor Relations Assistant (chair); Kelly Spring, Archivist for Special Collections, Pauline Manaka, Research Librarian for Anthropology and Sociology; Matthew Roberts, Research Librarian for English, Comparative Literature, and Critical Theory; Library Assistants, Virginia Wakim and Marisa Saam; Jharina Pascual, Electronic Resources Acquisitions Librarian; Thuy Vo Dang, Archivist for the Southeast Asian Archive and Regional History; Kathryn Kjaer, Head of Library Human Resources (ex-officio); and Azadeh Vosoughian, Organizational Development and Assessment & Grants Analyst (ex-officio). The team reports to Kevin Ruminson, Associate University Librarian for Administrative Services.

The team is charged with planning library-wide events to address diversity-related topics; developing and updating content on the Libraries' Diversity webpage; coordinating the development of a Diversity LibGuide to guide students, faculty, and others doing research on topics of diversity, equity and inclusion; developing strategies to highlight diversity related material in library collections; and investigating training opportunities for library employees.

The team held its first meeting in March, where they reviewed their charge and began to discuss potential diversity related activities, events and programs to implement in the next academic year. We asked some of its members about their interest in volunteering for this team. Here were some of the responses:

"Ensuring that the Libraries [is] a welcoming place for students, faculty, community users, staff, and job candidates from all backgrounds is critical to our success".

"So much has been done at UCI to create a diverse, welcoming campus, but there is so much more we can do. I would like to be part of that".

"I want to be a steward of diversity and inclusion at the Libraries because I believe that literacy and the study of literature can promote the ability to resist the conditions that lead to racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression and violence."

To learn more about the team and the Libraries' diversity activities and programs, please contact Kathryn Kjaer, Head of Library Human Resources at kkjaer@uci.edu or (949) 824-8521.