DEI Efforts Across GLAM Organizations: A Report by the GLAM Diversity Subgroup of the DLF Committee for Equity and Inclusion

In early 2021, the Digital Library Federation Committee on Equity and Inclusion (DLF CEI) formed a subgroup to identify resources and activities that have been useful in supporting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts across organizations that fall under the umbrella of Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM), including within individual departments or functional areas. The Subgroup defines “GLAM organizations” as galleries, libraries, archives, and museums that are either independent entities or units within a parent institution such as a university or government agency. To that end, the Subgroup conducted an online survey in Spring 2022 to learn about DEI efforts that have been implemented or are underway at GLAM organizations. The Subgroup defines DEI activities as: Efforts to advance anti-racism, diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility across all of the organization’s activities.

The Subgroup drafted a series of questions related to DEI-related topics at GLAM organizations and their larger institutions and created a Qualtrics survey distributed during the week of April 5, 2022 to various GLAM-related listservs and online forums, encouraging individuals employed “at all levels” in galleries, libraries, archives, and museums to complete it before it closed at the end of April 2022.

Through questions spanning three distinct survey components and generating both quantitative and qualitative data, respondents were asked about their work settings and their positions, DEI-related activities and topics being addressed at their GLAM organizations and larger institutions, and perceived administrative support for DEI initiatives at GLAMs and their larger institutions. 279 individuals initially responded to the survey, with 224 completing it.

Analysis of the survey data surfaced a set of significant findings:

• Engagement with DEI Activities: GLAMS and their parent organizations are perceived as engaging in a limited set of DEI activities, specifically “Collection highlights”, “Public events or programs” and “Optional employee training/professional development.” Attention to hiring and retention strategies were limited at both the GLAM and larger institution levels. While a GLAM’s larger institution was reported as doing more DEI work overall and more likely than the GLAM itself to have an organization-wide DEI plan, GLAMs themselves were reported to be more engaged in addressing issues related to “Accessibility, disability and ableism.” The functional areas within GLAMs that received the most open-ended comments regarding DEI activities were “Collection development” and “Metadata creation/management and cataloging,” which we interpret to reflect a higher level of DEI related work in these areas as opposed to others.
• Sources of Funding for DEI Activities: The primary source of funding for DEI activities for all types of GLAMs was a general fund with administrative approval. Specifically allocated DEI funds were used most frequently by larger institutions, particularly academic ones, with fewer GLAMs using such monies.
• Decision-making Processes Regarding DEI Initiatives: DEI decision-making processes appear to remain in the hands of “Administration” for both GLAMS and their larger institutions, though a significant percentage of respondents did report the presence of a “Committee, working group, or task force” empowered to make DEI decisions, and a smaller percentage reported an individual enabled to make such decisions.
• Perspectives on DEI Initiatives: Perspectives on DEI initiatives vary by one’s location in the hierarchy. Those respondents in leadership positions were more likely to report feeling that DEI communication was effective compared to those not in leadership positions. This, in turn, suggests that access to DEI related information is not widely shared.
• Leadership Support for DEI Initiatives: Our survey results reveal that leadership support of DEI initiatives differed by type of GLAM. Academic GLAM respondents perceived a much higher level of leadership support at their larger institutions compared with non-academic GLAM respondents.

Analysis of the survey data has also led us to develop a set of recommendations to offer to the community:

• Increased Transparency from Leadership: GLAM leadership should be more transparent about DEI initiatives and impact. Knowledge about the existence, realization, and outcomes of DEI work is not adequately shared, leading to significant gaps in awareness about such initiatives, which undercuts their ultimate goals.
• Expansion of DEI Efforts: DEI efforts need to go far beyond the three most commonly reported types of activities (“Collection highlights”, “Public events or programs” and “Optional employee training/professional development”) if they are to be transformative. For instance, more GLAMs and their larger institutions need to become invested in recruitment, hiring, and retention strategies and DEI perspectives and goals should be present in all functional areas.
• Assessment of DEI Efforts: GLAMs should revisit their DEI goals and review their current activities to assess if they are accomplishing desired outcomes. Some common criticisms of DEI programs in higher education and GLAMs are that they tend to be performative and mainly exist to increase the reputations of such organizations or institutions, or boost the careers of certain individuals, rather than to effect real change.

Finally, given the rapidly changing political environment, it is important to temporally situate our project. Our survey was issued between the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the related global demonstrations in 2020, and the current legislative backlash against DEI efforts in many states and locales in the United States, including within higher education. As such, the data and analysis reflect the activities and assessments of respondents before that backlash, during a time when the GLAM community was publicly committing to an increased focus on DEI.