Table of contents
I’m grateful to the DLF for taking their mission of inclusion seriously.
Stacie Williams
I love the inclusive, expansive, thoughtful, and community-oriented leadership [of the DLF].
Chris Bourg
Basic Resources
Social justice and the public good are front-and-center in DLF’s mission statement. But these are impossible goals to serve without thoughtful, conscious, welcoming, and dedicated efforts among all our working and interest groups, as well as among our staff and the volunteer committees that help organize DLF Forum. Most of all, we encourage DLF group leaders and participants to value and create conditions for humility and listening.
Below, you’ll find just a few recommended readings and toolkits for pushing against structural racism, systemic gender bias, able-ism, and other forms of oppression and exclusion that are endemic in librarianship and technology fields. Further suggestions can be found on the DLF Committee for Equity and Inclusion’s list of Reading Materials and Resources for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
- Beatley Library Anti-Oppression Guide
- Culturally Connected (written from a health literacy perspective, but very useful in the GLAM context; see especially resources on cultural humility)
- Cultural Humility for Library Workers (JCLC 2018 workshop resources by Nicky Andrews and Sunny Kim)
- Social Inclusion Audit and Toolkit, Canadian Urban Libraries Council
- Geek Feminism Wiki
- Code4Lib Journal Special Issue on Diversity in Library Technology
- Racial Equity Tools
- Diversity & Consensus – Training for Change
- Tools and Activities – Training for Change
- Run Meetings That Are Fair to Introverts, Women, and Remote Workers – Harvard Business Review
- Design for Diversity
- Consider increasing the safety level of sensitive meetings by running them under the Chatham House Rule.
- Reducing Academic-Driven Harm in Chronically Exploited Communities, by Stephanie Birch, 2021 Panhandle Library Access Network Virtual Conference
Code of Conduct
DLF’s Code of Conduct has been in place since 2012. In 2016, DLF staff and members of the DLF Forum Planning Committee on Inclusivity (the precursor to DLF’s Committee for Equity and Inclusion) worked together to revise the Code of Conduct to cover activities happening under the Digital Library Federation umbrella, both in person and online, year-round. Since 2016, the CoC has been revised three times: in 2017 to include our 24/7 emergency number; in 2018 to include mention of active bystanders as well as information on reporting incidents outside of the customary staff reporting line; and again in 2020 with clarifying language.
All group facilitators are asked to read this document, share with their communities, and contact us with questions or suggestions.
Accessibility
DLF’s Code of Conduct encourages community members to seek concrete ways to make physical spaces and online resources more universally accessible. This includes actions like using the microphone during in-person events, turning on closed captioning for meetings, or scheduling virtual events to last no longer than two hours. Below, you’ll find some resources and readings containing guidelines and best practices for making your meetings accessible to the widest group possible.
- Creating Accessible In-Person Presentations (2022, with thanks to Debbie Krahmer and DLF’s Committee for Equity and Inclusion and Digital Accessibility Working Group)
- Creating Accessible and Interactive Online Presentations (2020, with thanks to Debbie Krahmer, Sarah Goldstein, Stephanie Rosen, Lydia Tang, Amy Vecchione, and Alex Wermer-Colan of DLF’s Committee for Equity and Inclusion and Digital Accessibility Working Group)
- Accessibility tips and resources from LITA
- Virtual Meetings: Accessibility Checklist and Best Practices from the American Bar Association
- DLF Forum Moderator Training (2018, with thanks to Paige C. Morgan and Helene Williams)
- DLF Social Event Checklist (2018, with thanks to Carli Spina and the DLF Forum Inclusivity Committee)
Resources from DLF’s Digital Accessibility Working Group
Ally/Active Bystander Skills
In order to provide our community with the resources needed to be effective allies and active bystanders, DLF has underwritten formal ally skills training courses at past Forums and hosting the DLF Committee for Equity and Inclusion’s Active Bystander Orientation, in introduction to bystander intervention and an overview of active bystander strategies. Interested in having this opportunity available at a future DLF Forum or in helping us to fund opportunities like this? Let us know.
- Video: Ally Skills Workshop – Valerie Aurora of Frame Shift Consulting
- “2019 DLF Forum Active Bystander Orientation”: View the recording of our live Active Bystander Orientation (presentation slides, shared note-taking document, and Zoom meeting chat transcript available)
- “Active Bystander Orientation” – DLF blog
The level of generosity, drive toward inclusion, & care for colleagues in the @CLIRDLF community inspires, astounds.
Bethany Nowviskie