Inclusive Excellence

Introduction

Rare Book School (RBS) is committed to strengthening global communities of the book and advancing the study of cultural heritage. Diversity is a central component of our curriculum, and strengthens the intellectual and social life of our School. Since 2015, strategic RBS programs and initiatives, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, have challenged the School to increase the diversity of its course offerings through the Global Book Histories Initiative and to address the historic and entrenched insularity of the rare-book professions—both at RBS and in the field more broadly—through fellowship programs seeking to advance the professional development of early- and mid-career cultural heritage professionals who identify with historically excluded racial and ethnic communities, as well as professionals who identify as LGBTQ+, professionals who come from low-income backgrounds, or professionals with disabilities. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography, a program of RBS, shares with the School the goal of promoting inclusivity and diversity in the fields of bibliography and book history.

Although we recognize the School’s recent initiatives to increase diversity at RBS, there is yet more work to do. Efforts to increase diversity are incomplete without a simultaneous commitment to inclusive excellence. To foster an inclusive, respectful, and welcoming environment that embraces a richly diverse representation of human attributes, perspectives, and disciplines requires holistic effort across the organization. Only through tangible, measurable steps may we fully implement the change we seek, matching the values we have articulated with concrete actions.

Recognizing that organizational excellence cannot be achieved without genuine attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Rare Book School has adopted the Inclusive Excellence framework to align and support its efforts to sustain an inclusive environment. A primary advantage of this approach is its emphasis on concrete actions and accountability. A designated task force for inclusive excellence at RBS began with a study of diversity and inclusion in the cultural heritage field before assessing organizational culture and belonging at Rare Book School. A series of carefully targeted focus group exercises with the entire staff explored the School’s current environment and prioritized actions that the organization could take to promote diversity and inclusion more consistently throughout the RBS community. As RBS reviews its progress toward these goals annually, it will necessarily calibrate its priorities to identify new objectives in order to sustain a more inclusive community of learning.

Self-Assessment

An honest assessment of Rare Book School’s history must confront the fact that the School’s programs were built on Western- and Anglo-centric notions of the book and that the systems and structures supporting its work were put in place without intentional consideration of inclusivity and accessibility. Now, the School’s Inclusive Excellence process has made clear that to deepen our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, RBS should not only look at its course offerings and fellowship opportunities, but also reexamine its recruitment and admissions processes to support the most inclusive learning experience possible. In addition to encouraging its staff and faculty members to promote the values of inclusion and diversity, RBS needs to empower them through training opportunities and coordinated, positive actions. Transparent communication both internally and with the wider public needs to acknowledge RBS’s goals with regard to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to be accountable for results through updates on progress and challenges. Finally, it is clear that RBS must fully invest in these efforts through the time of its staff, budget allocations, and fundraising efforts.

The action plan resulting from this process centers on three broad areas for improvement. Under the category of Equitable Access, RBS will focus on equitable access to Rare Book School courses, programs, and other opportunities for applicants from all backgrounds, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, or disability. The second area, Inclusive and Diverse Work Environment, prompts the School to create and sustain an inclusive environment for all RBS students, faculty, and staff, with an emphasis on community. Finally, RBS seeks to partner with its faculty members to create a more inclusive learning experience as part of its goal relating to Inclusive Learning Experience. The goals included below are ambitious, but achievable. In some cases, these actions build on planning or initiatives already undertaken by the School, but force us to articulate our intentions and hold ourselves accountable for concrete results.

It will be helpful to delineate how we define key concepts used throughout the plan that follows (largely based on the understandings helpfully articulated by the University of Virginia). Diversity refers to the full spectrum of human attributes, perspectives, identities, and experiences. Inclusion is the intentional process of building community well-being and belonging for diverse participants. Equity calls for equal access and the fair and just treatment of all members of a community, with particular focus on justice for historically excluded or underserved groups in a particular context.