IDEA Statement

Grand Valley State University Libraries are committed to inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility. We strive to provide an environment in which all members of the campus community feel welcome, safe, supported, respected, and valued. All library staff and faculty are active in the ongoing work of identifying and eliminating barriers to ensure that all members of the library community are able to fully participate in library spaces and services. We work to ensure that our tools, devices, services, and environments are available and usable by as many people as possible.

As part of this effort, the libraries have formed the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) committee to enable and facilitate IDEA initiatives and education. Acknowledge that education in this area is ongoing, the IDEA committee will be positioned to be responsive to needs as we embrace a learner mindset.

This commitment is in alignment with Grand Valley State University’s value of inclusiveness and are done in coordination with a variety of campus and community partners including the Division of Inclusion and Equity. As libraries, we are also in alignment with the American Library Association’s values of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

Resources

• University Libraries Equity & Inclusion Committee White Paper
• IDEA Reenvisioned Charge
• University Libraries Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Framework

User Feedback Process

You can provide feedback regarding inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility in the Grand Valley State University Libraries, or any general feedback about library services or spaces, at any library service desk or through: 

• Phone: (616) 331-3500 
• Email: [email protected] 
• Text: (616) 818-0219 
• Chat: https://www.gvsu.edu/library/chat

You can expect to hear back within twenty four hours, excluding library closures. The response will include a confirmation that the library has received your feedback, with further response to follow as necessary. 

Feedback will be reviewed by library staff and directed to the appropriate manager. 

Other resources:  

• Disability Support Resources  
• Reporting Incidents (Title IX and Bias Incidents) 
• Division of Inclusion and Equity 

The Grand Valley State University Libraries demonstrates our commitment to creating a more inclusive and equitable environment through the completion of concrete action. Below are highlights of those actions.

2021

• Local fines ending 
• Oversampling identity-based student groups during listening tour
• Wiki-Edit-a-Thon for Social Justice
• Expectation of all having a goal that advance IDEA within their work 
• Book displays (probably occurred in earlier years), book acquisitions related to display
• Learning Circles on IDEA topics like “How to be an Anti-Racist”
• Exploring ‘safe space’ and ‘brave space’ agreements and approaches
• Celebrate People’s History exhibition
• Samantha Minnis and Sheila Garcia Mazari planned and hosted the panel “Through an Inequitable Collective Trauma Lens: Elevating Narratives on Mental Health and COVID-19” at the 2021 MiALA annual conference
• Sheila Garcia Mazari co-facilitated a roundtable at the POC in LIS conference titled: Espacios de Confianza: Disrupting Power Imbalances Within the Residency Experience
• Co-Chair MiALA IDEA Committee
• Chair MiALA Critlib Committee
• Served on executive board of Latina/o Faculty and Staff Association [ongoing]
• Secretary of the ACRL Inclusive Pedagogies Committee
• Participation in FLC’s such as: Caste: The Origins of our Discontents, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, etc. 
• Inclusive Student Hiring committee starting

2020

• Collections practicums with emphasis on equity, diversity, and inclusion in collections
• Replacing collection labels (need correct term) for visibility
• Learning Circles on IDEA topics
• Exhibition: "Conversations from Matamoros" with Humanitarian Initiative (formerly Refugee Outreach Collective)
• Library representative added to the Undocumented/DACA Student Taskforce
• Developed and enhanced inclusive hiring practices, particularly in considering a virtual hiring environment
• Developed and realized MiALA funding for BIPOC library students and workers
• Training and creating accessible online learning objects and the use of Blackboard Ally
• Participated in a ARL LCDP Panel Discussion on Critical Assessment
• Updated Steelcase Service Desk for more accessibility
• Created & implemented Inclusive & Accessible Customer Service Learning Guides for student employment
• Replenish pilot at Pew Campus
• UX research into supporting student parents - pilot on hold due to pandemic 

2019

• UL IDEA Committee 2019-2020
• IDEA statement published online
• Focus tools 
• All-staff training on micro-aggressions
• Changing our staff observation roaming schedule based on feedback from students with non-dominant identities
• All department head requested to attend inclusion advocate training as part of their role as leaders and search chairs 
• Audit of doors in Mary Idema Pew Library for accessibility and safety
• Develop accessible customer service student training 
• Added styluses to print screens for accessibility

2018

• ACRL Diversity initiative/alliance/fellows
• Onboarding reframed
• Beyond Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) commitment for our physical spaces
• Subject Heading work authority control 
• Workplace principles integrated into annual review processes 
• User engagement calendar (2017 or 2018?)
• Implemented OCR scanning for PDFs for Course Reserve (ARES & BlackBoard), ILL & Document Delivery.  Established procedures to make sure all scanning is OCR processing for accessibility.  
• 2017-2018: Liberal Arts Team Includes Accessibility Check-in into their monthly department meetings, highlighting steps we can take to make our work more accessible (Using Word's Formatting Presets; Using a Microphone When Teaching).
• Conducted an accessibility audit with DSR @ the Mary Idema Pew Library and Steelcase Library to identify Facilities improvements
  • Resulted in recommendation to add several wheelchair accessible automatic door switches to doors. This was met with barriers at the campus level, which resulted in a door pressure audit with ensuing adjustments to make the opening of doors easier (as an alternative).
  • Select doors did have the accessibility button added

2017

• IDEA strategic priority established
• Hiring practices redefined to be inclusive 
• Dean and AD accountabilities for IDEA
• Workplace principles defined to advance cultural clarity (clarify, so followups make sense)
• Instructional Design Librarian position established to advance Universal Design of Learning
• Exhibitions begin to have deliberate focus on non-dominant identities
• Art as Drag exhibition and Drag Show programs