As the YUL host representative and liaison to ARL staff, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank YUL members for their involvement and support of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) 2024 Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility in Libraries & Archives (IDEAL) Conference, held on July 15–17, 2024, in Toronto.
From the scripting and filming of our host video to the last YUL volunteers who were onsite for clean-up, our participation reflected our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
Here’s a recap of our activities: Alan, Anjum, and Andrea spearheaded the production of our host video with cameos by Andrea, Sheril, Cora, Daksh (CCSD’s Student Success Mentor), and Ian (MCL’s Digital Support Assistant). You can see all nine of the host videos here.
In the lead-up to the conference, Genny, Leigh and Sheril served on various committees and during the conference, they volunteered on-site; Veronica, Michelle, Tanya, Anna, Alan, Sarah C., Kris, Stephanie, Stan, Norda, Vesna and Andrea also attended the conference, taking notes and returning with ideas for how we can continue to advance our own EDIB initiatives here at YUL.
Several librarians and archivists provided a presentation, workshop, tour, or community group engagement session as follows:
- York University Libraries and the Jane Finch Community Research Partnership
- Andrea Kosavic & Ellie Perkins, York University Libraries
- Beyond the Canon: A Panel Discussion about EDI and Collections in Ontario Academic Libraries and Archives
- Jennifer Grant, York University Libraries; Eva Jurczyk & Naz Tarobi, University of Toronto Libraries; Brian McMillan, Western University Libraries; Jacqueline Cato, Western Libraries
- Weaving "gentle" textile craft with "hard" data: introducing data fundamentals through creative workshops
- Priscilla Carmini, University of Waterloo; Alexandra Wong, York University Libraries
- Collecting with intention: drafting archival acquisition policies for the 21st century
- Jennifer Grant, York University Libraries
- 2SLGBTQIA+ Community Group
- Coordinators: Sheril Hook, York University Libraries; Jeff Witt, University of Michigan
- York University: Media Creation Lab Facilities at Scott Library Tours
- Kris Joseph & Alan Peng
Having the opportunity to co-host such an important and impactful conference was a welcome opportunity for us. We were able to send several people, so if you haven’t heard a re-cap of a presentation by someone who attended, reach out to any of the attendees listed above.
Next up: Sarah C is coordinating with Jenna, chair of the Innovative Pedagogies Working Group, to bring in one of the IDEAL speakers for an all-staff event during the Winter term—on the topic of GenAI and EDIB—so that everyone at YUL has an opportunity to learn from the conference. Stay tuned for that announcement! In the meantime, thank you all for your support and engagement.
