Advancing Social Justice through University Libraries Collections
Inventory Our Work: Report to Sponsors
January 31, 2022

Contents
Background ................................................................................................................................................... 2
An Inventory of Our Work............................................................................................................................. 3
Data Collection .......................................................................................................................................... 3
Summer 2020 Facilitated Conversations .............................................................................................. 3
University Libraries Survey.................................................................................................................... 3
University Libraries Interviews.............................................................................................................. 4
Findings ..................................................................................................................................................... 4
Our Stories .................................................................................................................................................... 7
African American and African Studies Community Partnership ............................................................... 7
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Collection Development Initiative............................................ 9Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Events ..................................................................................... 10
Faculty Research Project ......................................................................................................................... 11
Inclusive Archival Description ................................................................................................................. 12
Latinx Talk ............................................................................................................................................... 13
Patron Driven Acquisitions Program ....................................................................................................... 15
Wyandotte Partnership........................................................................................................................... 15
For Further Discussion ................................................................................................................................ 17
Appendix A: Inventory Data ........................................................................................................................ 18
Appendix B: Survey Instrument .................................................................................................................. 30
Qualtrics Survey ...................................................................................................................................... 30
Survey Communications ......................................................................................................................... 31
NewsNotes March 24, 2021 ................................................................................................................ 31
NewsNotes April 7, 2021..................................................................................................................... 32
Appendix C: Interview Questionnaire ......................................................................................................... 34
Appendix D: Working Group Membership and Charge .............................................................................. 35
Charge ..................................................................................................................................................... 35
Sponsors .................................................................................................................................................. 35
Membership ............................................................................................................................................ 35

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Background
In June of 2020, The Ohio State University Libraries released “A Statement from University Libraries
Supporting Black Lives Matter“ noting:
We have worked to build an organization that values equity, diversity, inclusion,access and social justice – a library that provides welcoming, supportive
environments for all to pursue and share knowledge. But this is not enough. It is notenough to say that we value diversity, equity, and inclusion or speak about it ingeneral terms. We must listen intently, and we must be clear in our words andactions.
As part of that work, University Libraries launched a process that will “examine our collections to ensure
our investments and practices advance social justice”. This work seeks to produce significant and visible
changes to our collections and collections-related functions so that they better demonstrate ourcommitments to social justice.
The first step in that process was initiating a set of open conversations convening employees across
University Libraries. Conversations acknowledged that ideology is inscribed in our all of our collections
practices and thus our collections. Decisions about description, access to content, prioritization of workthat stewards collections into the future (for instance) cannot be neutral or objective. Decisions about
which parts of our collections we highlight in various ways for our users cannot be free of bias.
Questions posed by discussion facilitators included: What are we already doing? Where are we fallingshort? What changes would be high impact? What are barriers to change? Participants were asked toconsider the full scope of collections and collections-related functions with the intention of surfacing
many facets of where we could be doing better in Libraries work with collections. Not just focusing on
growing collections, participants considered Libraries collections as they are seen and experienced byusers. Conversation themes and threads included:
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Existing but uncoordinated work
Existing collections
Employee knowledge and ability to implement change
Need to broaden our perspective beyond Predominantly White Institution
Current processes and policies often make it difficult to acquire non-traditional materials
Our resources are finite
Partnership requires trust
Language we use to describe our collections
Working with communities to help them preserve and make accessible their own materials
Exploring new forms of publishing
Partnership with campus advancement

Following the three organization-wide conversations conducted during Summer 2020, in September of
2020, the Executive Committee shared three initial steps to advance movement toward systemic change
in local collections practices. Each action step would be addressed by a working group of volunteer
members:2

1. Defining our terms: How does “social justice” relate to collections work?
2. Survey the landscape: What are others doing?
3. Inventory our work: What are we already doing?
This report summarizes the work of the Inventory Our Work Working Group.

An Inventory of Our Work
The Inventory Our Work Working Group (Working Group) convened November 5, 2020. To identify thework University Libraries was already doing, the Working Group collected and coded data from theSummer 2020 facilitated conversations anonymized transcripts and chat records; developed andconducted a University Libraries-wide survey (in consultation with the IDEAS Committee); andconducted targeted interviews across University Libraries.

Data Collection
The Working Group developed a data collection sheet as a tool to collect and organize inventory datafrom multiple sources: the Summer 2020 facilitated conversations, a University Libraries-wide survey,
and University Libraries interviews. Coding of the data included assigning a project type from a list of
five developed by the Working Group: Access and Accessibility, Collection Building, Description,
Outreach and Education, and Publishing/Scholarly Communication. The categories represent theWorking Group’s broad scoping of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility (DEIA) + Social Justicecollections work in University Libraries. Data collected from the Summer 2020 facilitated conversations
and the University Libraries-wide survey were entered into the data collection sheet. The data wascleaned, de-duped, and anonymized as to source for sharing as part of this report. The final inventory
represents 98 projects across University Libraries (see Appendix A). Working Group members conductedfollow-up interviews for a sub-set of projects to give voice to a few of the current efforts around social
justice and collections across University Libraries.

Summer 2020 Facilitated Conversations
The Working Group reviewed the transcripts and chat records from the three Summer 2020 facilitatedconversations on University Libraries collections and social justice and added data that could be used forthe inventory to our data collection sheet. In total, 26 projects were recorded on the data collection
sheet.

University Libraries Survey
The Working Group conducted a University Libraries-wide Qualtrics survey (see Appendix B) in Marchand April of 2021. The Working Group re-opened the survey following the Advancing Social JusticeThrough Collections Initiative Update in June of 2021. In total, 84 responses were received.
The survey included a question asked on behalf of the Survey the Landscape Working Group, for whicheight responses were received and shared with the Survey the Landscape Working Group.

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University Libraries Interviews
Across the project types and areas from the collected inventory, the Working Group identified ten
projects for follow-up interviews. Following a questionnaire developed by the Working Group (seeAppendix C), members interviewed representatives for each project and recorded their responses
separately from the data collection sheet.

Findings
The Working Group collected an inventory representing 98 projects across University Libraries andcategorized them into five project types: Access and Accessibility, Collection Building, Description,
Outreach and Education, and Publishing/Scholarly Communication. The number of projects assigned toeach category is presented in Figure 1.
Figure 1
Inventory Projects by Project Type (N=98)

Publishing/SC, 7
Description, 7

Collection
Building, 34
Access andAccessibility, 18

Outreach and
Education, 32

All divisions of University Libraries (Administration, Content & Access, Distinctive Collections & Digital
Programs, Planning & Administration, and Research & Education) are represented in inventory projects
that advance social justice through collections work. The divisions represented by inventory projects arepresented in Table 1. The total number of projects each individual division is involved with is presented
in Table 2. A breakdown of divisions by each project type is presented in Tables 3 through 7. This data is
4generally representational, but not comprehensive. For example, in Table 4, only Content & Access isrepresented for the project type Description. It is clear to members of the Working Group that many
aspects of description work are cross-divisional, however this nuance was not picked up in the higherlevel data collected by the Working Group. It should also be noted that projects were only assigned one(main) project type, although they may span two or more categories.

Table 1Divisions Represented by Inventory Projects
Divisions
Administration
Administration; Content & Access; Planning & Administration
Administration; Distinctive Collections & Digital ProgramsContent & AccessContent & Access; Distinctive Collections & Digital ProgramsContent & Access; Distinctive Collections & Digital Programs; Planning & Administration
Content & Access; Distinctive Collections & Digital Programs; Research & Education
Content & Access; Planning & Administration; Research & Education
Content & Access; Research & Education
Distinctive Collections & Digital ProgramsDistinctive Collections & Digital Programs; Planning & Administration
Distinctive Collections & Digital Programs; Planning & Admin.; Research & Education
Research & Education
Total Projects

Projects
1
1
2
25
15
1
3
1
2
28
5
2
12
98

Table 2Involvement in Inventory Projects per Division
Divisions
Administration
Content & Access
Distinctive Collections & Digital Programs
Planning & Administration
Research & Education

Projects
4
48
56
10
20

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Table 3
Inventory Projects by Project Type “Access and Accessibility” and Division
Access and Accessibility
Content & AccessContent & Access; Distinctive Collections & Digital ProgramsContent & Access; Distinctive Collections & Digital Programs; Research & Education
Distinctive Collections & Digital Programs
Research & Education
Total Projects

Projects
7
7
1
2
1
18

Table 4Inventory Projects by Project Type “Collection Building” and DivisionCollection Building
Administration; Content & Access; Planning & Administration
Administration; Distinctive Collections & Digital ProgramsContent & AccessContent & Access; Distinctive Collections & Digital ProgramsContent & Access; Distinctive Collections & Digital Programs; Planning & Administration
Content & Access; Distinctive Collections & Digital Programs; Research & Education
Content & Access; Planning & Administration; Research & Education
Content & Access; Research & Education
Distinctive Collections & Digital ProgramsDistinctive Collections & Digital Programs; Planning & Administration
Research & Education
Total Projects

Projects
1
2
5
5
1
2
1
2
13
1
1
34

Table 5Inventory Projects by Project Type “Description” and Division
Description
Content & AccessTotal Projects

Projects
7
7

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Table 6
Inventory Projects by Project Type “Outreach and Education” and Division
Outreach and Education
Administration
Content & Access; Distinctive Collections & Digital ProgramsDistinctive Collections & Digital ProgramsDistinctive Collections & Digital Programs; Planning & Administration
Distinctive Collections & Digital Programs; Planning & Admin.; Research & Education
Research & Education
Total Projects

Projects
1
3
12
4
2
10
32

Table 7
Inventory Projects by Project Type “Publishing/Scholarly Communication” and Division
Publishing/Scholarly Communication
Content & Access
Distinctive Collections & Digital Programs
Total Projects

Projects
6
1
7

Our Stories
An inventory of data can only go so far in creating a picture of the work we are already doing to advancesocial justice through University Libraries collections work. The Working Group reviewed the follow-up
interviews conducted and identified several stories that highlight the collections-related activities
reflecting social justice initiatives. In addition to showcasing successes, these stories also address
challenges University Libraries staff and faculty have faced during the planning and execution of theseendeavors. Project numbers correlate to the inventory data (see Appendix A).

African American and African Studies Community Partnership
Project #73: AAAS Librarian and faculty working with the community and community scholars
Project Type: Outreach and Education
Project links: Leta Hendricks Twitter post February 7, 2020 and Department of African American and
African Studies Community Extension Center Resources
Leta Hendricks, African American and African Studies Librarian, works with Ohio State’s African
American and African Studies Community Extension Center located at 905 Mount Vernon Avenue. The
Extension Center is the social responsibility arm of the Department of African American and African
Studies (AAAS) and supports the African American community in Columbus and Franklin County. Her
work is part of a larger project headed by Dr. Simone Drake. Dr. Drake is the former chair of AAAS with across-appointment now in English. She is the recipient of the 2021 University Outreach and Engagement
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Community Engaged Scholar Award. Leta runs the “Librarian in the House” program where she offers
research opportunities for community scholars who can share resources with the Ohio State
community.
On Friday afternoons in early 2020, Leta went to the Extension Center where there is a small library; theCollege of Arts and Sciences provided two computers that community members could access and Ohio
State guest logins for laptops. People could drop in from 1-4 pm; Leta would stay later if needed. Dr.
Drake timed it that when Leta was there, the Medical Center mobile unit was there at the same time.
While many community members were retired, Leta did meet some working people. The Center is awelcoming atmosphere with snacks and coffee, and the community members knew Leta didn’t wantanything from them; she made it clear that she wanted to help them with their research. Leta notes
there has been mistrust and mishandling in the past, and we need to show respect for the type of
research that they are doing (ex. genealogy). During one workshop (pre-pandemic), Gerry Greenberg(retired University Libraries librarian) and Beth Black (Undergraduate Engagement Librarian) came tohelp Leta and the participants. Leta introduced workshop attendees to resources, databases (i.e., African
Nexis, Oxford African American Studies Center) and other materials on Africa and the African Diaspora.
These resources are not available through the Columbus Metropolitan Library or the State Library of
Ohio, where the limited number of databases (i.e., culinary and automotive) often focus on serving
home hobbyists.
The Ohio State databases are important to African American genealogy research, especially African
American newspapers, such as Amsterdam News (NYC) and the Chicago Defender. Another is The Crisis
magazine from NAACP (edited by Dr. W.E.B. DuBois). The community members can do a Google or
Wikipedia search, but they may not know what the right terms are to use and can’t access the digitizednewspapers. Leta says when librarians help community AND campus scholars, we have to understandmany do not feel welcome on campus to use microfilm or ask for a community log in for the computers.
We may not realize it, but it seems threatening. An example is that Campus police and the president
have said, “people look like they don’t belong here.” It’s important for us to understand the needs ofcommunity members and barriers to information and to have patience, especially with senior citizens(i.e., the digital divide). She also notes it’s difficult for community members to use the Ohio Statedigitized collections, which include information about the 1968 takeover of Bricker Hall, the Lanternarchives and other Ohio State publications, and Black newspapers; people need additional help
navigating these resources.
Sometimes the community members bring items to the Center to show Leta (scrapbooks, newspaper
clippings like obituaries, photos). She shows them how to use Google Photo searches to find similar
photos; she emphasizes this is still research.
On her Africana LibGuide, Leta includes a digital story about her and her brother going to the public
library to look for books about Africa when they were younger. That is why she became a librarian andshe tells this story to show the community that she, too, experienced that unwelcome feeling. Leta
stresses that it’s important that the communities in Columbus or beyond can access LibGuides because
they are not just for the Ohio State campus community—she sees them as tools for global communities.
In March 2020, law school students helped community members fill out tax returns. Before thepandemic shutdown, Leta had planned on going to the Second Baptist Church center as part of her
community outreach activities. These and other programs will be renewed as well as other programs
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started by Dr. Drake. The Extension Center is currently under renovation paid for by the College of Arts
& Sciences and the Office of the President. Leta hopes to resume her program in the fall of 2022. Finally,
the current university president is supportive of AAAS and they will add two additional faculty positionsin 2022.
Leta notes there have been past internal challenges. For example, she had asked library administration
about working with the Extension Center 20 years ago; about 10 years ago, the Associate Directors said
it had to had to be on her own time. Since then, that view has changed, and Leta began her work withthe community members.

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Collection Development Initiative
Project #30: Establish comprehensive collection of comics by Indigenous Creators (focus on North
America)
Project Type: Collection Building
Project links: Multicultural Guide and Inventory of works by Indigenous creators
Project #64: BICLM Event plus acquisition of collections materials: Ricardo Caté
Project Type: Outreach and Education
This Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum (BICLM) Collection Development Initiative, founded by Kay
Clopton, Jenny Robb, and Wendy Pflug, is about diversifying the BICLM collection focusing on
marginalized creators, increasing their presence in the collection, and amplifying their voices.
The commitment of BICLM to maintain a diverse, inclusive, premier collection became a reality from the
exploratory work of these innovative people who found a way to advance their initiative using financial
support from existing funding, creating supportive workflows, and expanding the possibilities of how
best to incorporate marginalized creators work so that it is discoverable within the University and the
public.
The origins of this BICLM Collection Development Initiative started to take shape when Jenny Robb
recognized about five or six years ago that a lot of exciting work was taking place amongst Indigenous
cartoonists and comics artists but that this work was not well-represented in BICLM’s permanentcollection. Many of these comic books, mini-comics, anthologies, and graphic novels are not carried by
the academic book distributors we work with, so we had to find other ways to identify and purchase
them:
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A graduate student with a specialty in comics and Native American studies was consulted tohelp identify Indigenous comics creators.
Another tactic to collect these works was to send Mary P. Key Diversity Resident Kay Clopton toan Indigenous Comic Con. This enabled Kay to buy directly from the artists with the University
Libraries purchasing card. COVID interrupted in-person Comic Cons, but BICLM hopes to sendsomeone to future Comic Cons when safe.
Another part of this initiative included working with the purchasing and business office to pilot a
program to support Kickstarter projects. Kickstarter is a platform that allows for Indigenous
creators to find financial support for self-publishing their creative projects. The program has
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been successful and BICLM continues to support comics projects by Indigenous creators that
result in printed publications.
Additionally, Acquisitions was an important partner in working to purchase directly from comics
creators and a comic bookstore that specializes in works by Indigenous creators. Often the best
way to pay individuals is through PayPal. Once the fee that PayPal charges came to light,
Acquisitions suggested employing a fairer way to pay private creators by explaining that we are
not able to pay as “Friends/Family” so to include the PayPal surcharge on the invoice so thatthey are receiving the full amount for the purchased item.

Once acquired, the work needs to be described and cataloged to be discoverable and accessible topatrons. Traditional cataloging does not make it easy to find Indigenous peoples’ work with a single
search term because it simply does not support that specific search phrase. To solve this limitation, Kay
Clopton and Susan Liberator created an inventory of works by Indigenous creators as part of BICLM’s
Multicultural Guide.
BICLM’s Collection Development policy was also revised to ensure that this initiative has financial andpolicy support and that it will remain an ongoing initiative to collect marginalized voices.
This Initiative also received support from Ohio State Newark. BICLM partnered with the Traditional
Indigenous Knowledges and the Stepping Out/Stepping Up projects as well as the Newark Earthworks
Center to host virtual events with Indigenous comics creators Ricardo Caté and Elijah Forbes. Inviting
Indigenous comics creators to be a part of university public programming offers an opportunity toamplify their voices. The events were made possible by a grant from Ohio State’s Global Arts +Humanities Discovery Theme. The group also offered grant funding for purchasing works by Indigenous
people for BICLM’s collection, something that is still in progress.
This ongoing Initiative is a success but has not been without challenges, including finding copies of printmaterial with low print runs, the logistics of purchasing, such as supporting Kickstarter projects, locating
the materials and how to acquire, setting up workflows for new avenues for acquiring these works, andchallenges identifying original art that is available for purchase.

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Events
Project #68: BICLM Event: Where We're Coming From: African American Comic Art & Belonging
Project #67: BICLM Event: RED, WHITE, BLACK AND BLUE: Cartoonist Keith Knight addresses America’s
Racial Illiteracy
Project Type: Outreach and Education
These events are part of BICLM’s wider effort to amplify the work and voices of cartoonists of color.
Where We’re Coming From: African American Comic Art & Belonging (April 30, 2020)
This was planned as an in-person event pre-pandemic to line up with Caitlin McGurk’s Ladies First
exhibition to highlight African American women cartoonists in the show. She especially wanted to shinea spotlight on Barbara Brandon-Croft, best known for creating the comic strip “Where I’m Coming From”
which appeared in newspapers in the 1980s and 1990s; Brandon-Croft is the first nationally syndicatedAfrican American female cartoonist. The event also featured Bianca Xunise, another contemporary
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cartoonist to have a syndicated comic strip (only three or four African American women cartoonists
have had one). This event brought attention to lesser known and marginalized creators and celebrated
their work. It was co-sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Popular Culture Studies, theDepartment of English, the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and the Departmentof Comparative Studies.
The event was moved to an online format due to the pandemic and was held after the exhibit was over,which was not optimal but still worked. Rebecca Wanzo, author of Content of our Caricature: African
American Comic Art and Political Belonging (2020) and researcher at BICLM, hosted a conversation withthe two cartoonists.
Caitlin felt supported by other Ohio State departments through co-sponsorship. The virtual event
received less student viewers than in-person events do, but it attracted more attendees who are notpart of campus or in Ohio—an international audience.
RED, WHITE, BLACK AND BLUE: Cartoonist Keith Knight addresses America’s Racial Illiteracy (June 11,
2020)
Keith Knight is a friend of BILCM and the Cartoon Crossroads Columbus festival, and Caitlin McGurk hasorganized programs with him before. This one was put together quickly online in response to themurder of George Floyd. Caitlin is especially proud of this event and emphasized its significance in thewake of the murder. Knight talked about this through the lens of comics. Jenny Robb showed images ofhistorical cartoons on police brutality. The event had a large international audience and was recorded;classes requested to watch the recording.
Challenges: When University Libraries wants to do a program quickly, such as in response to an
unexpected event, sometimes the Ohio State communications systems (branding requirements, etc.)
can be a barrier. We need to find a way to be more flexible in these instances. This event was also thefirst time the BICLM provided closed-captioning.

Faculty Research Project
Project #45: Research project surveying the acquisitions infrastructure of ARL institutions to assess thepractices and its impacts on building diverse collections
Project Type: Collection Building
Research members for this paper: Moon Kim, Acquisitions Librarian, The Ohio State University Libraries;
Angel Diaz, curator for California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives, University of California, Santa
Barbara; Betsaida Reyes, Head of Humanities and Social Sciences, Pennsylvania State University
Libraries; and Florence Mugambi, African Studies Librarian, Northwestern University.
This is a libraries-based research project that focuses on Association of Research Libraries (ARL)
institutions’ acquisitions practices and procedures when procuring distinctive collections resources. The
broadest sense of this research’s work is to interrogate the ARL institutions’ acquisitions infrastructure
to explore how it supports or prohibits diverse and inclusive collection building. An example of how
libraries are not supporting DEIA: it wasn’t too long-ago numerous institutions’ accounts payable11departments did not honor handwritten receipts. This research group surveyed ARL libraries: 77
responses from library professionals focusing on distinctive collections acquisitions.
Origin of the research stems from Moon Kim’s long-time experience working in acquisitions and she feltthat this was an underexplored area.
The objectives of the study are to 1) compile acquisitions methodologies and practices that are used at
ARL institutions by foregrounding the voices of Acquisitions, Archives, Area/Global/International/Subject
Liaison, Collection Development, and Special Collections practitioners who have responsibilities inbuilding distinctive collections at their institutions; 2) explore perceptions of how acquisitions
infrastructures (business, financial, and legal) are interpreted by different stakeholder groups; 3)interrogate the impact of acquisitions methodologies and infrastructures on supporting or preventing
Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Social justice (IDEAS) efforts in building distinctive
collections; and 4) create awareness of the role acquisitions departments have in dismantling current
systems of knowledge supply, distribution, and consumption.
The preliminary results of this paper were previously presented at ACRL on April 15, 2021. The goal is tohave a published research paper.
This research project is a work-in-progress. Moon would like to see where this research goes in getting
other institutions to reflect and talk about their acquisitions methodologies and practices and toencourage more active participation in supporting DEIA through meaningful change. A good example isto consider that Hogarth, supplier of books from Africa, ships purchased approval materials by acircuitous route going through Europe when they don’t have to.
A potential future research paper is one that looks at dealers, booksellers, and antiquarian bookseller
associations to determine how best library acquisitions can support distinctive collections purchases inpartnership with those in the ecosystem.

Inclusive Archival Description
Project #56: Inclusive/equitable archival collections description
Project Type: Description
The Archival Technical Services (ATS) unit has adopted practices for inclusive description for finding aids.
In their work, they strive to be thoughtful and inclusive, both about the people they are talking about
and to help a broad audience. These practices are standard procedure for the unit. The goals is torepresent people as who they are, to represent topics fairly, and to be consistent and modern so people
are findable and respected. This means considering the people and topics in the archival collections as
they were at the time, and how we understand that now. It is important to be attentive to terms used in
the materials, which could be offensive. ATS also tries to help researchers find all people who might bein our collections and not perpetuate hiding in history.
Sometimes inclusive description means absence of information that has previously been common infinding aids. For example, evaluative/laudatory language is being removed from existing description as
ATS encounters it. Similarly, they try to avoid assumptions, such as making ethic/racial identification

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based on photographs only or using gender-specific pronouns without evidence of preferred usage. All
collections are important and special, so we approach and treat them the same.
The project doesn’t necessarily have a specific starting point. However, it has always been talked about
in the field during Cate Putirskis’s (Archival Technical Services Manager) career. It really clicked for Catewhen she started training student assistants. The work is woven into documentation, but some things
are specifically pointed out (e.g., not using “Mrs. [husband’s name]” if possible). There are also teaching
moments when the person creating description is making assumptions. Inclusive description is an
expectation for everyone doing the work, but we recognize that is limited by theexperiences/knowledge/training of individuals doing the work. ATS does have a review process, so atleast one other person always looks at description. This helps catch some things or leads to discussions
about how to handle situations.
ATS gauges success of this project by engagement with the users/donors/other people. University
Libraries recently received a donation of materials, and the donor cited how we had talked about underrepresented groups in our collection as part of their decision to give the materials to Ohio State rather
than somewhere else. Examples such as this one provides validation that we are on the right track. ATS
has also seen success in their work directly with people documented in collections. For example, acreator of an archival collection changed their name to they/their pronouns. The person asked forremoval of their dead name. ATS were able to do as much as possible in the finding aid but can’t change
the physicality of the materials. ATS asked for their comfort with how to handle, and everyone agreed toa note “prior to this date, some materials may use this other name.”
While the project is successful, there are challenges and barriers to overcome. One challenge is available
staff time, and balancing new work, backlogs, and improvement of existing finding aids. ATS has notbeen able to comprehensively review all existing description and it is also inherently difficult to maintainfinding aids over time as preferred terminology or approaches to description change. There is also
limited awareness across the organization that ATS is doing this work, so others may not understand
why and how finding aids reflect efforts to prioritize respectful description.
A major limitation is that people doing the work bring their own perspectives to the work, so ATS isaware they may be overlooking things and there is always something to learn. There is a need to attracta more diverse workforce. This is true for all types of employees, from student workers to leaders. There
are barriers to inclusion the archival field; for example, many people must begin their career with
unpaid internships and a series of temporary positions. At University Libraries, there are barriers– suchas not offering relocation expenses, so it is harder for some people to even be able to work here. We
hope to create work environments that can support everyone.

Latinx Talk
Project #96: Publishing partnership - Latinx Talk
Project Type: Publishing/Scholarly Communication
Project links: Latinx Talk and Mujeres Talk
Latinx Talk is an online, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, and moderated forum for the circulation anddiscussion of original research, commentary, and creative work in brief and diverse formats such as
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essays, multimedia presentations, podcasts, and short video. Latinx Talk believes in providing a space for
Chicanx and Latinx Studies ideas, research, and creativity that may foster critical dialogues. Latinx Talk
strives to include in its Editorial and Advisory Boards individuals from varied regions; disciplines;
ethnic/racial/gender/sexual subjectivities; and life experience.
Latinx Talk’s peer review processes are aimed at maintaining intellectual integrity and fairness, while
also enacting a feminist woman-of-color editorial ethos in which they recognize their shared
responsibility to each other and to their fields. This process grew out of their publication history: Latinx
Talk began in 2011 as Mujeres Talk and under that name published over 130 essays/submissions. From2011 to 2013, they functioned as an edited and reviewed site. From 2013 to 2017 they maintained nonanonymous Editorial Board peer review of all submissions. In May of 2017 they stopped accepting
submissions to Mujeres Talk. In September 2017, they launched Latinx Talk with an expanded Editorial
Board and a new Advisory Board.
The University Libraries’ publishing program was approached in 2013 by an Ohio State faculty editorial
board member of Mujeres Talk, a digital publication venue for an organization of Chicana/Latina andNative American women in higher education, to talk about a potential collaboration. The editorial board
was unhappy with the limited functionality, lack of archival stability, and absence of a university
imprimatur with their current platform. Our publishing program was eager to work with Mujeres Talk
because of the worthwhile nature of the publication, the opportunity to support innovation in scholarly
publishing, and the opportunity to add new functionality to our publishing toolkit. The publication alsoaligned well with our program’s diversity values and our desire to support marginalized scholarship andscholarship by underrepresented groups. The ongoing work of the editorial board also aligned well with
our program’s commitment to encourage our publishing partners to be aware of the racial,
geographical, and gender imbalances that exist in our current system of scholarly communication, andto strive for diversity in their editorial boards, reviewers, and authors, in ways that are aligned with theirdisciplinary practices and the needs of their communities. The Ohio State University Libraries began
publishing Mujeres Talk in 2014.
In 2016, the Mujeres Talk editorial board began to think about expanding the scope of their publicationand signaling greater inclusivity. Aware of how necessary, vital, and attractive the publication had been
to countless mujeres both in and out of academia, they thought hard about giving up a woman-centered
and woman-run publication, yet they also recognized that when they thought about what they wanted
to publish and who they were working with in their everyday lives, their queer and straight male peers,
students, and community partners were often on their minds, as were partners and allies across Ethnic
Studies. They decided to become Latinx Talk and created a new Editorial Board, and for the first time, anAdvisory Board — with a strong mix of varied Latinidades, regions, disciplines. Our publishing programsupported this transition and University Libraries began publishing Latinx Talk in 2017.
University Libraries’ Publication & Repository Services provides ongoing support to Latinx Talk by
hosting the publication on a University Libraries managed WordPress platform (with the assistance ofApplication Development & Operations) and by providing technical support and expertise in scholarly
publishing. Aside from allocation of staff time and providing publishing infrastructure, University
Libraries does not provide direct funds to Latinx Talk.
The Latinx Talk publishing partnership has been very successful. The site had a recent face-lift andApplication Development & Operations provides proactive monitoring of the site. The publication has
14

grown in scope and interactions with the content have steadily increased. Our work as a publisher canbe hidden to a publication’s community, but we are a true partner, and our expertise and services are
essential support to content experts who otherwise may not have a platform for their voices.

Patron Driven Acquisitions Program
Project #37: Patron Driven Acquisitions Program
Project Type: Collection Building
Project links: Course Reserves and Textbooks Requests and Recommend a Title Online Form
Under the Patron Driven Acquisitions Program (PDAP), anyone who is affiliated with Ohio State canrequest a book/material to be purchased; requests are not prioritized based on subject area or status.
PDAP is a way for patrons to have their needs met if they don’t find the material represented in
University Libraries collection.
PDAP began as conversation between Karla Strieb and Gene Springs on how to make the process toacquire patron requested materials easily accessible and to alleviate the burden on the Collection
Managers or Subject Librarians. To support this acquisition process, the workflow has been streamlined
so that it has become a routinized part of the purchasing departments’ daily workflow.
PDAP supports the social justice issues of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion because it allows patrons theability to request any materials that are not being represented in the collection without having tonavigate multiple barriers to ask for these materials to be purchased.
Additionally, allowing a patron to decide what format should be purchased allows the patron to selectthe best format for their individual needs to be met and assists in University Libraries focus ofAccessibility when purchasing materials.
PDAP was implemented when COVID lockdown mandates impacted University Libraries patrons’ accessto University Libraries’ physical collection. The PDAP program was able to be implemented quickly
because a mature service PDAP program was already in place and functioning in the acquisition of newmaterials process.
Multiple units are involved with the program, including Collection Strategy, Access Services,
Acquisitions, and the Electronic Resources Management Team. Funding for the program came fromreallocated non-special collections, general funds.

Wyandotte Partnership
Project # 18: Wyandot Partnership
Project Type: Access and Accessibility
Project link: The Charles and Patricia Buser Collection of Research Materials on Native American
Cultures
The Wyandotte partnership project provides access (digitally) to the archives of the Wyandotte Nation.
The Wyandotte Nation did not have the ability to provide access to their materials to potential students,
15

teachers, and researchers. The Rare Books & Manuscripts Library (RBML) allowed for this access to bepossible via its digitization project, thereby promoting access to primary sources related to Indigenous
culture and history of Ohio. Additionally, this partnership represents a joint stewardship effort with the
Wyandotte Nation and helps provide access to their archives and history not just to the scholarly
community, but to the Wyandotte Nation’s members.
Charles Aubrey Buser (1922-2010) and Ardis Patricia Anderson Buser had a strong personal interest in
Wyandotte language and culture. They traveled widely, throughout the United States and Canada andexplored the history and traditions of the Wyandot, as well as other native peoples, gatheredgenealogical information, and in the process sought to record as much as possible of the languages,
both in text and audio recordings.
Stephen Buser, a former faculty member in the Fisher College of Business recognized the research valueof his parents' papers and offered to permit University Libraries to scan the collection before thematerials were donated to the Wyandotte Nation. Stephen also contributed some financial support forthe scanning project. Scanning commenced in November of 2008, and the scanning project wascompleted in July of 2012.
Due to the personal information and recency and topics of the correspondence, the scanned collection
was not disseminated via the Knowledge Bank. The collection, for example, includes Charles Buser’s
work to help families with their claims to be recognized as members of the Wyandotte Nation. RBML did
not have delivery mechanism other than to scan, store on a shared drive, and link to each scan from anHTML inventory.
The materials were repatriated in 2013 during a ceremony and program held at University Libraries.
Stephen Buser officially and symbolically handed over the materials to the Wyandotte Nation. The Chiefof the Wyandotte and Chief of the Eastern Shawnee attended and have subsequently visited again. Lisa
Iacobellis also gave copies of all the RBML files for the project to the Wyandotte Nation historian. In all,the Wyandotte Nation received original materials, the RBML inventories, and copies of the scans fortheir own use.
The finding aid for the collection is available via the Special Collections Registry. Many scans are
restricted but they can be accessed on a computer in the Thompson Special Collections reading room.
Although not easily found, the collection continues to be used. Margaret Newell, a Professor in the
Department of History uses it with her courses. Someone from Newark was also using the collection; he
did a public presentation to make sure people know about it. Unfortunately, no linguistics students havebeen interested in the collection recently. In using the collection, students see the personal aspect. All
the legal proceedings really help the students empathize with the stories of the individuals. Sometimes
the students are themselves Native American and this collection really captures their interest.
The project also led to ongoing collaborations with Ohio State’s American Indian Studies program. This
has also been helpful to University Libraries. For example, RBML has worked with Christine Ballengee
Morris, Professor and Director of the program regarding the digitization of an album of 19th century
photographs of the Western United States that includes Indigenous people. Christine helped withdetermining if anything was sensitive, offensive, traumatic, or illegal and should not be digitized,
including contacting an attorney specializing in this area.
16

The project was a success—in terms of having completed the digitization of the materials andrepatriating the collection. There is always room to redefine what success looks like, however, as wemove forward with this initiative/partnership. RBML would like to figure out ways to make thiscollection more visible and used in a variety of curricular settings. There are also potential
opportunities—especially now considering the Zoom environment—for outreach programming. There isalways work that can be done in promoting the collection to potential users, especially devising ways tosee it incorporated more regularly and fully into the curricula of different departments at Ohio State(and/or beyond).
Technology and the digital delivery system/platform have been ongoing challenges as we all try to figureout how University Libraries will best be in a position to provide access to collections like this. RBML has
retained the reel-to-reel original sound recordings because we have not yet been able to reformat them.
There were CD copies made from cassette copies that we were able to give to Wyandotte Nation. It
would be good to do high quality reformatting of the originals and then repatriate them.
In addition to the technology challenges, there were many layers of contact, especially early on. Looking
back, a meeting early on with the Wyandotte Nation in Oklahoma would have been great and could
have sped up the process.
In working with this collection, RBML staff came to understand why repatriation was the goal when the
resources and expertise of Ohio State positioned the institution be an excellent steward. What on thesurface was a collection about Wyandotte language was really about the personal lives, the history, ofthe Wyandotte people. It is not the point that Ohio State could be an excellent steward – it is reallyabout the stories of the Wyandotte people.

For Further Discussion
The efforts of this Working Group to capture the work we are already doing to advance social justicethrough University Libraries collections work should be considered phase one in any comprehensive
understanding of an inventory of our work. It is a snapshot in time, already superseded. It is limited tovoluntary responses and by our own learning curve. Incomplete aspects of the inventory data include afull accounting of where our existing practices are documented and the nature of our existing
partnerships. Our strengths, limitations, and gaps will become clearer with subsequent phases of thiswork. We would point those interested in a fuller picture of the inventory, to review the anonymized
data sheet accompanying this report (See Appendix A).

17

Appendix A: Inventory Data
The 98-project inventory list is presented in Appendix A. The anonymized inventory data spreadsheet isavailable to the Working Group sponsors in the Teams folder for this report.
Appendix A
Inventory Project List With Project Type and Division#

Project Description

Project Type

Division

1

1943 Ohio State thesis, an historical study of thesinging conventions of the Indians of Robeson
County, North Carolina by Elma Louise Ater. The
book includes 2 audio discs with recordings of
unknown members of the Lumbee Tribe.

Access andAccessibility

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

2

African American and African Studies Audiovisual
Recordings Digitization, transcript

Access andAccessibility

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs; Research& Education

3

Arabic - Persian Books Scanning - 1630s-1922
publications

Access andAccessibility

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

4

Community Supported Open Infrastructure andInvestments in Open Access

Access andAccessibility

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

5

Digital Accessibility - Libraries Publishing Program

Access andAccessibility

Content & Access6

Digitization of Black Studies Broadcast Journal
radio program

Access andAccessibility

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

7

Digitization of Our Choking Times (university
student publication), Ohio State’s Black student
newspaper of the 1970s-1990s -- added tohistoric Ohio State publications posted in the
Veridian online platform

Access andAccessibility

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

18

8Free interlibrary loan to all Ohio public libraries,
including those in underrepresented areas ofstate not part of SearchOhio

Access andAccessibility

Content & Access9

Google Library Project. Google’s Library Projectmakes it possible for users to search on Google
through millions of books written in manydifferent languages, including books that are rare,out of print, or generally unavailable outside ofthe library system.
HathiTrust digital collection strategy andcommunity metadata strategy. University
Libraries is a member of HathiTrust. As members
we have opportunities to both contribute to andbenefit from community wide efforts to create
and preserve digital access to a wide range ofbook collections "hiding in plain sight". These
collections have the potential to expose
perspectives and voices from outside themainstream and from non-dominant cultural
identities. The organization is also building
capacity to engage community bibliographic
metadata at scale.
HathiTrust Research Center SCWAReD. As
members of HathiTrust, Ohio State affiliates haveaccess to curated research sets focused on
historically under-resources and marginalized
textual communities. Worksets cover the historyof Black writing, Native American authoredworks, "Black Fantastic" texts, Latin American
fiction, and Black public health.

Access andAccessibility

Content & Access

Access andAccessibility

Content & Access

Access andAccessibility

Research &Education

Historical Jewish Pamphlets (digitization): Funded
by a gift from the Melton Foundation. Purchasedfrom a Judaic/Hebraic Old Books Store in
Amsterdam in the 1960s, the Historic Jewish
Pamphlet collection at The Ohio State University
Libraries includes books and Judaic ephemera(“gray literature”) in various languages (mainly
German, Dutch and Hebrew). The collection
reveals aspects of daily Jewish life, mainly inWestern Europe, from the 18th, 19th and early 20th
centuries.

Access andAccessibility

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

10

11

12

19

13

Knowledge Bank: Host broadly in alignment withland grant mission. Not the curators ofcollections, but we do look at where we canprovide support for collections that otherwise
would not have another avenue forpublication/dissemination. We think about how
we talk about our services and how our partners
talk about their activities. With metadata wework on navigating changes in descriptive
language and providing added information georeferencing and more contemporary language
and then making public how we decided tohandle particular situations.
Open Access to research and scholarship

Access andAccessibility

Content & Access

Access andAccessibility

Content & Access15

Ottoman- Turkish Books Scanning - pre 1928
titlesAccess andAccessibility

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

16

Porgy and Bess Opera film reels- AV items
assessed, rewound and rehoused.

Access andAccessibility

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

17

TOME@Ohio State

Access andAccessibility

Content & Access18

Wyandotte Partnership: partnership to digitize,archive materials of the Wyandot Nation

Access andAccessibility

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

19

ALX incentivizing EDISJ-related materials in grantapplications: ALX will be incentivizing EDISJrelated materials in their OER grant program($500 grant) - opportunity for deeper
collaboration?
Approval Plan Analysis for African American and
African Studies Librarian

Collection Building

Research &Education

Collection Building

Content & Access;Research &Education

Approval plan analysis for Area Studies Librarians

Collection Building

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

14

20

21

20

22

BICLM Diversity Acquisition Fund Donor Proposal

Collection Building

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

23

BICLM kickstarter pilot: BICLM initiative focusedon underrepresented communities (gender, race,
LGBTQ+). Pilot program to fund kickstarters forpurchasing from non-traditional publishers.

Collection Building

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

24

BICLM piloted an innovative acquisitions programthat supports comics Kickstarter projects ofcartoonists from marginalized communities.

Collection Building

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

25

Carmen Collection: spotlights members ofCollection Building
Buckeye Nation who have shaped The Ohio State
University throughout its history but whosestories have been lost or too seldom told over theyears. Told to the best of our knowledge, thesestories add a richness both to our university’s
official record and to our collective consciousness
as Buckeyes.
Collecting Ohio State student publication, Black
Collection Building
and Bold: capturing Black and Bold student
organization website, outside of regular web
capturing

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

27

Contribute library statistics for Council on East
Asian Libraries (CEAL) - volumes held, volumes
added gross, current serials, other materials,
electronic resources)

Collection Building

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

28

Created Tableau visualization of Manga material
checkouts and locations

Collection Building

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

29

Developed a Collection Manager Tool in Tableau
for librarian use in order tracking and collection
assessment.

Collection Building

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs; Research& Education

30

Establish comprehensive collection of comics by
Indigenous Creators (focus on North America)

Collection Building

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs; Planning& Administration

26

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

21

31

Global anti-racist work represented in collections:
When we were in Ackerman during the breakup
of Yugoslavia we had lots of Serbian materials
vandalized. We had to think about how to deal
with the situation and collections repair. Antiracist work from other parts of the world (fromSoviet Union and Soviet sphere) is captured inour collections.
Inquiries about general collection development
policy for EDI: Several comments inquiring abouta collection development policy for generalcollections, similar to ones described for special
collections
Investigating non-conventional and open
educational e-books resources aimed at
supporting Ohio State's international and areastudies.

Collection Building

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

Collection Building

Content & AccessCollection Building

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

34

LBGTQ collection webinar: RBMS held a virtual
event "Pride Month in the Archives: Exploring the
LGBTQ Collection with Brett Shingledecker"
6/25/20, also tied to fundraising campaign for
Rare Books and Manuscripts fund for LGBTQ

Collection Building

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

35

MPK resident role: Culturally Diverse Collections:
MPK resident role is to work with culturally
diverse collections, evaluating what we have andpushing them out to users. Particularly strong inRare and TRI LGBTQ+ holdings, also black
performance, theater, dance.

Collection Building

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

36

The Ohio State University Libraries collaboration
with the Office of Diversity & Inclusion topurchase/expand access to anti-racism titles

Collection Building

Content & Access;Research &Education

37

Patron driven acquisitions program: Patrons use
forms to suggest additions to the collections.
Note that all submissions will be subject toreview and that University Libraries may beunable to accommodate all requests.

Collection Building

Content & Access38

Portuguese Book Collection Analysis

Collection Building

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

32

33

22

39

Prioritized central purchases that support social
justice, anti-racism, and BIPOC communities in
FY21
Proposal for acquisition fund forunderrepresented creators: Advancement andBICLM are collaborating to develop a donor pitch
to create an acquisitions fund forunderrepresented creators.

Collection Building

Content & AccessCollection Building

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs; Planning& Administration

41

Provide library statistics for various institutional
surveys (ARL, IPEDS, and PETERSON)

Collection Building

Administration;
Content &Access; Planning& Administration

42

Purchasing materials from Africa orAfrican American publishers in print. Also, fromother global regions

Collection Building

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

43

RBML collecting to support diversity: RBML
collecting focus on women writers, LGBTQ+
writers, and African American writers

Collection Building

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

44

RBML Zine holdings: RBML developing their zine
holdings, an affordable way to capture the workof marginalized voices

Collection Building

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

45

Research project surveying the acquisitions
infrastructure of ARL institutions to assess thepractices and its impacts on building diverse
collections. The goal is to posit new ways todecenter whiteness and Western Europeanfocused collecting, and to incorporate values ofdiversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility into
the acquisitions programs moving forward.

Collection Building

Content & Access;
Planning &Administration;
Research &Education

46

Revising BICLM's Collection Development Policy
to explicitly state our commitment to a collectionthat represents diverse voices and our intention
to prioritize acquiring materials by cartoonists
from traditionally marginalized communities.

Collection Building

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

47

SC Coll Dev Policies to support EDI: Revising
policies to prioritize collecting from BIPOC or
marginalized communities

Collection Building

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

48

Streaming Media Pilot Analysis

Collection Building

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs; Research& Education

40

23

49

Thompson Special Collections, BICLM, OPPA
Collections Development Policies Articulating EDI
Collecting Areas: Thompson Special Collections
has a collection development policy that
articulates EDI collecting area. BICLM has an
official collections development policy. Ohio
Congressional Archives [Ohio Public Policy
Archives] currently updating collection
development policy.
TRI collecting in diversity space: TRI deliberately
collecting in this space (women, LGBTQ+, African
American, marginalized voices) /Revising TRI
collection development policies to emphasizecollecting around diversity

Collection Building

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

Collection Building

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

51

User-initiated request process for collections
materials from any Ohio State community
memberCollection Building

Content & Access

52

Working with the BTAA Collection Development
Officer subgroup on DEI collections for consortial
consideration

Collection Building

Content & Access

53

Description (MARC and non-MARC metadata]

Description

Content & Access

54

Descriptive metadata and inclusive language Knowledge Bank and Libraries Publishing
ProgramDescription

Content & Access

55

EDI Controlled Vocabulary & Description Working
Group: Informal reading and discussion groupfocused on issues in controlled vocabularies anddescriptive metadata

Description

Content & Access

56

Inclusive/equitable archival collections
description

Description

Content & Access

57

Remediating subject terms

Description

Content & Access

58

Served on group that wrote the OhioLINK
Guidelines for Addressing Outdated or Offensive
Subject Terms
Targeted cleanup/exposure of diverse legacy
archival holdings

Description

Content & Access

Description

Content & AccessA series of webinars related to diversity

Outreach and
Education

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

50

59
60

24

61

ACRL Teaching with Primary Sources Cookbook
Chapter - "You Can Research That"

Outreach and
Education

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

62

Antiracism LibGuide

Outreach and
Education

Research &Education

63

Area Studies supporting Title VI work with
community partners: Described current support
for Title VI center work for community
engagement including K-12, historically blackcolleges, community colleges, etc.

Outreach and
Education

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

64

BICLM Event plus acquisition of collections
materials: Ricardo CateOutreach and
Education

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

65

BICLM Event: Art+Feminism talk with MariNaomi

Outreach and
Education

66

BICLM Event: Art+Feminism Wiki Edit a Thon

Outreach and
Education

67

BICLM Event: RED, WHITE, BLACK AND BLUE:
Cartoonist Keith Knight addresses America’s
Racial Illiteracy

Outreach and
Education

68

BICLM Event: Where We're Coming From: African
American Comic Art & Belonging

Outreach and
Education

69

BICLM mounts exhibitions that examine social
Outreach andjustice issues and highlight the work of
Education
cartoonists from historicallyunderrepresented/marginalized groups: Tales
from La Vida: Latinx Comics; Looking Backward,
Looking Forward: U.S. Immigration in Cartoonsand Comics; Windows On Death Row: Art from
Inside and Outside the Prison Walls; and The Long
March: Civil Rights in Cartoons and Comics. We
are currently planning exhibitions of the work of
Ollie Harrington and Brumsic Brandon, Jr.

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs; Planning& Administration;
Research &Education
Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs; Planning& Administration;
Research &Education
Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs; Planning& Administration
Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs; Planning& Administration
Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs; Planning& Administration

25

70

Civil Rights Bill digital exhibit

Outreach and
Education

71

Collections support for English Department
Native & Indigenous Studies course and otherliterature courses that amplify marginalizedvoicesOutreach and
Education

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs
Research &Education

72

Collections support for English Department's
Anti-Hate Resources page

Outreach and
Education

Research &Education

73

Community distrust towards university
intentions: AAAS faculty working with thecommunity and community scholars; some
distrust of intentions, a challenge then to engage
to help with culturally appropriate description

Outreach and
Education

Research &Education74

Co-sponsor SOLCON: the Brown, Black andIndigenous Comics Expo

Outreach and
Education

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

75

Digital scholarship projects with collections

Outreach and
Education

Research &Education

76

EDI STEM LibGuide

Outreach and
Education

Research &Education

77

Electrical and Computer Engineering readinggroup

Outreach and
Education

Research &Education

78

Event with collections component: Día de losMuertos at The Ohio State University. Annual
event; not clear if it will continue post-Covid. The
event included a variety of programming andactivities, along with an open house-stylepresentation of related BICLM materials

Outreach and
Education

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

26

79

EVF Internships: In partnership with the
Expanding Visions Foundation, University
Libraries hosts a cohort of high school students ina nine-week career course to provide practical
tools and critical resources to prepare forsecuring employment and succeeding in theworkplace. Students interview for summer
internships at University Libraries, which provide
real world work experience, introduce andpromote librarianship to young people, honepersonal career goals and expose participants toacademic and professional settings, including
meaningful interactions with University Libraries
faculty and staff.
Instruction with collection of scores of global
traditional, folk, and social dances.

Outreach and
Education

Administration

Outreach and
Education

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

81

Mentored a Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority
Participation (LSAMP) Program student who
worked with Dr. Borror’s lantern slides. Dr.
Borror's works are in many library collections.

Outreach and
Education

Research &Education

82

ODI Anti-Racist Reading Guides (reading list)

Outreach and
Education

Research &Education

83

Programs, exhibits in THO promoting collections
and EDI

Outreach and
Education

84

Project STAND [consortium for archiving and"ethical documentation of student activism in
marginalized communities"]

Outreach and
Education

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs
Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

85

Social media posts, blog posts and curator's talks
related to collections and EDI/Social Justice

Outreach and
Education

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs; Planning& Administration

86

STEP Program: You Can Research That (Black
History Month)

Outreach and
Education

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

80

27

87

Subject Librarian Collection Promotion and EDI:
Appreciation for subject librarians to achieve ourstrategic directions and social justice mission.
Subject librarians have consistently worked on
promoting our collections to our departments
and to the university and Columbus.

Outreach and
Education

Research &Education

88

Thomas Gregory Song (TGS) Papers in the Rare
Books and Manuscripts Library - Digitization
trained student fellow & later completed
digitization TGS Papers include Song family
genealogical records, personal photographs fromSong’s childhood, an Oral History Interview, over
2300 blog posts and personal correspondence,
journals, and essays.

Outreach and
Education

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

89

Top 3: ODI/University Libraries Partnership ;AAAS Community Scholars ; Center of Ethnic
Studies resource support

Outreach and
Education

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

90

Two special collections held in RBML that focus
on Asian diaspora, political persecution in Asia
and North America, and Asian American
experiences: These two collections are the Toyo
Suyemoto Collection (whose collection contains
papers from her time in the Japanese internment
camps during WWII) and the Thomas Gregory
Song Collection. The latter collection highlights
intersectional persecutions targetingrace/ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, andpolitical affiliation. Area Studies and RBML.
Content and Access has been closely involved
with processing and digital access of the Song
Collection. Important components of theSuyemoto Collection are available on the
Knowledge Bank and are used presently byresearchers of Asian American history and 20th
century literary movements.
Update and enhance BICLM's "Guide toMulticultural Resources” for increased
discoverability

Outreach and
Education

Content & Access;Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

Outreach and
Education

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

91

28

92

Libraries Publishing Program: Our mission is tolook at how we can support marginalized groups
and to encourage partners to be aware of
imbalances in publication. Urge them to strive fordiversifying their publishing writ large, not justwhat is published but also who has access. We
are willing to experiment (new models, forms of
publication) when we talk to marginalized
communities (for example, Latinx Talk). We try to
be thoughtful around metadata and otherdescriptive language around publishing (e.g.
avoid "blind review", "double-blind review" - useanonymous review). We are publishing Disability
Studies Quarterly. We think about how we talkabout our services and how our partners talkabout their activities.

Publishing/Scholarly
Communication

Content & Access

93

Published chapter: “Comics in Special Collections:Purposeful Collection Development for
Promoting Inclusive History” by Caitlin McGurk
and Jenny Robb in Comics and Critical
Librarianship: Reframing the Narrative in
Academic Libraries from Library Juice Press.

Publishing/Scholarly
Communication

Distinctive
Collections & Digital
Programs

94

Publishing partnership - Buckeye East Asian
Linguistics

Publishing/Scholarly
Communication

Content & Access

95

Publishing partnership - Disability Studies
Quarterly

Publishing/Scholarly
Communication

Content & Access

96

Publishing partnership - Latinx Talk

Publishing/Scholarly
Communication

Content & Access

97

Publishing partnership - The Journal of Plain
Anabaptist Communities

Publishing/Scholarly
Communication

Content & Access

98

Transforming the Scholarly Publishing Economy
Initiative

Publishing/Scholarly
Communication

Content & Access

29

Appendix B: Survey Instrument
Qualtrics Survey
The members of the Advancing Social Justice through University Libraries Collections Inventory Our
Work Working Group are inviting you to complete this brief survey to help us create a clear picture of
the work individuals and units are already doing. The purpose of this survey is to identify initiatives,projects, programs or activities and contacts, and the Working Group may follow-up to gather more
information. We are seeking examples of collections work that advance social justice, including but notlimited to the following areas:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

selecting, licensing and purchasing of circulating and special collections materials
digitization and digital preservation
access and accessibility
description
collection donations
collective collections with consortia partners
community archives
instruction and curriculum with collections
collection assessment
Knowledge Bank communities or collections
digital scholarship projects with collections
curations of collections not owned by University Libraries
exhibits
LibGuides that highlight library sources and databases

Please feel free to submit any initiatives, projects, programs or activities you are involved in or know
about, even if you think others may submit the same examples or you have only limited information
about them. All questions are optional, so skip any you do not have information or are unsure about.
Please enter one response per activity you are reporting.
What is the activity that you know about or are personally involved with?
What University Libraries department, unit, or area is connected with this activity?
What other campus departments or community organizations are connected with this activity?
Who would we contact about it?
What is the status of the activity? [Ongoing/Completed/Not sure]
If we can contact you with additional follow-up questions, please provide your name and email address
Are there other examples of this type of collection work in the library, museum, and archives fields thatyou are aware of? If so, please list other organizations, persons, or project models we should look at:Thank you for this response; it has been recorded.
Please submit another response if you have another activity to report.
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Survey Communications
NewsNotes March 24, 2021
Survey of University Libraries Collections Work Advancing Social Justice
Dear Colleagues,
The members of the Advancing Social Justice through University Libraries Collections Inventory Our
Work Working Group are inviting University Libraries staff and faculty to complete a brief survey to help
us to learn and communicate the work individuals and units are already doing in connection withdiversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility (DEIA) and social justice, how existing practices are documented
and the current partnerships we have built on campus and in the community. For more information
about DEIA and social justice, please see the draft of the Shared Definitions of Inclusivity, Diversity,
Equity, Accessibility and Social Justice proposed by the University Libraries IDEAS Committee.
The Advancing Social Justice through University Libraries Collections Working Groups are committed to
improving the organization’s approach to collections and advocating for activities that are aligned with
DEIA and social justice values. As a first step for our Inventory Working Group, this collection inventory
survey will allow us to identify and learn about initiatives, projects, programs and activities that are
currently active or were completed within the last three years.
Our goal is to determine our strengths, limitations and gaps in the areas of social justice, diversity,
equity, inclusion and accessibility relating to University Libraries collections work to share with the
Executive Committee and across the organization. We are aware that several of you mentioned
activities and collaborations during the Zoom conversations we had over the summer. We havecompiled this information, but we want to be sure to include all of the details of these projects and giveothers an opportunity to share additional examples of collections work, including selecting printmaterials and digital collections, licensing and purchasing, digitization and digital preservation, accessand accessibility, description and teaching and outreach using collections.
Thank you for helping us create a comprehensive inventory by completing this brief survey. Please feel
free to submit any projects or activities you are involved in or know about, even if you think others may
submit the same examples. This survey is an information-gathering exercise and not an assessment; it isintended to help us to learn and communicate the work individuals and units are already doing,
understand how existing practices are documented and identify the current partnerships we have built
on campus and in the community.
Respondents will have the opportunity to submit anonymously. The individual survey responses will be
kept confidential and viewed by members of this working group. In addition, they will be made available
to members of the other two Advancing Social Justice through University Libraries Collections working
groups and our Associate Dean sponsors. The overall results of the survey will be summarized so
responses cannot be attributed to specific individuals before they are shared more widely with the
Executive Committee and across the University Libraries.

31

We would like to thank the co-chairs of the IDEAS Committee for their feedback on an earlier draft ofthis survey.
The survey will be open until Friday, April 16, 2021.
Please submit a separate survey response for each activity you are reporting.
If you have any questions about the purpose of this working group or survey, please let us know bycontacting Maureen Walsh (walsh.260@osu.edu).
Sincerely,
Advancing Social Justice through University Libraries Collections: Inventory Our Work Working GroupMorag Boyd
Dana DeRose
Johanna Meetz
Alicia Perkins
Cyndi Preston
Jenny Robb
Jennifer Schnabel
Gene Springs
Rocki Strader
Maureen Walsh

NewsNotes April 7, 2021
Reminder: Survey of University Libraries Collections Work Advancing Social Justice
Dear Colleagues,
A friendly reminder that the Advancing Social Justice through University Libraries Collections Inventory
Our Work Working Group is inviting all University Libraries staff and faculty to complete a brief survey tohelp us learn about the collections work individuals and units are doing in connection with diversity,
equity, inclusion, accessibility (DEIA) and social justice and the current partnerships we have built on
campus and in the community.
Collections work advancing social justice can include selecting print materials and digital collections,licensing and purchasing, digitization and digital preservation, access and accessibility, description, andteaching and outreach using collections.
Thank you for helping us create a comprehensive inventory by completing this brief survey. Please feel
free to submit any projects or activities you are involved in or know about, even if you think others may
submit the same examples. This survey is an information-gathering exercise and not an assessment; it isintended to help us to learn and communicate the work individuals and units are doing to advance social
justice.
The survey will be open until Friday, April 16, 2021.
Please submit a separate survey response for each activity you are reporting.
32

If you have any questions about the purpose of this working group or survey, please let us know bycontacting Maureen Walsh (walsh.260@osu.edu).
Sincerely,
Advancing Social Justice through University Libraries Collections: Inventory Our Work Working GroupMorag Boyd
Dana DeRose
Johanna Meetz
Alicia Perkins
Cyndi Preston
Jenny Robb
Jennifer Schnabel
Gene Springs
Rocki Strader
Maureen Walsh

33

Appendix C: Interview Questionnaire
How does your project/program/work/research support social justice and/or DEIA issues?

Tell us about the origins of the project/program/work/research and who is involved. (For example, ask
about the following)
Documentation (if none has been provided)
Individual or Libraries based
Division
University Libraries department/unit/area
Funding
External Partners
Project links

What is the current status of the project, program, work/research?

Ask interviewee to talk in more depth about the objectives and goals of the project, program,work/research.

Has the project been a success? OR do you have any examples of how this project has achieved its
goals?

Have there been challenges or barriers to overcome?

Is there anything else you’d like to share or that you think would be helpful for us to know?

34

Appendix D: Working Group Membership and Charge
ChargeFollowing several organization-wide conversations conducted during Summer 2020 on University
Libraries collections and social justice, Executive Committee is sharing three initial steps to advance
movement toward systemic change in local collections practices. Through these action steps, interested
Libraries’ employees will engage in creating action plans and timelines for subsequent work. Each action
step will be addressed by a workgroup.
Workgroup #3: Inventory our work: What are we already doing?
This workgroup will do an inventory, keeping in mind that collections work includes not just collecting
but also licensing and purchasing, digitization and digital preservation, access and accessibility,
description, etc. From summer conversations participants made clear that there is already a lot ofinterest and work being done within the Libraries, but we don’t have shared knowledge of that work
across the organization.

Questions to consider include:••••

What are individuals or units doing?
Where are our existing practices documented?
Do we have existing partnerships that are relevant?
Where do we have strengths, limitations, and gaps?

Sponsors
Karla Strieb, Associate Dean, Content and Access
Jennifer Vinopal, Associate Dean, Distinctive Collections and Digital Programs

Membership
Morag Boyd
Dana DeRose
Johanna Meetz
Alicia Perkins
Cyndi Preston
Jenny Robb
Jen Schnabel
Gene Springs
Rocki Strader
Maureen Walsh (convener)35