For my first blog I decided to tackle the topic Diversity. I did this by reviewing a YouTube video called “Creating an Inclusive Collection—Selecting and Evaluating Diverse Resources” by Choice Media. I chose this method because it would allow me to think about how they presented their information as well as cause me to think more deeply about the topic under discussion. Completing this activity revealed several holes in my knowledge. For an institution to be inclusive it has to be fluid and adaptable. What was inclusive and diverse several years ago may no longer be considered as such. This was made even more apparent when they discussed the way libraries categorise their resources and how this may stifle or impede different voices or topics by not highlighting the connection between them. The other lesson I learned by reviewing this talk is that it can be difficult to create an inclusive collection and requires teams of people working together to make sure the library collection continues to represent a diverse group of people. It is important to understand that these different groups of people each consist of smaller subgroups and it is necessary to determine how each of these subgroups fits into its wider community. This was made clearer once the talk moved onto discussing each subgroup as these subgroups may be at different stages of having their voices heard or represented. I found this an important reminder because a library collection may have strong representation of a marginalised group as a whole but there may still be some smaller subsections within the community which may not be having their voices heard or having their experience represented in the library collection. The library must always be proactive in trying to see if their collection has any shortcomings and whether the local community experience is not the same as the way the community as a whole is being depicted. All of the speakers mainly discussed academic libraries which have a history of encouraging diversity in libraries. This could be linked to their strong tradition of anti-censorship (Conner & Plocharczyk, 2020, p.28), however this anti-censorship policy is linked to all libraries, not just academic libraries, a point which is made clear by the first dot point on the “ALIA core values policy statement” which is about the free transmission of information and ideas between all Australians (ALIA, 2018, para 1). There was another thing that is not directly linked to this topic and review that I learnt while doing this activity. I realised that a speaker should not assume that their audience has knowledge of certain topics. When Timothy was presenting he listed three topics but only defined the first one, leaving the other two undefined. This was problematic for me because I did not know the definition of one of the topics and this reminded me and reinforced for me the notion of not assuming knowledge in my audience and defining and explaining the different things that I talk about.
Reference
ALIA. (2018). ALIA core values policy statement. https://www.alia.org.au/about-alia/policies-standards-and-guidelines/alia-core-values-statement
Conner, M., & Plocharczyk, L. (2020). Libraries and Reading. Emerald Publishing Limited,
CHOICE Media Channel. (2019, May 22). Creating an Inclusive Collection—Selecting and Evaluating Diverse Resources [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySYhQRcY8uE