In June 2019, RIG charged the subgroup on diversity residencies to examine diversity residences in terms of institutional readiness, support, and success. In response to this charge, the subgroup has developed the Diversity Residency Toolkit that contains four tools that provide guidance for a residency program from its inception to its completion and beyond:
- Guidelines for establishing residency planning and steering committees – Recommendations on the creation of a steering committee to provide a continuous support system for the resident(s) and a planning committee which serves as the initial start to the planning process of a residency program.
- Pre-residency checklist for institutions – Designed to broadly assess an institution’s current readiness to host a resident by outlining the activities, tasks, and support mechanisms that are recommended to be implemented prior to a resident’s arrival.
- Guidelines for establishing a mentorship program – Outlines the roles and expectations for mentors, residents, and residency coordinators/supervisors and is appropriate for developing a new mentorship program or revising an existing one.
- Residency support survey – Assesses the level of support an institution provides residents based on four factors that contribute to a supportive environment: mentorship, professional development, career advancement, and inclusion.
The Toolkit has broad applications and is suitable for institutions that already have a residency program and as well as those who are considering developing a residency program. It may be used by current and prospective residents, residency coordinators, supervisors, library administrators, and other stakeholders of diversity residency programs. Although the toolkit is intended for diversity residencies hosted at academic institutions, it may be adapted for non-diversity residencies as well as non-academic organizations such as museums, public libraries, business libraries, and archives, etc.
Testing and Revision
The Toolkit was made available to the public in October 2021. It will be tested at various institutions through 2022, at which time the toolkit will be revised based on findings.
Indications of interest in participating in testing the Diversity Residency Toolkit, and other questions or concerns may be directed to: rig.diversitysubgroup@gmail.com
Future revisions of this Toolkit are at the discretion of the RIG convener.
Licensing
The Diversity Residency Toolkit is under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license. This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms.
Link to the Diversity Residency Toolkit
RIG subgroup on diversity residencies – Members and resident institutions