UNC Greensboro’s Libraries received the 2024 Library Excellence in Access and Diversity (LEAD) Award from “Insight into Diversity” magazine. The LEAD Award honors academic libraries’ programs and initiatives that encourage and support DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) across their campuses. These include, but are not limited to, research, technology, accessibility, exhibitions, and community outreach.
“The University Libraries host more than 1 million visitors each year. They are each greeted by staff who are eager to provide a welcoming environment where all visitors can both find the information they seek and feel a sense of belonging,” UNCG Chancellor Frank Gilliam said. “Diversity, equity and inclusion are woven within the fabric of our University and to have the library – where our students and greater Greensboro community members gather – recognized in this way is truly an honor. Congratulations to the Libraries staff.”
UNCG will be featured, along with 55 other recipients, in the March 2024 issue of “Insight into Diversity” magazine.
“I am proud of the everyday inclusion and equity actions of the Libraries’ staff,” said UNCG University Libraries Dean Michael Crumpton. “We strive to be a place where a diversity of collections and reference materials from new authors to legendary leaders are available for all. This award shines a spotlight on the staff’s commitment to creating a welcoming environment where learning occurs across a vast array of people.”
Insight Into Diversity magazine selected UNC Greensboro’s University Libraries because of their commitment to creating an inclusive and diverse work environment as well as providing speakers and topics of various subjects and backgrounds to promote DEI, local history, and culture. Examples of their DEI commitment include:
- The libraries participate actively in the annual UNCG CHANCE program, a summer camp for 100 Hispanic and Latinx high school students from around the state. Nearly every library department is involved in facilitating workshops for the CHANCE campers.
- Since 2008, University Libraries has provided support to librarians from diverse and historically represented backgrounds through successful residency programs.
- The Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) created Triad Black Lives Matter to document the Black Lives Matter movement, police brutality protests, and race relations in the Triad area of North Carolina. This award-winning collection contains digital photographs and video footage and is available to researchers.
- University Libraries supports diverse publishing opportunities among researchers through its Open Access Publishing Fund. This fund serves to reduce barriers to publishing and to support UNCG’s faculty and graduate students who choose open access publishing as the best venue for their work. Newer scholars often benefit from this fund, which helps them get their work out to a broader audience.
“We know that many academic libraries are not always recognized for their dedication to diversity, inclusion, and access” says Lenore Pearlstein, owner and publisher of Insight Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education. “We are proud to honor these college and university libraries as role models for other institutions of higher education.”
