News – EDI
CARL has prioritized advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in research libraries as an important area for capacity building within its member institutions over the coming years.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Working Group
CARL hired its first Visiting Program Officer for EDI and formed an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Working Group (EDIWG) in the summer of 2019 to shape CARL’s EDI-related initiatives and communications and support the planning and delivery of activities in the following areas:
- Recruitment and Retention: Develop strategies for diverse hiring, decolonization, and long-term staff retention through inclusive career growth opportunities.
- Staff Professional Development: Provide training to enhance cultural competence, humility, and decolonization in library services.
- Services and Spaces: Establish best practices for creating inclusive, welcoming, and decolonized library environments.
- Collections: Support librarians in curating diverse, decolonized collections that amplify Indigenous, Black, and POC perspectives.
The EDIWG has led key initiatives, including developing CARL’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging definitions, conducting an environmental scan, and publishing Strategies and Practices for Hiring and Retaining Diverse Talent. It has also advised on CARL projects such as the Code of Conduct and Competencies for Librarians, organized a webinar series on inclusion, and supported a national diversity and inclusion study for CARL members.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Community of Practice
Since 2024, the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Community of Practice (EDI CoP) engages library workers based in CARL and non-CARL research libraries, who have a strong interest or functional responsibilities in EDI, and provides a forum to discuss issues, initiatives, challenges and opportunities for collaboration. The CoP is organized and managed by a Steering Committee who meets on a monthly basis to organize quarterly community calls, roundtables, workshops, and/or other forms of community engagement.
Diversity and Inclusion Study
In 2021, CARL surveyed personnel from 21 of its 31 member libraries to gather baseline data on workforce composition, assess employee perspectives on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives, and establish benchmarks for measuring future progress. The survey ran from October 4 to 27, 2021, and will be repeated in 3–5 years to track change.
The aggregated results offer valuable insight into current efforts to promote safe, accessible, equitable, and respectful workplaces. The report highlights areas for growth, as well as promising practices already in place, while recognizing that each library operates within the policies of its parent institution. The final Insights Report from the study was prepared by the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI Consulting).
-> Consult the Diversity and Inclusion Study Insights Report (PDF)