Statement on Diversity
Through its programs, collection and outreach, the University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press seeks to uphold the guiding principles as embodied in the University of Delaware Diversity Statement:
The University of Delaware’s educational mission is to prepare students to live in an increasingly interconnected and diverse world. We are committed to fostering a robust educational environment that supports critical thinking, free inquiry, and an understanding of diverse views and values. We see diversity as a core value and guiding principle for our educational mission and thus must work to make diversity an integral part of everyday life on campus.
We take diversity to mean both the recognition and the appreciation of the different backgrounds, values, and ideas of those who comprise our campus, and to ensuring that all people on our campus are treated according to principles of fairness, civility, dignity, and equity.
We are committed to building an educational community that embraces people from different backgrounds and economic circumstances, with different needs, and from diverse personal and philosophical beliefs. We want to make all people who are part of the University feel welcome and valued in campus life.
As prepared by the Diversity and Equity Commission and The President’s Diversity Initiative
Library, Museums and Press: Strategic Directions
The following excerpts from the Library Strategic Directions support diversity and inclusion:
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility
The Library, Museums and Press celebrates the diversity of our community by recognizing and working intentionally to address the impact of historical and contemporary structural inequities. We welcome and respect the contributions of all, so we develop equitable, inclusive and accessible services to foster those contributions.
Values
The University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press contributes to a community that nurtures intellectual curiosity and free inquiry, where everyone is empowered to learn and flourish, in alignment with the University of Delaware Values. These values ground our strategic and operational decisions and inform the way that we develop personnel, spaces, collections, services and programs.
Our values in action:
- We provide a welcoming environment that is open to all in accordance with UD Library policies and diversity statement.
- We provide equitable service to our diverse community of users, and in doing so we recognize, value and embrace the uniqueness of each individual.
- We promote an atmosphere of respect and civility as an essential part of strengthening our campus and local communities.
- We preserve, disseminate and provide equitable access to knowledge in a variety of forms.
- We assist users in the creation of a wide range of scholarly materials, encouraging excellence and innovation, and supporting student success.
- We foster lifelong learning aimed at supporting an informed and engaged citizenry.
- We support rigorous scholarship and critical thinking by embracing the core professional values of librarianship, academic museum practice and university press publishing, including intellectual freedom, inclusion, privacy of users and social responsibility.
In accordance with these practices we operate with transparency and accountability. We recognize the dignity of all people in public and private discourse and engage in dialogue that builds trust and fosters collaboration. Thus, we value and cultivate the free exchange of ideas, and condemn speech or action that threatens the physical or psychological safety of any member of our community.