Movin' On Out: A Small-Scale Experiment In IDEA Centered Decision Making Within A (Large-Scale) Collections Move

Abstract

The University of Minnesota Libraries’ Racial Equity in Collections (REiC) subcommittee, formed in 2020, was tasked with advancing collection development methods and practices that amplify diverse voices with a focus on racial minorities, racism, and anti-racism within the United States. To continue the momentum and provide opportunities for all library staff to contribute to racial equity in our library collections, the subcommittee, with input from stakeholders, developed an Anti-Racist Collection Development Roadmap to bring together disparate collections-related activities in a cohesive way focusing on ten themes. This paper shares how the roadmap is informing decisions about what materials should or should not be moved to a new offsite collections facility. Drawing upon a variety of expertise in the library, a subgroup has been tasked with developing a framework and process to identify items focused on race, racism, and anti--racism in the United States. The early planning stages of the project are described and challenges and considerations discussed.