Library EDI Committees Discussion Group

Thank you for being understanding of cross-posting.

We are seeking participants for an IMLS-funded research project conducted by faculty and graduate students from the Information School at the University of Washington. This research investigates the challenges and opportunities that neurodivergent librarians experience in library workplaces. We are inviting U.S. library workers aged 18 and older to participate in this nationwide survey.

You are eligible to participate if:

• You are a neurodivergent librarian or library supervisor.
• You identify as autistic and/or ADHD (a medical diagnosis is not required).
• You are currently employed at a public or academic library, or have worked in public or academic libraries within the past five years.

Currently, neurodivergent librarians remain underrepresented in the profession, and there is very little research and few established practices to guide their recruitment, onboarding, retention, and advancement. The goal of this study is to is to build libraries' capacity, at the team level, to improve employment outcomes of neurodivergent librarians, including representation, empowerment, equity, belonging, and advancement.

We hope that you will consider participating in this survey, which is informed by the 50 interviews we conducted with neurodivergent librarians last year. The survey will take 20-30 minutes to complete and additional information is available at the beginning of the survey: https://bit.ly/NDLibrariansSurvey

The survey will be open for one month, so please try to submit your responses by July 31, 2024 when the survey will close.

Please feel free to share this CFP widely with your colleagues!

We will also be opening a separate survey for neurotypical librarians and supervisors soon. If you are interested in participating, you can sign up to be contacted when that survey becomes available.

This research study has been approved by the University of Washington Institutional Review Board. If you have any questions, please contact our research team at neurodiversity@uw.edu.