Date and time: October 31, 2025, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET
Note that the presentation will be recorded but the Q&A will not.
The Canadian Association of Research Libraries’ Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Working Group (CARL EDIWG) is pleased to announce the fourth in a series of planned webinars on inclusive collections.
In this 60-minute session, the discussants will provide an overview of a recently published research project that explored how acquisition practices and infrastructure have shaped the development of distinctive collections within Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member institutions. ARL includes both Canadian and U.S. libraries, and the study sheds light on practices across borders, while also highlighting shared challenges in decentering dominant narratives and Western-centric approaches.
The first half will present the research project overview along with reflections from discussants on how they have activated the acquisitions infrastructures (encompassing the business, financial, and legal aspects of collections stewardship) at their own institutions to support equity-driven and distinctive collections building.
The second half will be open for discussion. Attendees will be invited to share their experiences and approaches to building distinctive collections through inclusive acquisitions practices. Participants are encouraged to connect, collaborate, and contribute to a shared dialogue on reimagining collections work in libraries.
In addition to being subject to the CARL Code of Conduct, CARL asks all participants, panelists and organizers to be respectful of what is being shared and in how they ask questions.
In the interest of accessibility, French and English captions will be available throughout the session. Additional accommodation requests can also be emailed to Julie Morin, Program Officer at CARL ().
Bios
Moon Kim
As Head of Collections Services at UBC Library, Moon provides leadership and operational oversight for the development, acquisition, management, and preservation of library collections across all formats and subject areas on the Vancouver campus. She oversees the financial, legal, and systems infrastructure that supports resource procurement and management for general, international, and special collections, and directs the team responsible for ensuring sustainable, equitable, and effective access to information resources. Her role bridges cross-functional collaboration with liaisons, technical services, and open scholarship initiatives, aligning collections work with UBC Library’s Strategic Framework. Moon previously held acquisitions positions at the Ohio State University, California State University Fullerton, University of Washington, and the Getty Research Institute.
Florence Nthiira Mugambi
Florence is a Librarian and specialist for Africa in the African Section at the Library of Congress. She is responsible for reference, research support and collection development for Sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on Eastern and Central Africa. Prior to the Library of Congress, she was the Librarian for African Studies at the Melville J. Heskovits Library of African Studies at Northwestern University.
Betsaida Reyes
Betsaida M. Reyes is a Librarian and the Head of Humanities and Social Sciences at Penn State University. She is responsible for the management of services and performance of faculty and staff in the George and Sherry Middlemas Arts and Humanities Library, Social Sciences Library, Education Library, the Walter and Doris Goldstein Music and Media Center, the Microforms and Government Information, the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, and the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library at University Park. Before this position, she spent eight years as the Spanish, Portuguese, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies Librarian at the University of Kansas. She also works as an Adjunct Instructor for the iSchool at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she teaches Collection Development and Library and Information Resources to Spanish Speakers.
Maha Kumaran (moderator)
Dr. Maha Kumaran currently serves as the liaison for the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan (USASK). She selects resources (print and electronic monograph collections) for Education and offers reference, instruction, and research support to all faculty and students, especially graduate students in the College. She has extensive experience in selecting, acquisitions, and working with collections: She served as the acting assistant Dean for collections and discovery at USASK, is part of the Social Sciences and Arts and Humanities Cluster for collections, and is currently working with the University Archives and Special Collections Division. Outside of collections, her research interests, expertise, and professional activities revolve around marginalized populations who work at and use academic libraries. She was the first Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Visiting Program Officer for CARL and was recognized with the prestigious CARL Award of Merit for her contributions to Canadian librarianship.
