Diversity in local and comparative contexts: Grounding change in academic libraries through dialogue

In October 2020, the authors accepted an invitation to participate in an experimental collaboration observing an equitable, global, and inclusive process. Inspired by an Inclusive Classroom webinar1 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the shared Decolonizing Checklist,2 the authors considered our tasks: 1) to develop a checklist or brief guide that is international in scope to help librarians worldwide develop their own or other educators’ instructional materials, that is antiracist or inclusive, and 2) to publish the checklist/guide and a reflective essay of the process. After reviewing the original checklist and attempting to construct our own, we realized that the task was more nuanced than originally thought, especially as we considered the central roles of libraries within the academy, and what would drive our construction of this checklist. We deliberated on matters of terminology, specific areas of focus for librarians and faculty, our personal viewpoints, and concluded that the conversation needed voices that represented other and wider perspectives. In the spirit of inclusiveness, we offer our conversation as a spark to further conversations towards a more fulsome and robust outcome.