There was another meeting with members of the university community on 26 November. The main focus for the discussion was the new IAMplify project which has been brought in by the library and focuses on actively addressing how diversity and inclusion does (and does not) manifest itself in our collections, and subsequently in our reading lists and curricula. We:
- ask who is and is not represented,
- consider why this is the case and how it operates as a function of marginalisation, and
- act to bring those voices into the spaces we occupy.
We looked at how we can incorporate this into the curriculum, with the active participation of students in their classes, and affect change in both the content and approach to reading lists for modules. Some great ideas emerged, and we will be putting them into action in semester two.
- A padlet will be made available so that students and staff can put forward ideas for texts to add to the library collection, and also links to sources that are not part of the traditional books and journal article collections.
- This padlet will be monitored by the academic liaison librarians, and responses posted, in relation to adding items to reading list, purchasing new texts, and feedback to say thanks for the suggestions.
- The padlet will be available to staff to use as both a tool for recommending things themselves, and getting ideas for their teaching.
- Some academics are instigating new assessments which involve tasks such as annotated bibliographies which will influence, and be influenced by, the sources identified in IAMplify.
- A suggestion of a reading group to centre on one of the sources in IAMplify was made and is going to be taken forward. It would be open to all and likely be based in online discussions. It was suggested that Unicorn by Amrou Al-Kadhi would be a great first text for this.