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Year in Review

The diversity environment at the University of Oregon over the past eighteen months has been a dynamic one, which saw far reaching initiatives launched.Within this context the Library Diversity Committee had a productive year.We set an ambitious agenda for ourselves, and, I am pleased to say, we accomplished a great deal.The Committee was involved in a wide range of activities from exhibitions to sponsoring workshops and developing a long-range diversity plan for the Library. The Committee's activities made a positive contribution to the evolving diversity climate on campus and in the library.

2005 Committee Members

  • James Fox, Chair, Head, Special Collections & University Archives
  • Eliz Breakstone, Social Sciences Librarian
  • Christine Carmichael, Serials Cataloger and Metadata Technician
  • Paul Harvey, Cataloger and Metadata Technician
  • Tracy Scharn, Personnel Office Specialist
  • Kaiping Zhang, Business Reference Librarian (Jan.-July)
  • Ex-officio: Laine Stambaugh, Director, Library Human Resources

Exhibitions

Exhibit - The Many Faces of Oregon's Workers, circa 1900-1940

This exhibit featured photographs from Special Collections and books from the Library's collections to document the contributions made by African American, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American men and women to the cultural and economic development of our state. A web version of this exhibit was developed as a permanent part of Special Collections & University Archives' on-line presentations, and can be viewed at http://libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll/exhibits/manyfaces/index.html.

Exhibit – Ping Yang on the Mohawk: The Forgotten Asians of Marcola, Oregon

This exhibit in the Browsing Room display cases, featuring the historical research and photographs of Stephen Williamson, documented some local Asian communities and events in the Mohawk Valley from 1895-1925.

Film series – A series of five films from the Library's video collection were shown as a complement to the Many Faces exhibit:

  • Yours for Liberty: Abigail Scott Duniway
  • Hatiya (wind): Voices of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
  • American Cowboys
  • The Oregon Story: Agricultural Workers
  • Family Gathering

Workshops and Events

Boys Will Be Boys Will Be Girls\" (gender identity workshop) – This workshop was very well attended and the committee received several positive responses from participating library staff. The presentation by Chicora Martin included a film about gender identity and public restrooms, followed by a discussion of transgender issues.

2nd annual "Food and a film\" event – This annual potluck, cosponsored with LSA, is intended to be a social as well as a cultural offering.This year it was held in conjunction with one of the films from the series above, "American Cowboys,\" a documentary about the controversial 1911 Pendleton Round-Up, which saw a tribal cowboy, Jackson Sundown, and a black cowboy, George Fletcher, compete for the top prize.

Reception for Humphrey Fellows - For the second year in a row, the Library hosted a reception for the visiting scholars from the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program.This program brings to the University of Oregon a group of accomplished professionals from designated countries that have a wide range of development needs.Library staff had the opportunity to meet and chat with a diverse group of people from a variety of disciplines from all over the world.

Queer Ally Coalition training – A small group of library staff participated in the LGBTQA's ally training program, presented by Chicora Martin.

Projects, Planning, and Other Activities

Gender-neutral restroom project – As a follow-up to the gender identity workshop, the Committee submitted a proposal to Library Administration to convert one of the single-use staff bathrooms into a gender-neutral public bathroom. This project was successfully completed and this bathroom will be included in a campus directory of gender-neutral restrooms (to be published by LGBT Educational and Support Services).

Submissions to LSA news – Committee members contributed several articles this year for "The world around us\" column. Topics included: A "Risa beauty day" (Kaiping); Campus Climate study on diversity (Eliz); volunteering with Special Olympics (Paul); a profile of the tapestry artist Nezhnie (Christy); and: the need for flexibility and creativity to enhance our services to patrons with disabilities (Tracy).

LDC Web site – The diversity web pages were reviewed and revised extensively, in compliance with the new library policies. The homepage is still found at http://libweb.uoregon.edu/diversity/index.html and includes some new features, such as index pages of LDC events and annual reports, and an archive of all submissions to LSA news.The Committee's meeting minutes and non-public documents are now found on Iris .

Workshops for 2006 – The Committee began planning for two additional workshops, which needed to be postponed until early 2006:

  • Disability issues in the library
  • Cultural differences in communication, with Dr. Kay Westerfield

Diversity plan – Midway through the year, Deb Carver asked the committee to review the UO's "Five year diversity plan draft" and to identify issues and opportunities that are applicable to the library.Using this document and its vision and goals as a source of inspiration, the Committee devoted most of its time during the second half of the year to this endeavor, starting with a half-day retreat in July. In November the Committee submitted two proposals to Library Administration, a long-range diversity plan and a list of diversity initiatives. After several reviews by Library Administration, the Committee has a final version of the initiatives document. Consideration and implementation of these initiatives will be the starting place for the new committee in 2006. See "Diversity Initiatives for UO Libraries\" at: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/diversity/initiatives.html.

Closing Remarks

The Diversity Committee has a unique opportunity before it. Diversity issues are coming to the forefront of the University and the Library Administration is strongly supportive of enhancing the diversity climate in the Library. This opportunity also comes with a great deal of responsibility. The Diversity Committee has a demanding year ahead of it. The Diversity Initiatives document that the Committee produced in consultation with Library Administration sets out a number of complicated and important projects for the Committee to work on in the coming year, including developing a long-range hiring plan for the Library, which will address diversity recruitment. In addition, the Committee will create a cultural competency training program for all Library staff, with a particular emphasis on new hires. These two projects will require a great deal of attention by all Committee members and the full support of Library Administration.

Submitted by James D. Fox
January 30, 2006

Maintained by: Erin O'Meara, erino@uoregon.edu
Last Modified: 12/10/2007