2023 Diversity Strategic Plan

In Fall 2023, the General Library System (GLS) rolled out the 2023 Diversity Strategic Plan (DSP) to Libraries staff. Following staff engagement sessions, we are pleased to release the 2023 DSP to the public.

The 2023 DSP is a 3-year plan (2023-2025), allowing for flexibility and extensions as needed. In a staff-facing tracking grid, responsible parties are identified and were consulted as to the feasibility of their action items. Annual updates will present progress and propose changes for the next fiscal year. As updates are made available, they will be posted here. 

2023 DSP Outline

The 2023 DSP is broken down into 3 larger sections: 

• Truth and Reckoning
  • In partnership with the UW History Project, this section will enable the GLS to take a closer look at and engage with our history. 
• Outreach and Public Engagement
  • Includes developing and strengthening campus partnerships to assess our library spaces, explore exhibit spaces for student organizations, promote preserving student organizations histories, and continuing to build on Library Science programs.
• Staff Engagement
  • Recruitment and Retention
  • Training and Professional Development
  • Policies and Practices
  • Community and Sense of Belonging

2023 DSP Development and Sources

In 2015, GLS administration sponsored a GLS Diversity Task Force Report. Based on the recommendations of that report, the GLS Equity and Diversity Committee (EDC) was formed. The other two top priority recommendations were to establish what “inclusiveness” as a core principle in GLS strategic goals means in practice and, using that understanding, to create a Diversity Strategic Plan (DSP). This initial DSP was drafted in 2018 and officially launched by EDC in Fall 2019. The 2019 DSP was an internal document for GLS staff. And while many of the implications have a wider reach, its design was geared towards a more welcoming and inclusive work environment. In addition, with the pandemic caused by Covid-19, some of the action items were not able to be completed. Those were all incorporated into the 2023 DSP. 

2023 DSP sources include (not publicly available): 

• GLS Organizational Development Strategy Study
• 2021 GLS Workplace Climate Survey
• Antiracism Action Plan draft created by EDC and charged by the Vice Provost for the Libraries
• 2019 DSP action items not yet completed