“Who Are We Missing?” Conducting a Diversity Audit in a Liberal Arts College Library

Doyle, Brenna

Emerson, M. E., & Lehman, L. G. (2022). Who are we missing? Conducting a diversity audit in a liberal arts college library. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 48(3), 102517-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2022.102517

Summary: Emerson and Lehman’s 2022 article takes a look at the amount of diversity within the collections at Augustana College in order to determine what gaps may currently exist. This article also specifies that when conducting a diversity audit, one must be sure to settle on a focus for their audit and determine an audit methodology. For this particular study, Emerson and Lehman focused their audit on three different aspects of identity: gender, sexuality, and race. Further, they defined criteria to be audited as physical books that were part of the library’s permanent collection, written by a single author, and published between 2000 and 2022. In order to assess gender, the researchers started their auditing process by creating a list of pronouns that may be in the collection, while allowing for additional pronouns that did not fit into the initial categories. When assessing sexuality, they took a look at whether the authors identified themselves as being in an opposite sex relationship, a same sex relationship, or if they specified themselves as being part of the LGBTQ+ community. When assessing race and ethnicity, the researchers looked to see how the authors self-identified and categorized race and ethnicity into: white, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Black, Latinx, Middle Eastern, Biracial/Multiracial, and unknown. The results of the audit showed that a majority of the books in the library’s general academic collection were written by authors with the pronouns he/him, while authors with the pronouns they/them made up only around 0.16% of the general collection. The sexuality audit had more inconclusive results, as around 61% of the authors were unable to be determined, though of the ones determined, the majority were in opposite sex relationships, with only 1% of the authors self-identifying at being part of the LGBTQ+ community. Finally, the race and ethnicity audit revealed that the authors in the library collection were 71.38% white, while BIPOC authors made up only 13.38% of the collection. When comparing the results of the diversity audit with 2019 Census data, it became clear that the library was overrepresenting White authors and that the race and ethnicity category was the only category higher than the national average. The article concludes with notions of building connections within the community to better build a more diverse and inclusive collection. 

Opinion: The results of the diversity audit at Augustana College were, for me, unfortunately unsurprising. The audit revealed that, within Tredway Library, the general collection was predominantly authored by white, straight men, while female, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC authors typically were in the minority. There are many reasons why this could be, starting with the fact that straight, white men have historically had greater privilege than those in the minority, and their works may be more prevalent or featured more heavily, leading to their greater presence within the library. In 2022, and even now in 2025, I believe society is still making strides for more inclusivity and diversity in our daily lives, let alone within library collections. I wholeheartedly agree with Emerson and Lehman, however, that students being unable to find their own representation within the library sends the message that their voices cannot be authoritative, that their perspectives do not matter. Connecting with the communities is an excellent idea and could definitely aid in the library’s crusade to further their collection diversity, and though this article focuses on leaning on social media to connect with diverse authors and diverse-owned bookstores, I think there should be a significant emphasis on academic libraries partnering with university clubs and programs, such as the LGBTQ+ center, Black Student Union, the Cross-Cultural Center, or any university programs that celebrate diversity. Community connections are just as essential a resource as any book collection in the library, and it’s an excellent way for libraries to foster a diverse environment.