Welcome! This site is going to document my sabbatical research project about EDI in academic libraries. I have not done a research project of this scale before and want to keep track of my progress, see what I’ve learned about both EDI and conducting research, and share about this project in a more informal way.
About Me
My name is Erin May (she/her) and I am an associate librarian at TRU. I am the scholarly communications librarian and also do liaison work with the arts, education, and business liaison group, focusing on the Masters of Education program. I’ve worked at TRU since 2018 which is eight full years and hard to believe sometimes. I like to do arts and crafts (which will probably be featured on this blog) and play board games and d&d.
About the Project
Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are very important to me and to almost every librarian that I have met. We all want to have this at the core of what we do, but this can be difficult at times when we are stretched thin and are trying to get the bare minimum done. My end goal with this research project is to provide an EDI plan for the TRU Library that is actionable and reasonable with our current situation. First though, I am going to investigate what other libraries across BC and Canada are doing to support EDI work. I’m really looking forward to finding out what everyone does—and what they would like to do but aren’t able to due to budget or time constraints.
This is the vague pitch that I’ve been telling family members and friends when they ask me what I’m going to be doing for the next year. If you want to see my full project plan that I submitted last year, you can download that here. However, I’m going to (hopefully) be keeping you updated as I go!
About the Co-Author
Ciri is a six-year-old ragdoll who loves snuggles, running up and down the stairs full speed, and sleeping on my keyboard. She dislikes my friends’ toddlers and when I eat salmon without her.
AI Statement
I will never use generative AI to brainstorm or create any part of this sabbatical project. Or any other work, or anything for my home life. I am a person who likes being creative and who lives in a city that’s in drought level 4—how could I ever install ChatGPT?
Land Acknowledgement
I live and work on the ancestral lands of Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc within Secwepemcúl’ecw, the traditional and unceded territory of the Secwépemc. I have been an uninvited guest on these lands since I was nine years old, and I am always grateful and honoured to be able to call them home.