APLA 2019

Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) continues to be one of the most important agendas many organizations try to implement or achieve, and the library as an organization is not immune to this either. In fact, within the last few years EDI became a hot topic in libraries in north America generally and Canada in particular. Many libraries and library associations (academic, private, public, special) have set up committees with the sole purpose of ensuring that EDI is achieved. Furthermore, many guidelines, standards and competencies, distinguished seminar series, webinars, just to mention a few, have been created or introduced to assist many of these committees and any interested individuals on how to make EDI achievable. According to the Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA-FCAB), “Libraries have a responsibility to contribute to a culture that recognizes diversity and fosters social inclusion” and this is because “libraries have a unique and unparalleled ability to bring people and knowledge together.” Hence, as libraries transform and are in the “midst of great change” as the theme of the conference suggests, I believe an important component of this great change is to incorporate a significant emphasis on EDI. Thus, the question is, will EDI be achievable in libraries or will it be just the flavor of the month? My aim here is to encourage conversations around issues of EDI in the library field because EDI cuts across many areas of librarianship from staffing to collections and beyond.