The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 and the subsequent protests and community unrest have evoked grief, outrage, and a desire for change at the River Campus Libraries and University of Rochester community at large.
At the libraries, it is essential that our Black students, faculty, and staff—and all people of color within the University community—know and feel that they belong and are welcome. Led by Deputy Dean Myra Henry, the UR Libraries Committee on Diversity and Inclusion has helped us nurture this environment through leadership advisement, training sessions, workshops, and opportunities for discussion and reflection. For instance, this past spring, their “Hey, Let’s Talk” series provided the opportunity for staff to read White Fragility. More recently, we held a special virtual edition of the series to give staff an opportunity to work through the emotions brought on by the killing of George Floyd.
Regarding how we’re contributing to discourse, we are committed to the evolution and diversity of our collections. We have invested in updates to our core collection through the Black Studies Center. Additionally, we currently hold the 19th Ward Community Association of Rochester Papers, the Walter Cooper Papers, the Frederick Douglass Papers, the Rochester Race Riot Papers, and Rochester, New York Voices of LGBT History. These are a small sample of our extensive primary sources in Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation. Please do take a look.
Also, we are focused on contributing to more racial diversity within the library profession. The Career Exploration in Librarianship and Mentoring’s fourth cohort completed their program at the end of the spring semester. The purpose of this program is to expose undergraduates from underrepresented populations to the work that takes place in libraries and archives and, hopefully, inspire them to pursue a career in one of these areas.
I also want to note that in 2017, we developed a strategic plan that was guided by the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion to the libraries. But the current moment demands that we do better. Meliora needs to apply to the erasure of existing systemic practices that place a barrier in front of people of color. I am committed to this, as is our dedicated and passionate team.
Overall, I recognize we still have much learning to do. In the meantime, we need to look for changes we can make immediately and begin discussing strategies and plans for institutional changes that will take more time to enact. We also need to spend more time listening, and we’d love to hear what you have to say.
If you have suggestions on ways we can initiate significant and meaningful change or are interested in helping, please don’t hesitate to send me an email.
Mary Ann Mavrinac
Vice Provost and Andrew H. and Janet Dayton Neilly Dean
University of Rochester Libraries
