ARCHIVES 2017

Reaching In to Reach Out: Examining the State of Inclusivity Across Libraries, Archives, and Museums

Preserving and providing access to cultural heritage is central to the work of librarians, archivists, and museum professionals. With the increased focus on diversity, whether in regard to staffing, users, collections, programs, or services, inclusion has risen as an extremely important concept. However, inclusion can and does mean different things to different people. Six panelists from across libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs), job functions, administrative levels, and academic backgrounds come together in this facilitated conversation to discuss the state of inclusion from their vantage point. By looking across sectors at how inclusion is defined and approached, we hope to identify what is being done well and the challenges we face in creating inclusive environments. This program will also be held at the annual meetings of the American Library Association in June 2017 and the American Association of State and Local History in September 2017. The central findings of the programs held at all three conferences will be compiled together in a white paper documenting the state of inclusion in libraries, archives, and museums.

Facilitator: Mark A. Puente, Director of Diversity and Leadership Programs at the Association of Research Libraries (ARL)