The RLUK Decolonisation Group

The RLUK Decolonisation Group, consisting of members of the RLUK Special Collections and Heritage Network (SCHN) and the Collections Strategy Network (CSN), as well as other RLUK colleagues with expertise in the area of collection-based decolonisation began meeting in January 2022 to discuss issues of common interest for research libraries in this area.

Since then, the RLUK Decolonisation Group has run three very successful seasons of the RLUK ‘Inclusive Collections, Inclusive Libraries’ seminar series, organised events at the Discovering Collections, Discovering Communities (DCDC) and Research Libraries UK (RLUK) conferences, as well as published the RLUK report on ‘Developing Inclusive Collections: understanding current practices and needs of RLUK research libraries’.

This resource is the latest output of the group. The current members of the RLUK Decolonisation Group are:

• Christina Kamposiori, RLUK Executive Programme Officer (Chair)
• David Prosser, RLUK Executive Director
• Vanessa Farrier, Head of Education & Curriculum Liaison, Libraries & Collections, King’s College London
• Stuart Dempster, Associate Director and Head of Collections and Discovery, University of Warwick
• Mel Bach, Slavonic Specialist and Head of Collections and Academic Liaison, Cambridge University Library 
• Sally Bell, Head of Collection Development, University of Glasgow Library (CSN)
• Craig Barclay, Head of Museums, Galleries and Exhibitions, Durham University Library (SCHN)
• Donald Malanga, Head of Collections, Acquisitions and Discovery, University of Southampton

Acknowledgements

Thanks to all RLUK colleagues, including past members of the RLUK Decolonisation Group, stakeholders and critical friends who have contributed to the development of the resource, through participating in meetings and events on the topic, completing surveys, and contributing and reviewing information.

Deciding to engage in collection-based decolonisation for the first time can seem overwhelming. However, librarians, archivists, and other information professionals often have the soft skills and personal attributes that are essential for getting started in the area. Identifying these in your practice as well as committing to develop them further will prove useful as you prepare to get started with collection-based decolonisation. Below we list two soft skills that we believe are an important stepping stone and that you can ‘transfer’ from other areas of your practice as well as the personal attributes that can help you progress with confidence in your work and achieve your goals. 

Active Listening

Actively listening requires paying full attention when another person is speaking and hearing the complete message without interrupting. Verbal and non-verbal cues can be helpful indicators that you are present and focused on the conversation. Active listening is a skill that many library professionals, such as those working with collections, have to practice often through their frequent engagement with a variety of users (academics, researchers, students, and the general public) and stakeholders in order to fully understand what is required and respond accordingly. 

Given that the area of collection-based decolonisation requires engagement with various stakeholders, professionals as well as individuals with lived experiences and discussion on socially, culturally and personally sensitive topics, developing further your active listening skills will aid communication and collaboration.

Below are some tips for developing your active listening skills:

• Look for opportunities to practice your skills during your daily work routine but also in your personal life.
• Practice with a colleague or friend and ask for feedback on whether they felt listened to as well as whether they have any suggestions for improvement.
• Log any reflections you may have after each conversation on whether this went well, any difficulties you faced, as well as any thoughts on what you can improve next time.

Openness

Openness is a core value in the research library sector which is reflected in the strategic plans of institutions and increasingly embedded in professional practice. Openness as a mind-set is a personal attribute which can be particularly useful to professionals working in collection-based decolonisation. Openness to continually learn and develop your skills and knowledge as well as being open to listen to and engage with others are essential prerequisites for getting started with collection-based decolonisation (also see the stories of professionals in the ‘Case Studies’ below). Embedding openness in your practice and employing it as an approach when developing and implementing activities related to collection-based decolonisation is important for having difficult conversations and confronting entrenched views and mainstream narratives.

As part of developing an openness mind-set and gaining in confidence as you start to question assumptions held by others, it important to practise the following on a regular basis: 

Responding, not reacting

Being open and transparent around institutional practices related to collection-based decolonisation will often require having complex or difficult conversations with a variety of stakeholders and community groups. Being able to provide thoughtful and calm responses while in complex circumstances is important for maintaining openness and allowing different perspectives and voices to be heard. On the contrary, reacting to a situation or discussion that may feel uncomfortable may involve providing responses that can be emotionally charged and often unhelpful given that they may hinder transparency and openness.

Critical of own biases

An important part of further developing an openness mind-set is managing to reflect on and challenge your own biases. Being aware that everyone can carry their own biases and misconceptions and openly discussing things that feel uncomfortable will be particularly useful when collaborating with different stakeholders as well as challenging historical biases in the institutional record. Encouraging critical practice will contribute towards maintaining openness and transparency which will prove beneficial in the long-term across different areas of the institution.

Kindness/ Compassion

Being kind and empathising with colleagues has been shown to contribute towards productivity and the wellbeing of employees. Applying kindness as a method in collection-based decolonisation will involve being open to hearing and acknowledging the perspectives and experiences of others as well as being thoughtful about how you approach decolonisation practice. Being kind should not get in the way of confronting inappropriate behaviour and unproductive thinking. Also, don’t forget to be kind to yourself during this challenging process!

Collaboration

Having a collaborative spirit is necessary for implementing collection-based decolonisation activities as the majority require active engagement with colleagues from other areas, academics and other stakeholder groups. Being collaborative means that different perspectives are utilised as part of working towards a goal while openness and transparency are requirements for a successful collaboration.

Below are some tips for practising and applying the above aspects of openness which can also help to reflect and improve your practice:

• Take time to reflect on your practice and consider where openness as an approach can improve it and lead to better results.
• Ensuring good communication is important for successful collaboration. Being transparent to colleagues and stakeholders about what you are trying to achieve will contribute towards openness and create a useful foundation for successful practice.
• Always remembering to question your approach as well as regularly gathering feedback on your practice can limit the biases negatively influencing and hindering your decolonisation practice.
• Consider how you apply kindness as a method to your practice. Is it about taking extra time to have discussions with others and listen to their concerns? Is it about trying sometimes to fit your schedule around someone else’s needs so that they can contribute to the project? Is it about thinking about the language and terminology used in the context of a collection-based decolonisation project? Is it about creating a friendly environment where others can feel respected and that their views are valued?

Reading lists

Given the growing demand for diversifying the curriculum in Higher Education and the development of inclusive pedagogical practice, reading lists are often one of the first parts of collections that undergo decolonisation in order to meet the needs of the academic and student communities. 

This area is predominantly led by the academic and student communities, with many academic libraries across the UK actively engaged in a supporting and consultative role with their academic colleagues. Thus, there are several examples of good practice available online that professionals beginning to work in this area can consult.

One of the most important aspects of this process is the engagement with the academic and student communities which can sometimes prove challenging, especially when decolonisation and diversification of the curriculum has not become yet a strategic goal of an academic institution/ department.

How do you approach and engage with the academic community or certain groups in the institution to raise awareness about the benefits of a diversified curriculum through decolonising readings lists and collections more broadly? Building the confidence to start and maintain these conversations can provide the basis for change that can lead not only to more inclusive collection and pedagogical practices, but also to bringing the voices of underrepresented groups and their contributions to global knowledge to the fore.

Below are some useful things to do before you start engaging your academic and student community in discussions around the need to diversify reading lists: 

• Develop a sound understanding of the current discussions relating to collection-based decolonisation and decolonising the curriculum. In this guide you will find some useful resources to help you develop a knowledge base.
• Engage your library colleagues in the process and make them aware about your intentions. Making links to other decolonisation efforts in your library or other relevant strategic initiatives and explaining how diversifying reading lists will enhance the student experience and increase the value of the library can strengthen your argument about the importance of this work. It can also lead to joint-up efforts which will make the process less strenuous and lessen the emotional toll it may entail.    
• Consult with colleagues who may have greater experience in engaging with academics, such as liaison librarians, and who can possibly give you some advice and useful contacts to begin with. Also, consult with colleagues who can advise you in the area of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) more broadly (e.g. if there is an EDI group in the library) and how its principles can be best applied in your work.
• Consider finding out about the students’ views on the topic. In many institutions, students are amongst the driving forces behind relevant initiatives. Gathering evidence about students’ requirements with the aim of enriching their learning experience can form the basis for further discussions with academics on this subject.  

Here are some tips about how to have these conversations with your academic community:

• Decide on what the best time to approach academic colleagues could be so that plenty of time is allocated for preparation and discussions before plans need to be implemented. 
• Consider approaching first academic colleagues who have a longstanding relationship with the library and are champions of collections. It is more likely that they will be familiar with the library’s work as well as current discussions around collections.   
• Be prepared to explain about the positive impact that decolonising the curriculum can have on the broader university and the student experience.
• Be prepared to explain what the process of decolonising reading lists entails and provide any supporting evidence (e.g. around students’ demand, relevant statistics etc.)
• Be open and actively listen about the academics’ concerns in the area. The SCURL EDI Toolkit contains a very useful list with some common questions academics often have around this process as well as what types of answers you can give. 
• Be mindful that securing academics’ collaboration is a process that may take time and several discussions before an agreement around next steps is reached. 

Have you had your first conversation(s) with academics? Here are some questions and tips to help you reflect on your practice and further develop it:

• What aspects of the conversation went well and which could have gone better?
• Based on your experience, is there anything you can do to prepare better next time (e.g. gather more evidence, provide more information)?
• Look at what others in the sector have done to get more inspiration as well as increase your knowledge on the topic. There is a variety of resources and guides as well as recordings of events where professionals working in this area share their experiences. In this guide, we share a collection of resources that you can consult. 
• Once you begin your collaboration with academic colleagues on decolonising reading lists, find opportunities to engage them throughout the process of decolonising and diversifying the reading lists in order to build long standing support and partnerships.

Collection development and promotion

Proactive diversification of collections through modern collection development and using new acquisitions to promote diversity to colleagues and users are also vital elements of collection-based decolonisation.

Diversifying collection development

Modern collection development has an important role to play in collection-based decolonisation. It can be easy for UK institutions to collect only western, global north voices, so examining your practice and making changes to it could provide your users with a far richer library experience.

A useful first step in decolonising collection development can be to understand how diverse your modern collections are. A few examples of paths to explore are given below.

• Your library management system might be able to provide data which might reveal bias and gaps that hadn’t previously been so clear. For example, seeing numbers of titles acquired in recent years against their country of publication could make global gaps obvious.
• A review of your institution’s list of vendors could throw up gaps in your existing vendor coverage for certain parts of the world.
• If your institution takes an e-first approach to collection development, question whether this might have led unwittingly to an e-only approach, which would cut out your users’ local access to material available only in print.

Your exploratory work might give you some obvious first steps to take. You might also consider reaching out to colleagues elsewhere to find out approaches they might have taken and see if they might be happy to share changes they have made.

As with so much decolonisation work, a decolonised approach to collection development depends a great deal on adopting a deliberately different critical approach. If diversity of voice has not played a large role in your title selection, for example, you might start interrogating your decisions more. If, let’s say, you normally buy quite a lot of material about the history of a certain part of the world, you could start questioning the diversity of authors and publishers presented in what you select. Consider the picture that your selected titles paint – remember that this is the picture that your library catalogue will portray to your users.

Open Access can play an important role in collection-based decolonisation in various elements of library work. In terms of collection development, OA material available from other institutions around the world might not be easily visible to your users and could be valuable additions to work with your metadata colleagues on adding proactively to your catalogue. When it comes to purchases that support OA initiatives (which normally benefit your institution with early access, with universal access to come later), it is important to consider the model that you would be supporting to make sure that it reflects the values of your institution – OA models can vary significantly.

Much of what many UK institutions acquire will be purchased on the basis of user recommendations and academic reading lists (a separate section on reading lists is given in this guide). Consider using your established routes of liaison to share with your readers and academic colleagues updates about new areas of collection development that might inform their own future recommendations – if you are newly able to buy material from a certain country, for example, this could be important news for them. 

Using collections in decolonisation-related promotions

Identifying and making available collection material in the context of celebrations, anniversaries and other commemorative events is an activity that many collection professionals regularly engage in. Planning to support events and celebrations associated with the history of underrepresented communities or that champion equity, inclusion and diversity can be a great way to begin thinking about collection-based decolonisation and applying relevant principles to processes related to collections. 

Familiarity with institutional collections and related processes is already part of the skillset of many library professionals, something that will prove useful during activities such as stock selection. However, stock selection in the context of collection-based decolonisation will require questioning existing practices and ensuring that appropriate material is selected; this should reflect the purpose of a celebration or other event, but also allow ‘hidden’ voices to be heard and any existing biases or preconceptions to be challenged.

Tips for things to consider before starting the stock selection process:

• Use a special EDI calendar to identify the celebrations you would like to participate with.  
• Taking the time to consider the type of celebration or other event, and what this may mean to the library and its community is a necessary first step in order to be able to make informed decisions about the stock selection process. Thinking about how this material will be used is also important. For example, is it going to be part of a physical or digital exhibition? In the case of a digital/ virtual exhibition, consider if all required material is available in digitised format or time should be allocated to preparing items accordingly.
• Consult with other colleagues working with collections to ensure that different types of content is considered for inclusion, listing or display while organising initiatives in the context of celebration months, relevant anniversaries or commemorative and other special events. 
• Explore the potential of a collaborative approach to developing initiatives or co-curation with library communities (e.g. with academics, students, artists, community groups). This ensures that different voices are heard and any preconceptions about a topic, specific event or celebration can be adequately challenged. 
• Begin organising an initiative well in advance, especially if funding is required to develop initiatives in the context of a celebration month or other commemorative event and initiative. Being well prepared can ensure that every part of the process is thought through and examined through the decolonisation and EDI lenses.
• Consider how decolonisation as a concept can be applied to your stock selection process. For example, if there is a need to prioritise material, how can you make sure that the voices of underrepresented communities are heard?

Things to consider after the process of stock selection for a celebration or other commemorative event has taken place which will help with reflecting on your practice and strengthening your skillset: 

• Make sure to promote your initiatives widely so that a wide variety of audience groups are reached. Consider the avenues and media through which you share the information in order to support diversity and inclusion.
• Make the stock selection process an opportunity to reflect practices and how decolonisation principles can be applied.
• Incorporating a feedback mechanism in the output you create for a celebratory initiative after the stock selection process has been completed will help with reflecting on your practice and further developing your knowledge. For example, can you request feedback from users consulting the online resources you provided? If you use collection material in the context of an exhibition, physical or virtual, consider how you can gather feedback from visitors. 
• If the process has been a success, consider how the steps taken can be followed in future related occasions or applied to different elements of your practice.

Cataloguing and Discovery

Surfacing hidden histories and enabling the voices of historically marginalised communities to be heard and discovered is an important part of collection-based decolonisation. Cataloguing collection items is a process during which important information about the item is recorded with the aim of documenting the material but also  aiding discovery. This process can entail different interconnected activities, from choosing the right terminology to include in a description to creating links to local electronic systems and adding metadata (e.g. see ALA). Over recent years, there has been a call to review outdated cataloguing practices, address problematic subject headings and terminology, and be more transparent about the provenance of items with the goal of challenging biases and misconceptions in the historical record. 

NB we include classification in this section.

Starting points and principles

Decolonisation activities for the cataloguer could theoretically touch on significant amounts of their institution’s collections. It is important for staff to spend time scoping various lines of work with relevant colleagues and, often, with library users, to understand the scale and urgency of each line, to try to ensure that their efforts have maximum impact.  Remember that decolonisation cataloguing work relates to newly acquired material as well as to existing and historical collections.

Pointers for working with specific catalogue records

• When it comes to decolonisation and cataloguing, the general principle is “more is more” – adding more information usually adds value. Below are listed the key groups of fields in a catalogue record and a few starter/sample ideas.
• Transcription fields where the cataloguer must capture certain types of information as they are presented in the resource being catalogued. Often records contain only the minimum required. Are there additional elements that could be useful? For example, are there parallel titles in other languages that could be added?
• Analytical fields where the cataloguer captures data about the resource in standardised headings and control fields. Again, these might only contain the minimum required. Are there contributors to the resource not captured in authorised headings in the record, for example, whose inclusion might help users?
• A key subgroup of analytical fields is subject headings. Most institutions use external subject heading systems, e.g. Library of Congress Subject Headings, and these might include headings that your institution’s library staff and users are not comfortable with. Discuss internally what routes there might be to managing any that have been identified as such, e.g. overlaying them in the discovery layer, and also raise with colleagues in other institutions to discuss.
• Remember that there are also note fields that can be included in catalogue records, some of which involve transcription, others are more analytical. Might a contents note help the user, for example? Could a general note be used to record a critical aspect of the resource not covered elsewhere?
• Also remember that if the resource is in a language using a non-roman script, then the cataloguer should consider adding parallel script fields where appropriate – and as their system and expertise allow – to enhance the findability of the resource in the catalogue. Remember also to follow standard transliteration rules for the romanised fields.

Some suggested pointers for identifying bulk cataloguing problems to fix:

• Think about what your library management system might be able to identify for you as problems; ask the team in your institution who runs the Library Management System (LMS) for advice if you don’t know. Examples might include:
  
  • records that can be identified as needing a general upgrade (e.g. no literary form given in the 008 but also no subject headings)
  • records with errors in the 008 control field’s country code subfield, where the old form hasn’t been updated to the new form
  • geographical subject headings where the first element doesn’t have a match in the system you use
  • records for non-English and particularly non-roman-script material that have been given a “supplied title” – a title in English (normally shown in square brackets) that a previous cataloguer has supplied due to a lack of language expertise
• If you are focusing on a specific area for decolonisation, think about any common errors that you might be able to search for (and talk to specialists in your institution and/or elsewhere if you need help to identify them).
  • For example, a common historical error in catalogue records for Ukrainian material is that past cataloguers have used romanisation rules for Russian instead of Ukrainian, e.g. romanising the Ukrainian form of their capital city Київ as Kiïv rather than Kyïv.

Classification starting points:

• Some institutions use major shared classification schemes (e.g. Dewey), sometimes including local tweaks; others might have their own local classification scheme.
• Think about times when classification problems have come up – what have they involved? It might be issues with the scheme itself (many are slow to move with the times and might reflect extremely outdated geopolitical situations, for example) or with local practice (such as where mistakes have been made). Discuss with others how these issues might be tackled effectively; this might include working with other institutions to get the owner of a shared classification scheme to update certain elements.

Getting help!

• Many institutions’ cataloguing teams have shrunk over time, so reaching out beyond your institution for advice and peer support may be invaluable. JISCMail services can provide supportive environments for discussion, notably LIS-DECOLONISE and LIS-COLLECTION-MGMT
• Be careful to recognise any limitations in your own knowledge. If, for example, you need to tackle records for books in non-roman scripts but have no experience of dealing with these, get advice first, to make sure that your efforts to improve things don’t unintentionally make them worse.

General disclaimers

Professionals thinking about starting to review cataloguing practices as part of the decolonisation process will need to consider whether and where disclaimers need to be used. While some smaller and specialist institutions do add disclaimers at the item-level for collections items identified as problematic, for larger and more generalist collections this process is often not appropriate. Scalability is an issue for this individualised practice, and some professionals question the value in attempting to identify all items which may cause distress to library users and prefer not to add their own bias to an already complex area. For this reason this guide favours the approach of applying a more generalised disclaimer.Institutions have taken very different approaches and some may opt to not use disclaimers at all. 

Tips for things to consider before developing a general disclaimer:

• Identify the collections for which you need to develop a general disclaimer. These may be part of the analogue or digital collections of the library.
• You may wish to consider engaging with certain groups from the library community or beyond about the planned work, especially if community feedback on the process is sought.  
• Identify colleagues from within the institution who can provide any necessary support, such as bring you in touch with users and community groups or provide advice on the development of the disclaimer. If the disclaimer applies to part(s) of the library’s digital collection, it will be important to engage colleagues who can provide technical support and ensure smooth implementation in the digital environment.

Things to consider while developing a general disclaimer: 

• Acknowledging the existence of harmful content in the library’s collections is the first important step when writing a general disclaimer. It may be useful to clarify where this content can be found, such as in the collection materials or the descriptions. You may wish to provide relevant examples.
• Referring to the position of the library around providing access to sensitive or offensive content is often considered best practice, including any relevant policies and practices around collection and management. Explaining why this work is important and needs to take place will contribute towards transparency.
• Consider including useful information for the users of the collections, such as how they can report any harmful content or adding links to supportive material on how to engage with offensive or sensitive content. 
• Look for examples of other libraries’ statements to get ideas and inspiration.

Things to consider after you have developed a general disclaimer:

• Where should this disclaimer be made visible to library users? Could it be part of your discovery system, library catalogues, webpages or any physical areas within buildings and collection areas?
• You should consider if the wording and placement of any disclaimers should be reviewed, and if so agree a review schedule to ensure the phrasing and locations are still appropriate and relevant on a regular basis.
• Some people may wish to share feedback around both your disclaimer and its locations, so think carefully about how this will be handled and the best way to facilitate feedback.

Book displays

Creating and presenting book displays in the physical and virtual library space can be a great way to showcase material that can be otherwise ‘hidden’, while engaging your communities in the process. From collaborating with academics and students to develop book displays on certain themes to engaging the general public in the context of celebrations and anniversaries, organising book displays offer the opportunity to make parts of institutional collections visible and facilitate engagement and conversation around these. Feedback received through relevant collaborations and engagement can also be used to inform institutional processes that aim to surface ‘hidden’ histories and voices.    

Tips for things to consider before beginning to develop a book display:

• Anniversaries and celebrations can be a great opportunity to develop a book display. For more tips on this, see our advice under the ‘Collection Development and Promotion’ section. 
• Deciding where the book display will be presented (physical space or digital).
• Deciding who is the target audience and what you hope to achieve through this display.
• Researching institutional collections and choosing the appropriate material for display as well as developing accompanying contextual information. 
• Finding suitable collaborators through your community to engage in the process if this is part of your goals. For example, academics or students can be invited to contribute to the selection process. 
• Consider how you can promote the display through various internal or external channels to increase engagement and impact.
• Consider whether and how feedback will be collected. 

Things to consider while the book display is ready and open to visitors:

• Is there a way of capturing visitors’ thoughts and comments around the display (either in physical or digital format)?
• Consider whether another round of promotion around the display is needed. Engaging with relevant stakeholders to promote and share updates around the book display may yield useful information around how the book display is used to foster conversation.
• Is there a way to create links to other relevant conversations that take place within your community? 

Things to consider after the process of developing and presenting the book display has been completed which will help with reflecting on your practice and strengthening your skillset: 

• What are the lessons learned from the process of developing the book display and engaging with stakeholders around its promotion? How can you use these lessons in the future? 
• If feedback from visitors has been captured, consider how this can inform collections and collection-related practices. For example, did visitors make suggestions for relevant material that can be added to the collections and be used for future displays?
• If the book display was used to build relationships and foster conversations within the library community, consider whether it is possible to sustain them and whether new collaborations can emerge.