20 September 2024
Fabiha Askari, former Research, Engagement and EDI (Graduate Trainee, Lancaster University Library)
“Libraries and librarians are not neutral but are part of wider society, and part of the debate. Lack of diversity in our profession will have impacted on our collections (what they represent, what we acquire and what we preserve); on our spaces and how accessible they are and are perceived to be; on what skills are considered as key to information and digital literacies, as well as on our staff and our communities. These are all areas that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.”
Liz Jolly https://www.cilip.org.uk/news/457450/The-professions-biggest-problem-diversity.htm
On the 6th of March 2024, Lancaster University’s Library hosted a careers event for Black, Asian and Minority ethnic students, staff and members of the public. The idea of such an event stemmed from the well-established fact that minority ethnic groups are underrepresented in the library workforce across the UK. In fact, an executive summary from a report commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) and the Archives and Records Association (UK and Ireland) (ARA) in 2014 noted that “96.7% of the library workforce identify as ‘white’ compared to 87.5% identifying as ‘white’ in the wider UK Labour Force Survey statistics.” This lack of representation becomes a cyclic issue as potential applicants from ethnic minority backgrounds may feel that the lack of representation is archetypal of the inaccessibility of this sphere of work for them, hence preventing them from even applying.
Whilst networks such as the ‘Global Equity Network’ (GEN) do exist – and are of utmost importance – they are primarily intended to support preexisting minority ethnic staff within the library sector. When considering libraries, words such as ‘sanctuary’ and ‘community’ are often brought up, thus it is by no means surprising that diversity and inclusivity are two key values that are naturally embedded within them. However, these values must not only be showcased to library users and the preexisting workforce within each institution, but must also extend to those who aspire to work within libraries too. For most institutions this means not only reflecting upon the culture they foster, but also a reevaluation of their hiring processes which often uphold several barriers – whether those be visible or ‘invisible’.
There is still much work to do in regards to ensuring that libraries are as accessible as possible for all communities to consider working at. However, this work must go beyond a theoretical understanding and verbal acknowledgement of the evident lack of diversity in the library workforce, but followed by actions too.
Event planning and organization:
The event aimed to create a safe, inclusive and engaging space for all attendees. Attendees were able to find out more about the diverse range of roles that are available at university libraries, listen to the experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic library staff and network with a wide range of people across the national library sector.
The event was free to attend for all staff, students and members of the public and was kindly sponsored by EBSCO. This sponsorship covered the cost of refreshments for the day as well as any potential travel costs for attendees or external speakers who may need it.
Since the beginning of the event planning, it was clear that this event was not intended to exist in isolation and aimed to inspire other such events to go forward. Alongside staff from the Lancaster University Library, colleagues from across the sector, including from the University of Cumbria, the University of Leeds, Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Salford and the Open Library of Humanities, all played a crucial part in manifesting this event. The collaborative effort resulted in the event planning meetings involving experience-sharing and lively discussions of ideas on how to conduct different sessions across the day, as well as how the workload could be delegated in a way which made use of everyone’s unique skill-set and interests.
Day of the event:
The official timing of the event was from 10am to 3pm, however, for those interested in taking a tour of the library, attendees were offered tours from 9-10am. After attendees registered in, took a name label and refreshments, there was an introduction from Andrew Barker, the Library Director at Lancaster University. This was followed by a more general introduction to the event by Paul Newnham and Fabiha Askari, which reflected on the aims of the day and the proposed schedule of events, as well as the necessary health and safety procedures.
To start off the day, an initial ice breaker activity was arranged. Attendees were asked to consider two questions: ‘What is a library?’ and ‘What do you imagine working in one involves?’ and reflect their responses in either words or drawings using paper and pens provided. The responses received were interesting, varying from ones that were expected such as libraries being places where resources are held, to other attendees mentioning open research and that they imagine work in the library involves outreach projects with the local community.
The rest of the day was then split into two halves, with the first half dedicated to sharing the career journeys and the diversity of roles available within academic libraries. Six members of staff from the Lancaster University Library from across different teams shared short, ten-minute presentations about their current role and their journeys into joining the world of academic libraries. Each presentation was followed by the opportunity for attendees to ask questions. Whilst we were initially wary of the possibility of overwhelming attendees with too much information, the variety of speakers appeared to be one of the common factors mentioned as a highlight of the event. In the feedback form we distributed after the event, one attendee reflected: “The diversity among the speakers, showcased through their varied backgrounds before joining the library and their current roles within it, offered valuable insights into potential career paths within the library profession”.
When planning this event, we asked the staff members who volunteered to deliver these presentations to be as candid as possible, reflecting on both the positives of their jobs and journeys into working in the library sector, as well as the challenges they may have come across. This was essential in helping us to create a relaxed atmosphere at the event, which had attendees of different ages and walks of life.
The second half of the day was dedicated to demystifying part of the application process, sharing ideas about the support available once someone from an ethnic minority background begins working at an academic library, and giving an insight into the experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic academic library staff across the UK.
After lunch, we were joined by Nick Morrice who is a Careers and Employment Officer as part of Lancaster University’s Careers Team. Nick presented a forty-five minute workshop on interviews, going through different types of interview questions and ways in which one can prepare for them, including examples using the STAR technique. The rationale behind choosing this session was to keep it as extensive as possible to ensure that it would be helpful to all attendees. We were aware that each attendee would be at a different part of their career journeys and whilst some may have been wholly dedicated to pursuing a career in libraries, others may have simply been intrigued to find out more about what working in a library looked like. In the anonymous feedback form, an attendee mentioned that the “ the practical, step-by-step guidance provided on interview preparation was immensely helpful”.
After this session, we were joined by James Stephens, the Director of Library Services at the University of Cumbria, who shared information about Academic Libraries North’s (ALN) mentoring scheme which seeks to provide support to all library staff in their professional development. In his talk, James shared testimonies from mentees and also how mentees can specify if they would like to be paired with a mentor from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background. When planning this event, we knew the importance of showcasing the support available for minority ethnic staff once they became a part of the library sector. This was something staff at Lancaster University had also previously reflected upon in a talk at an ALN conference, titled ‘Is ‘Opening our Doors’ enough? : Rethinking the purpose and use of EDI strategies and centring equity to create spaces and opportunities for underrepresented groups’. Within this talk, Tom Morley and Fabiha Askari reflected upon the challenges and obstacles which persist even after doors are ‘opened’ to the library and the library sector. A key aspect of this talk was to prompt attendees to reflect upon the practices of their own institutions and plan for how tangible changes – no matter how small or big – to be made in their workplace.
Throughout the event, there were multiple opportunities for current staff to share their honest experiences and reflections of working in the academic library sector. Moreover, whilst we actively acknowledged that there is still a long way to go in increasing representation within the library workforce, we also wanted to make people aware of the diversity which does exist in the sector. As part of our effort to demonstrate this, we were very lucky to have had a panel of library staff from minoritized backgrounds that was led by Jennifer Bayjoo. The panelists, Tanya Williamson, Gopal Dutta and Jitixa McMahon, discussed their current roles and then answered questions relating to their own experiences including reflections upon their jobs through the specific lens of belonging to a minority background.
The last session of the day was a keynote by Josh Sendall, Director of Library Services at the University of Leeds, on ‘The Magic of Libraries’. Josh Sendall has had a truly inspirational journey through working in libraries and shared a motivational presentation with us all, drawing on his vast wealth of knowledge and experience of the sector.
Reflections post-event, feedback and going forward:
Whilst over forty individuals signed up to the event, the attendance throughout the day saw less than half of those who signed up actually attend. However, upon reflection, the planning committee considered that the sign-ups to the event should be given more significance as they demonstrate the sheer volume of interest and need for such events. Similarly, limiting factors, such as the time commitment required for the event, as well as it occurring during exam season, were factors which could be mitigated in a similar future event.
The feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive with attendees being pleased with the variety of talks and sessions available across the day and the information provided. This included an information pack created by Siobhan Haimé which contained tips on how to find library jobs and the considerations one should have when applying. This information pack could be accessed by attendees through a booklet we provided them on the day which included links and QR codes to the information pack, a feedback form and a job vacancy available at Lancaster University’s library. Alongside this booklet, on the day, we also provided an additional booklet which provided biographies and contact details of the speakers and planning committee. The impact of the event is notable, with one attendee expressing that they would “look further at opportunities to work within the library” and that they “plan to explore roles” that align with their skill set and “work towards securing a position in one of them in the future”.
We hope that this is the first of many such events at both Lancaster University and beyond. We encourage other institutions to host similar events and would be more than happy to share resources and more details of our planning and experience. This, of course, would include all the ways in which we feel that we could have improved the event in order to distribute the physical and emotional organisational labour more evenly, and encourage more attendees to attend on the day too.
Overall, it was clear to see from the success of the event that institutions need to invest both time and money in order to support similar events and create truly equitable access to the library sector. This is what we believe is allyship in action.