The US Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) a $249,531 Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grant to implement the ARL Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Institute. These funds will support the translation of the results of a previous IMLS award to ARL for the planning of the institute. The DEI Institute is one of the new ARL Institutes, which also include the President’s Institute and the Executive Institute.
The DEI Institute aims to increase the capacity of participants to effect positive change with and within their respective communities through the acquisition and application of specific knowledge, awareness, and skills related to DEI, organizational development, and leadership. As a standalone program aimed at sustainable transformation, the ARL DEI Institute is intended to provide a scalable, modular structure that increases access to resources for sustaining diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces and supports professionals’ efforts to chart the efficacy of DEI capacity building within individual institutions. These efforts are designed to fill the gap created by a reliance on ad hoc tools and interventions currently employed by many libraries and other cultural heritage and memory institutions to address DEI-related concerns.
Upon completion of this project, ARL will have successfully hosted two iterations of the ARL DEI Institute, each with a diverse cohort of participants who are poised to lead and contribute to changes in their respective institutions. Through the application of learning and resources gained from the institute, the participants will be able to advocate for, implement, assess, and iterate upon strategic shifts in institutional policies, procedures, and practices to create more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environments and experiences for employees and the communities they serve. Through the use of a cohort model, institute participants will have access to a network of support beyond their individual institutions, enabling continued connections, engagement, and learning.
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