This will be an interactive Town Hall where we will discuss as a group what diversity and inclusion means for NASIG. How we can become a more inclusive organization and encourage members of underrepresented groups to get involved with NASIG? How can the Equity and Diversity Committee help in this mission going forward.

1. What Should Diversity and Inclusion at
NASIG Look Like?
Presented by the NASIG Equity and Inclusion
Committee
NASIG Town Hall

2. NASIG is dedicated to providing a harassment-free
conference experience for everyone, regardless of
gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual
orientation, disability, physical appearance, body
size, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, or
economic status.
Code of Conduct
The full Code of Conduct can be found on NASIG’s website.

3. NASIG would like to recognize and acknowledge that we are meeting
on the traditional land of the Lenni Lenape, Shawnee, and
Hodinöhŝönih or the Six Nations – the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga,
Seneca, Cayuga and Tuscarora. While a land acknowledgement is not
enough, it is an important social justice and decolonial practice that
promotes indigenous visibility and a reminder that we are settled on
indigenous land. Today, the meeting place of Jö:deogë’ – an
Onödowa’ga or Seneca word for Pittsburgh or “between two rivers” – is
still home to many Indigenous people and we are grateful to have the
opportunity to work in the community, on this territory.
Land Acknowledgement
Adapted, in part, from CCCC 2019's land acknowledgement.

4. “Professionals from diverse backgrounds and life experiences
bring different perspectives, creativity, and individual enterprise
to address the issues facing our industry. There are many
benefits that flow from a diverse scholarly publishing
ecosystem, including: fostering innovation and problem
solving; contributing to robust learning environments, worker
satisfaction...Diverse teams will enable us to better serve the
increasingly diverse research and academic communities that
are both the creators and consumers of scholarly
publications.”
From the Coalition of Diversity & Inclusion in Scholarly Communication’s
Joint Statement of Principles

5. ● Formed August 2018
● 14 Committee Members
○ Chair: Del Williams, California State
University, Northridge
○ Co-Chair: Dana Tomlin, SUNY, Old Westbury
○ Board Liaison: Eugenia Beh, MIT
● Volunteer positions
● Serving 2 and 3 year terms
Equity and Inclusion Committee

6. ● Recommend a permanent committee name,
develop a final committee charge, and establish a
guiding document for the work of the committee.
● Develop strategies to increase diversity in NASIG
membership, leadership, and award winners.
● Collaborate with the Continuing Education
Committee on educational opportunities related to
diversity and social justice
Committee Charge

7. ● To hear from the members of the NASIG
community
● To learn about what people would like to see from
NASIG and from this committee regarding equity,
inclusion, and diversity
Today’s Goal

8. ● Prompt
● Small group (2-4 people) discussion (5 min.)
● Open mic large group discussion on same topic
(5 min.)
● Please use the mic when speaking to the large
group
● If you can’t come to the mic, let us know, and we’ll
bring it to you
Town Hall Discussion Format

9. If you want to make a comment but not to the whole
group, you can:
● Write on the provided comment sheets
● Email the diversity committee after the conference
Town Hall Discussion Format

10. ● Approach others’ comments with curiosity
● Try to speak from a personal place with “I,” rather
than “we” or “you”
● Focus discussion on changing workplace culture
rather than putting the burden on marginalized
groups to bring the diversity to an organization
Discussion Guidelines
Guidelines adapted from SSP Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

11. ● Practice “active listening” and reflect before you
speak
● Participants from underrepresented groups do
not represent those full and diverse groups. Don’t
ask individuals to respond to a question because
of their group affiliation.
Discussion Guidelines
Guidelines adapted from SSP Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

12. ● Think about the space that you are taking up in
the conversation and give space to others
● Approach topics with respect and with good faith.
● Remember that we’re all learning
Discussion Guidelines
Guidelines adapted from SSP Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

13. 1. What equity and diversity activities are you doing at your
own libraries? What projects have inspired the most change?
Discussion Questions

14. Yesterday DeEtta Jones discussed the need for
courageous leadership in making change and said that we
shouldn’t let the fact that it will be a lot of effort keep us
from doing the important work of seeking equity.
2. What changes would you like to see at your home
institution to increase equity? How can NASIG help
support these goals?
Discussion Questions

15. DeEtta Jones also mentioned that
when thinking of equity,
organizations often try to
redestribute boxes, or resources,
in order to give people access to
opportunities. The problem is that
“[w]e have a finite amount of
boxes. We don’t have enough. It’s
not sustainable. The problem is
the fence” keeping people out.
Discussion Questions

16. 3. What fences exist within the
library profession and within
NASIG? What can NASIG do to
help eliminate these?
Are there specific
programs/initiatives you would
like to see NASIG support?
Discussion Questions

17. In an article in Inside Higher Ed, Dafina-Lazarus Stewart writes,
“Diversity celebrates increases in numbers that still reflect minoritized
status on campus and incremental growth. Equity celebrates reductions in
harm, revisions to abusive systems and increases in supports for people’s
life chances…
Inclusion celebrates awards for initiatives and credits itself for having a
diverse candidate pool. Justice celebrates getting rid of practices and
policies that [had] disparate impacts on minoritized groups.”
Discussion Questions

18. 4. What do equity and inclusion mean to you? What practices and
policies can NASIG implement to help support all of its community
members?
Discussion Questions

19. The Racial Equity Institute has a bibliography designed to
help leaders address racism, Duke University’s Center for
Sexual and Gender Diversity has a Gender Pronouns
Resource Guide, and Emerson College has Guidelines for
Inclusive Language.
5. What equity and inclusion resources or toolkits do you
use? What resources would you like to see developed?
Discussion Questions

20. ● Remember, you can share anonymous feedback
by writing on the handout.
● You can also send comments to:
Feedback
diversity@internal.nasig.org

21. And you are welcome to contact any of us.
● Maria Collins, mdcollin@ncsu.edu
● Angela Dresselhaus, dresselhausa15@ecu.edu
● Treasa Bane, treasa.bane@wisc.edu
● Heidy Berthoud, berthoudh@si.edu
● Mandy Hurt, mandy.hurt@duke.edu
● Kristen Twardowski, kristen.twardowski@dukeupress.edu
Committee Contacts

22. The Equity and Inclusion Committee will
● Collect and analyze feedback from this session
● Write a short summary report for the newsletter
● Create a form for anonymous feedback that will
be shared with the listserv
Moving Forward