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11 Diverse Voices Track

The Diverse Voices (DV) track included 5 participants, including the track moderator.  Three of the participants were from larger research institutions (Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse) and two participants were from small-mid sized colleges within the SUNY System (one liberal arts and one technology).  All participants in the track had a moderate level of knowledge on the issues surrounding diverse voices and were looking to level up their skills in creating inclusive instructional experiences as teaching librarians.

During the in-person kickoff meeting, the DV track discussed and made decisions together about how they would operate for the duration of the institute, agreeing that there would be room for intermittent checks to assess and then make desired modifications. During that discussion, the group developed a brainstorming activity to create a list of important topics, prioritizing them in order to settle on topics for modules 3 and 4, which had been set aside to address topics specific to inclusive information literacy instruction. Once the broad topics for all modules were agreed upon, team members decided that each individual would take a turn at facilitating one of the modules, each responsible for assigning the work that would take place for both weeks of the module chosen.

Because schedules varied, the team also decided at that time to make the work in each module asynchronous. Though after the second in-person meeting, it was determined that a few synchronous conversations to share and ask for advice/feedback would be beneficial, thus scheduling a few zoom meetings to chat about how things were going as the learning was folded into daily work. Doodle polls determined the best timing for these conversations, holding them via zoom since, physically, the members were spread out across the state.

Prompts for each module were added to Canvas, but because the chosen free version of Canvas came with minimum of storage space, the group created and shared Google Folders for any files needed to share within the track. To ensure that the transition from module to module ran smoothly, the track moderator would reach out with a reminder email to the module facilitator to populate Canvas with prompts for their topic just before each new module was scheduled to begin.

Module 1: Foundations

Module facilitator: [group member name]

This module included one reading and required two posts (in the DV Discussion Board) during week one and a discussion (multiple posts) in week two as group members situated their own positionality and developed common language surrounding definitions for DEI.

Week 1

Post 1: Positionally Statements (to be added to the DV Discussion board by replying to the prompt there).

In her presentation on Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Practice presentation during the Kick-off session on March 10, Dr. Jie Zhang talked about the importance of scrutinizing one’s own positionally in order to understand where personal biases might come into play when interacting with diverse students in the classroom. Use some of the following tools to help create/hone a positionality statement and share it with the group.

Tools:

Reflective pause: What is the call to action for ourselves? How can articulating our positions of privilege change our views about the work we do as librarians and how might it change the way we do our work? How can/will I incorporate positionality and land acknowledgments into the work I do in non-performative ways?

Post 2: Defining Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (to be added to the DV Discussion board by replying to the prompt there)

Think about what diversity, equity and inclusion mean on a personal level and post a definition for each of these terms.

Next, read the following article which provides an overview of DEI practices other librarians are using for IL instruction:

Espinosa de los Monteros, P., & Longmeier, M. M. (2022). Developing globally inclusive practices for library instruction sessions. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 29(2), 152-173. https://doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2022.2095289

Reflective Pause: Think about the various definitions for the terms diversity, equity and inclusion presented in this article and compare them to the previous post with personalized definitions for these terms. This might help frame thinking before the discussion in week 2 as the group gets on the same page about the meanings of these terms.

Week 2

Discussion: What commonalities do you see among the ways our group members define diversity, equity and inclusion? What differences do we see?  Are there ways the definitions for diversity, equity and inclusion should be modified or expanded to form shared definitions for our own CoP as we examine how others in our cohort define these terms? This is meant to prompt discussion with the understanding that there is not one right definition. Rather, this activity is meant to have the group think about the ways DEI has been defined by others and reflected in personal thinking as a means to create a common understanding about these terms as learning more about them continues as the CoP progresses.

Further readings (optional):

Boswell, E. (2021). Again awake: A white researcher’s iterative positioning for entering Black spaces. The Nebraska Educator, 6, 5-41. https://doi.org/10.32873/unl.dc.ne021

Gay, G. (2018). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (Third edition). Teachers College Press. https://worldcat.org/title/1013528216

Saunders, L., & Wong, M. A. (2020). Critical pedagogy: Challenging bias and creating inclusive classrooms. In Instruction in libraries and information centers. Windsor & Downs Press. https://iopn.library.illinois.edu/pressbooks/instructioninlibraries/chapter/critical-pedagogy-challenging-bias-and-creating-inclusive-classrooms

Saunders, L., & Wong, M. A. (2020). Practicing reflective teaching. In Instruction in libraries and information centers. Windsor & Downs Press. https://iopn.library.illinois.edu/pressbooks/instructioninlibraries/chapter/practicing-reflective-teaching

Seaman, P., Copeland, S., & Gao, L. (2021). Teaching with intent: Applying culturally responsive teaching to library instruction. portal: Libraries and the Academy, 21(2), 231-251. https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/787866/pdf

Module 2 Frameworks

Module facilitator: [group member name]

Week 1

Select a framework to learn more about or apply to IL instruction.  Some examples of frameworks that come to mind are:

There are many, many more out there so team members should not feel tied to selecting one of those listed above if interest lies elsewhere. For example, the facilitator would like to explore the Restorative Justice Framework and ways elements of that framework can apply to their instruction.  Please respond to this post with the framework selected to explore (so that the same ones are not chosen repeatedly and so the group can be exposed to as many different frames as possible).

Work for this week will be to examine the chosen framework through a teacher-librarian lens and find at least one reading (reading can be textual or multimodal, so think articles, presentations, videos, etc.) to share with the group that explores that framework.

Week 2

For the discussion portion of the module, the group shares/links to the framework selected, providing a brief overview of the framework. Then share (by replying to the post “DV Module 2: Framework(s) Discussion” in the DV Discussion Board) reflections on applications and strategies that could be used in the classroom and how the reading provides additional insight on using the frame for IL instruction.  Be sure to share the full citation for the item for further locating/reading/saving.

Module 3 Issues – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Module facilitator: [group member name]

Week 1

Localized background about a situation happening at one of the colleges represented in this track. The library had been making some strides, but not so much when it came to the campus as a whole.  The question has arisen if what the library was doing was the correct way of going about it. Several articles were made available for group to look at.

The first one, “Are Your Organization’s DEI Efforts Superficial or Structured?” focuses on business but would fit in the academic world as well, while the article “Academic Library Leaders Lack Confidence in Diversity Strategies” focuses on what is currently happening within academic libraries across the country.

Reflection: After reading through these articles, are there any concerns each member has with the DEI initiatives of their respective college/university? What about in the library? What is going correctly in terms of the initiatives?

Week 2

For this week, group members are asked to choose an article about DEI and information literacy or general library initiatives. They will share their article and discuss how the initiative(s) apply in a not superficial way and how it could work in the classroom setting.

Module 4 Issues – Sources, Citations, Missing Voices & Strategies for Ethical Research

Module facilitator: [group member name]

Week 1

This week, the group will explore concepts surrounding the incorporation of diverse voices into research and instruction. Some of the main topics include Research Justice, Citation (In)equality, and how and why marginalized voices are historically excluded from scholarly discourse. It is important to ground one’s self in knowledge about the importance of these concepts to be able to share resources with students and amongst each other. The modality has been changed a bit this week and will not include articles but instead, a few videos, a podcast episode, and a toolkit to share:

  • Power, Privilege and Oppression (6:35) – Explores ideas about identity, access to privilege and how social structures shape identity and can have an impact on how these identities are viewed by others and the collective society. Think about how identities play a role in research and how experiences of certain groups are devalued and dismissed in an academic context.
  • Data Center-Research for Justice (2015) An Introduction to Research Justice – Read chapter 1. This chapter in the toolkit explains various knowledge types, centering community knowledge and lived experiences and how letting communities produce their own knowledge greatly impacts research. Think about how much information is missing or inaccurately portrayed in mainstream knowledge sources. Includes interactive activities!
  • Citing Multiply Marginalized and Underrepresented (MMU) Scholars (2:31) – This video explains historical and systematic prejudices in research and citations. This video is also accompanied by a research guide on Inclusive Citation [Links to an external site]. by Andrea Baer, who has written and presented extensively on Critical Information Literacy topics.
  • Cite Black Women: Centering and Celebrating Black Women in Sociology (the good stuff is between 11:00-50:00) – This podcast episode is a recording of a panel of black women sociologists discussing how black women are excluded from producing knowledge, the importance of citing diverse voices and gatekeeping in the academic publishing industry. The conversation is very eye-opening, has some hot takes and even though black women are historically one of the most oppressed groups, I feel inclusive citation applies to all marginalized groups including black women.

After consuming this content. Provide responses to these questions:

  1. Why is it important to consider privilege in research and education?
  2. The voices of marginalized people and communities get left out of conversations and history. How do marginalized groups get silenced in academia? How does librarianship exclude voices?
  3. Why should we value expertise, language, identities and experience in addition to scholarly knowledge? Where do we go to find it?

Week 2

Are we using and sharing enough sources from marginalized communities? How can we improve that work?

Discussion: How would you teach others to find missing voices and incorporate them into their research? Share resources with diverse voices that you know of or have found. There are some included in the thread.

Module 5 Collaboration – Student Empowerment in the LI Classroom

Module facilitator: [group member name]

Week 1

This week, the group will reflect on the ways in which librarians’ style of teaching affects our students, and what could be done to help them to be better learners, and creators of knowledge in their own right. Thoughts on this module are grounded in the theories of critical pedagogy, particularly Paulo Freire and bell hooks, and while intentionally shorter readings have been chosen over their books this week, a few titles are included below for further exploration of these theories.

Making and Being Chapter 3 – An introduction to a range of educators and pedagogies that relate to the frameworks examined a few weeks ago. While this chapter is aimed towards arts educators, the coverage is broad enough to be applicable to other teaching contexts, including libraries. Consider what pedagogies referenced resonate the most, and what could be incorporated, or is already incorporatde, into each member’s teaching.

How Unconditional Positive Regard Can Help Students Feel Cared For. Building relationships with students where they feel cared about and seen as human will make them feel more welcome in the classroom, and more engaged in learning. In workshops and one-shots, there isn’t a lot of time to build relationships with students, but librarians can still communicate this attitude of unconditional positive regard while teaching.

A Guide to Dismantling Deficit Thinking. Deficit thinking is the idea that there is a narrow, prescribed, “correct” way of doing things – the “norm” – and that anyone living outside of the norm are operating at a deficit and need to be “fixed” in order to be successful. This chart lays out some of the key mindsets and practices to dismantling deficit thinking as an educator, such as honoring students’ prior knowledge and experience, and acknowledging all of the learning that happens outside of the classroom. These approaches can help librarians to think of ways to involve students in collaboration.

Discussion prompts:

  1. What does relationship-building with students look like to you? How would you like that to look like at your library?
  2. What do you think collaboration and empowerment of students could look like in library classrooms? Do you see any issues or roadblocks that may arise in your institution?

References

Baer, A. (2025). Inclusive Citation. https://libguides.rowan.edu/inclusive_citation

Cite Black Women. (2019). Centering and Celebrating Black Women in Sociology [Speech audio recording]. https://soundcloud.com/user-211649525/s1e9-centering-and-celebrating

DataCenter.org. (2015). An Introduction to Research Justice. https://www.powershift.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/Intro_Research_Justice_Toolkit_FINAL1.pdf

Graduate School of Social Work – DU. (2018). Power Privilege and Oppression [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/LTDikx-maoM?si=Z2R_V6A5GqiFYcbR

USU Libraries. Citing MMU Scholars [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/NF8S4Qr_-FM?si=FJXjZPkMqDJKZKKU

Week 2

Find a resource – an article, a lesson plan, or a learning object – that includes students as collaborators (this could be something each member has created themselves!) and share.

Discussion prompts:

  1. Not all students want to or are able to participate in class in the same way. How would you like to include multiple ways of participation for students who are shy, have accessibility needs, etc.?
  2. What do you do if you receive pushback – from students, faculty members, other librarians even?

Suggestions for further reading:

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Herder and Herder.

hooks, b. (2003). Teaching community: A pedagogy of hope. Routledge.

Heinbach, C., Rosan, M., & Rinto, E. (2021). Dismantling deficit thinking in academic libraries. Library Juice Press.

Module 6 Assessment

Module facilitator: [group member name]

Assessment can be a useful way to demonstrate that library instruction and services are effective; on the other hand, assessment can feel like a futile checking of boxes or a method for leadership to dismiss initiatives they’re not interested in.  This module will emphasize intentionally assessing teaching and learning in meaningful ways that can improve our approaches to diverse voices in information literacy.

Some optional readings that may be of interest:

Week 1

Please share an approach or article that focuses on assessment in library instruction.

  • Let us know how this is currently used or provide ideas for using the approach to assess teaching or student learning.  How might it be adapted to assess DEI?
  • If using or finding a good technique that directly addresses DEI assessment, feel free to share that instead!  How may this approach be helpful for you or others?

Week 2

Scenario: You’re an instruction librarian working on intentionally centering diverse voices in your work, particularly during information literacy sessions.

  1. The higher ed figure of your choice [head of your department, library director, provost, dean] wants to demonstrate the value of these initiatives through assessment.
  2. What evidence do you provide?  If you don’t yet assess this, what kinds of approaches or tools would you use?
  3. What resources do you need or have to implement these approaches and apply to your teaching?

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Communities of Practice for the Advancement of Library Instruction: An OER Curriculum Copyright © 2025 by Authors is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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