University of Virginia Library Charting an Atlas for Equity, P 2 “The Progress We Made”

In 2018, the University of Virginia Library embarked on an ambitious project to form a tool that would support the community to address systemic and ongoing inequities in the Charlottesville region. With 2 years of funding through a planning grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Community Catalyst Initiative (CCI), co-PI’s Rebecca Coleman and Michelle Claiborn sought to offer the library’s unique resources and knowledge to serve the region through helping to move the dial toward greater equity across the region.

The unique CCI grant offered Grantees access to capacity-building, peer support, and technical assistance through the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute. Additionally, IMLS allowed and encouraged Grantees to change their projects significantly from the original proposal as they uncovered the momentum and concerns of community members and groups.

Early on, the UVA team were required to face and work hard to overcome the potent lack of trust held by many community members and groups for their institution, stemming from generations of harm done to communities -- in particular, communities of color. They also realized the need to set aside some preconceived plans for their project and ideas about equity, and instead investing time and focus on centering the voices, concerns, priorities and existing activities of the community.

Also like many CCI Grantees, in 2020 the team experienced the complete disruption of the global COVID-19 pandemic, accompanied by uprisings calling for justice and equity for black lives. Like other Grantees, the team found that the relationships and trust they had been intentionally cultivating were key to them being able to respond to these new realities creatively, collaboratively, and in ways that added real value to the community.

The work of this dedicated team and their partners offers a powerful example of how historically white institutions can embark on a path of undoing deep-seated, generational racism and harm to communities of color while becoming more community-centered, relevant, and invested in their surrounding community.


FOR MORE INFO:
UVA Charting an Atlas for Equity, Part 1: Early “Lessons in Undoing Harm & Building Trust with Community”:    • University of Virginia Library: Charting a...   TO ADD

Charlottesville Regional Equity Atlas: https://equityatlas.lib.virginia.edu

“Library Receives IMLS Planning Grant to Support Charlottesville-Area Equity Atlas in University Collaboration with Community”: https://news.library.virginia.edu/201...

IMLS Community Catalyst Initiative: http://www.imls.gov/our-work/priority...

Asset Based Community Development Institute: http://www.abcdinstitute.org