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This chapter examines the depth to which considerations of diversity and inclusion have been internalized within the educational programs, professions, and institutions of library and information science.

Drawing upon the authors’ parallel careers as scholars and educators focused on the diversity and the inclusiveness of the field, this chapter uses the findings from their individual and collaborative studies over the past 10 years to explore the roles of diversity and inclusion in the field.

This chapter details a list of key issues of diversity and inclusion that remain insufficiently addressed in the field and the ways in which educators, professionals, and institutions can work together to confront these challenges.

In a field where external factors can far too easily define who we are as professionals, it is up to us to prove our worth. Even when a position appears to lack opportunity for advancement, we can earn recognition through hard work and initiative. In doing so, we invite other opportunities to come our way. This chapter will demonstrate how the author developed his niche as classified staff in the Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library at the James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona. By showing initiative early and often, the author was afforded the opportunity to work on two important digitization projects at the library. The first project involved getting the scholarly work of students in the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program represented in the campus repository. The second project involved supervising a Law Library Fellow’s internship, which included resurrecting in-house digitizing equipment. In detailing these two undertakings, the author will demonstrate why libraries play an important role in digitization. Furthermore, the author will show how up-and-coming library professionals can demonstrate the power of the library, earn recognition, and set the stage for further professional opportunities.

Purpose – The United States has and will continue to experience increasing levels of diversity in all segments of the population. To address the information needs of diverse students, it is important for school library certification programs to offer a curriculum that addresses such topics as the role of culturally competent library service for diverse K-12 student patrons as well as teaching future school librarians how to provide services and programs that include all members of the school community, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students.

Design – We use a combination of a literature review, an explanation of the tenets of cultural competence, and relevant descriptions of experiences of LGBT youth to generate practical solutions for transforming the curriculum and culture in Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) programs with the goal of better serving LGBT patrons in secondary schools.

Findings – Twelve specific solutions were identified that focus on transforming the curricular and cultural landscape of MLIS programs as they relate to promoting diversity and inclusivity in preparing school librarians to serve LGBT students.

Value – The chapter ultimately emphasizes the unfortunate outcome resulting from MLIS programs failing to prepare school librarians who are aware of the importance of embracing and demonstrating culturally competent and inclusive services for LGBT students. It also shares strategies for improving curricular practices that affect the culture of MLIS programs and, by extension, the atmosphere in school library programs.

This chapter examines the impact and influence of the visual and performing arts in sustaining thriving communities and highlights the essential role of libraries in providing access to arts and cultural programming and services. Creative and artistic intervention has become the imperative of our time. Creativity is required not only in design studios and workshops, but in all areas of work and life, both professional and personal. Places of artistic and cultural production are strongly correlated with strong local economies and sustainable communities. Libraries are public spaces that promote and maintain community, not only civic institutions. As such, the library plays a key role as incubator for the arts. Libraries advocate freedom: of ideas, communication, and information. Arts programming in libraries provides an avenue for people to communicate ideas and feelings through visual, auditory, or kinesthetic forms. But more than that, libraries are also about education, safe and welcoming spaces, community, and entertainment. Libraries support and promote the value of multiple perspectives and voices. Libraries can shape patronage of the arts and engage future generations by addressing social diversity and inciting inclusive participation in the arts. Many libraries are participating in the creation of new forms of understanding through arts programming, services, and resources. In an age where many of society’s most important challenges are related to our relationship with information, it is vitally important to include visual and performing arts professionals in the intersection between artistic practice and critical engagement with information.

The changing demographics of the United States are reflected in the changing faces in universities and colleges across the nation. However, universities and colleges, including academic libraries, are still reacting as opposed to being proactive to these changes in their campuses. Academic libraries especially in the area of library resources are still grappling with the question of “How can we diversify our library collections?” In this chapter, the author examines the idea that one of the ways to reflect demographics on campus is for academic libraries to explore the concept of “belongingness” – the idea that students are seeing themselves on campus. This examination of belongingness hopes to answer the lack of representation of minority students in library collections through identifying gaps in the collection and acquiring diverse books and other resources. For minority students to see themselves in higher education institutions, academic libraries need to be proactive in helping students “belong” on campus.

With the globalization of education and immigration, international students have become a large population group at universities in the United States. However, language issues, adjusting to a new educational system, and culture shock are still big challenges for most international students. As a former international student majoring in Library and Information Science, the author deeply understands the difficulties that these students go through to achieve academic success in the United States. Therefore, when the author began working as the Liaison Librarian for International Students at the University of South Alabama in 2014, her first goal was to develop a relationship with related departments on campus to provide library services for these students. This chapter will provide a glimpse of the library outreach program created especially for international students at the University of South Alabama. This chapter will also share the author’s professional experiences reaching out to different groups of international students and creating long-term collaborative working relationships with related departments on campus. The goal is to enable universities to create a welcoming library environment and provide services to support the academic success of all students.

Creating inclusive youth collections that authentically reflect and empower our ever-growing diverse youth population is a discussion at the forefront of library youth services, K-12 classrooms, and youth advocacy and literacy organizations. This chapter highlights core strategies used to build inclusive library and classroom collections. These strategies include methods for finding, promoting, and evaluating diverse youth literature. The appendix provides a list of resources that support the core strategies and includes references for further reading and advocacy.