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HomeAnnual Report: 2003
Library Diversity Committee
The 2003 Diversity Committee consisted of Shirien Chappell, David McCallum, Karen Munro, Angus Nesbit, Edward Teague (chair), Ann Zeidman-Karpinski, and Laine Stambaugh (ex-officio). The committee continued to build upon past efforts to address its principle charge: to enhance our understanding of gender, ethnicity, cultural and social issues as a means to enhance services. Our efforts were varied and included publications, presentations, and outreach to campus entities associated with diversity issues.
Presentations
The committee hosted two presentations. In June, Mi-Hyang Kim, a visiting scholar from Korea employed temporarily by the Library, spoke on the library and information environment in her native country. In September, a presentation on the campus diversity environment featured speakers Tim McMahon, Faculty Development Consultant at Academic Learning Services, Kimi Mojica, Interim Director of Diversity Programs at the Office of Student Life, and Chicora Martin, Director of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Education and Support Services at the Office of Student Life. About 40 people attended both speaking events. An attempt to host an Oregon Chatauqua speaker to speak on Latin American issues was not successful.
Publications
The group's publication activity was fairly extensive. Highlights are listed below.
· A primary link for diversity-oriented sites, Diversity, was established on Iris, the staff intranet.
· The Diversity Committee's public and internal pages were intensively reviewed and revised as needed. Diversity Committee pages:
o Library Diversity Committee (reformatted by David)
o Diversity Events Calendar (maintained by Laine)
o Cultural Explorations: Suggested Books and Films (maintained and redesigned by Laine)
o Committee minutes on Iris (inspired and maintained by Shirien)
· The World Around Us replaced Diversity Doings as the name of the committee's column in the LSA Newsletter. The committee sponsored four columns in the five newsletters that appeared in 2004:
o Bell, Colleen, "Two Weeks in the Life…: A Visit to South Africa,\" (August 2003).
o Chappell, Shirien, "From Seoul to Korea,\" (June/July 2003).
o Nesbit, Angus, [September 2003 Forum], (December 2003).
o Ward, Heather, [Author Katy Robinson], Diversity Doings (January 2003).
· The Multicultural Resource Guide, updated last year, was reformatted (by David) to library web standards.
· Karen, Angus, and Ann created an important new guide: Research from a Diversity Perspective. This unique resource facilitates the work of researchers whose perspectives (ethnicity, culture, sexuality, gender, age, disability, etc.) are not easily revealed in reference sources.
Outreach
An overarching theme for the 2003 committee was understanding better UO's institutional ‘diversity' environment and the best role the Library Diversity Committee could play in that environment. A desire to enrich campus relationships and avoid duplicative efforts was a motivating factor. A related matter was the committee's role in maintaining the Multicultural Resource Guide to the University of Oregon and the Eugene-Springfield Community, an award-winning diversity resource, in print and online formats, created by library staff in 1998. The committee resolved that the MRG should be hosted by another entity to enable the committee to focus on activities more associated with the library's mission. In the fall of 2003, Rose Thomas and I met with John Shuford, director of UO's Center for Diversity and Community (CODAC), who agreed to take on the MRG. The MRG is now hosted by CODAC http://www.uoregon.edu/%7Ecodac/info.shtml. The development of a good working relationship with CODAC promises to offer more opportunities for collaboration. The hiring in 2004 of Gregory J. Vincent as UO's first vice provost for institutional equity and diversity should further bring clarity and improved communication about diversity issues.
As an outgoing member of the Diversity Committee, I have much admiration for this committee and its members whose genuine interest in our mission has been heartening to experience.
Submitted by Ed Teague, Chair, Library Diversity Committee
January 25, 2004
Maintained by: Erin O'Meara, erino@uoregon.eduLast Modified: 10/31/2007