Practical Tips for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Libraries

Dr Beth Montague-Hellen started off academic life as a Molecular Biologist studying at Manchester University. The next 14 years were spent as a computational biologist, accruing an MSc and a PhD on the way. Following this, Beth has retrained as a Librarian which is a much smaller move for a computational biologist than most people think. Currently a Senior Research Librarian at the University of Nottingham, Beth supports D&I initiatives as well as researchers. Beth has initiated several projects to help increase the visibility, confidence, and well-being of LGBT+ individuals working in STEM subjects. The most successful of these project are the LGBTSTEM blog (https://lgbtstem.wordpress.com/) and the LGBTQ+ STEMinar which has now been run successfully for 6 years. In 2020 Beth won the Royal Society Athena Prize for her work in this space, and has previously been shortlisted for the Gay Times Barbara Burford Award for Excellence in STEM. She has also supported CILIPs initiative to improve diversity within the organisation as the D&I Officer for Yorkshire & Humberside members network, as a member of LGBTQ+ CILIP and the BAME CILIP Allies network.

Introduction


Themes in Library Sectors


Compliance and beyond


Policies and moving on to actions


Inclusive Staff Environments


Inclusive Patron Environments


Physical Space for everyone


Decolonising or Diversifying Collections


Supporting ethical research


First steps