Equity & Social Justice Advisory Group Resources: Home
Introduction
This research guide contains a list of resources related to libraries and librarianship, bias, racism, equity, gender discrimination, social justice, the decolonization of knowledge, allyship, and organizational change. Each of these areas can be explored further by selecting a tab at the top of this research guide. Additional tools, including the Critical 716 course, are listed under "Training."
Originally created in 2021 by members of the UB Libraries' Equity & Social Justice Advisory Group (ESJAG), this list of resources is not comprehensive, but aims to provide a starting point for research into social justice topics through the lens of librarianship. The content of this research guide was reviewed and revisions were made in 2024.
If you have suggestions for additions to this guide, or comments on resrouces that are included, please contact Sarah Cogley (smpinard@buffalo.edu), ESJAG co-chair.
Equity & Social Justice Advisory Group
The University at Buffalo Libraries supports and advocates for the principles outlined in UB’s Inclusive Excellence Strategic Plan. Issues of diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice should not be relegated to the work of a single group or individual, but integrated into the daily work of the Libraries. Everyone in the Libraries is responsible for participating in the activities and goals of this group. The Equity and Social Justice Advisory Group (ESJAG) serves as an advisory body to the Vice Provost for University Libraries (VPUL) and:
- Advocates for diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice, and fights systems of oppression surrounding ability, age, class, gender, nation, race, religion, and sexual orientation, both implicit and explicit, among Libraries’ employees and in Libraries’ work practices;
- Supports and coordinates trainings, education, and conversations to facilitate difficult and meaningful change in the Libraries;
- Recommends outreach and engagement activities to connect with and support the UB community around relevant issues;
- Recommends Libraries-wide policy or procedural changes;
- Assists in implementation of the Libraries’ overall strategic plan and assessment of strategic goals;
- Liaises with university-wide initiatives and communicates with leadership and staff across the Libraries.
Land Acknowledgement Statement
Image attribution: "Flag of the Iroquois Confederacy" by Himasaram and Zscout370, released into the public domain
We would like to begin by acknowledging the land on which the University at Buffalo operates, which is the territory of the Seneca Nation, a member of the Haudenosaunee/Six Nations Confederacy. This territory is covered by The Dish with One Spoon Treaty of Peace and Friendship, a pledge to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. It is also covered by the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, between the United States Government and the Six Nations Confederacy, which further affirmed Haudenosaunee land rights and sovereignty in the State of New York. Today, this region is still the home to the Haudenosaunee people, and we are grateful for the opportunity to live, work, and share ideas in this territory.
UB Office of Inclusive Excellence, Indigenous Inclusion
Other research guides
You are encouraged to visit these other research guides created by UB librarians that deal with topics surrounding racism.
- Conducting research through an anti-racism lensFrom the University of Minnesota Libraries: "This guide is for students, staff, and faculty who are incorporating an anti-racist lens at all stages of the research life cycle."
