2023 Diversity Strategic Plan

In Fall 2022, the UW-Madison Libraries 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 UW-Madison Libraries 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, Library administration sponsored a Library Diversity Task Force Report. Based on the recommendations of that report, the Equity and Diversity Committee (EDC) was formed. The other two top priority recommendations were to establish what “inclusiveness” as a core principle in Library 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 all 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): 

• Library Organizational Development Strategy Study
• 2021 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