Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice (DEISJ) Resources Guide

Diversity can be broadly defined to include all aspects of human difference, including but not limited to, age, disability, race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression and identity, language heritage, learning style, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, social-economic status, status as a veteran and world-view. The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion focuses in particular on achieving equal access, meaningful academic and intellectual inclusion in curriculum, research, and service, and holistic integration into the academic culture of higher education at all levels for New York State’s underrepresented populations and students who are economically disadvantaged.

SUNY Adirondack Library is committed to upholding a diverse, equitable, and inclusive collection. Our library espouses the belief that access to diverse and inclusive resources creates a foundational knowledge of respect and appreciation for the experiences of all individuals.

We observe and maintain Standard #4 of the Association of College & Research Libraries Cultural Competency for Academic Libraries: “Librarians and library staff shall develop collections and provide programs and services that are inclusive of the needs of all persons in the community the library serves.” This involves:

• Integrating civic & community engagement into collection development decisions.
• Building collections supporting culturally relevant and social justice curricula across campus.
• Ensuring the voices of historically oppressed, underrepresented, and disadvantaged peoples are represented within the collection and the collection development policy. 
• Routine assessment of existing collection to determine gaps and/or unintended bias.  
• Keeping track of current trends in campus demographics, community events, and current affairs to proactively build a modern, innovative, and robust collection that represents all people.