A quiet cultural shift is struggling to take place in the LSU Libraries. After a three- year decline in diversity among Troy H. Middleton Library employees, and a lack in diversity overall, the library wants to change.
The Middleton Library staff has been declining in diversity and employees since 2015. Though the library actually implemented a diversity committee around three years ago and has been an active member of the Association of College & Research Libraries Diversity Alliance for two years, numbers still have not improved.
This year the library wants more concrete results. Director of Library Communications and Publications, Sigrid Kelsey, said this year’s freshman class being the most diverse was one inspiration for this.
“We want to really try to reverse that trend and increase diversity in both our staff and faculty to match the student population,” Kelsey said. “We have the most diverse [freshman] class. We need to do the same with our employees.”
The library is in the process of hiring a resident with the help of the Association of College & Research Libraries Diversity Alliance, hoping hire someone this year. A subcommittee of the library’s diversity committee has also been reviewing book collections, trying to increase representation and different viewpoints.
“Librarianship in general is not a diverse profession,” Kelsey said. “Eighty percent of librarians are white, so that makes it a little more difficult. That’s where initiatives like this come in.”
The committee has also created a reflection space for students. Staff members have gone through diversity training and learned how to recruit more a diverse staff. Many of the library’s faculty have completed safe-space training, and have rainbow stickers on their doors as a sign that they’re available to talk. Kelsey said this focus on inclusion came from a wider dialogue on the issues at hand.
The LSU Libraries’ diversity and inclusion page addresses past shortcomings and acknowledges that libraries have historically failed to be diverse. When asked about the LSU Libraries’ history and possible failures, Kelsey said there wasn’t anything specific they were addressing.
“I think that just speaks to historical oppression and just the history of segregation and tradition that may have disenfranchised certain underrepresented groups that we’re trying to correct now,” Kelsey said.
The LSU Libraries’ plan to its change focus on three points: hiring more diverse staff members using resources from the Association of College & Research Libraries Diversity Alliance, adding more representation to collections and resources and creating a welcoming environment for all students.
“I think it’s a problem that we’re not very diverse, but it’s one that I think everyone is committed to changing and working on,” Kelsey said. “I wouldn’t look at it so much that we’re failing, but we’re still trying to do better.”