SCONUL is establishing an Open Forum for BAME staff working at SCONUL member libraries to enable BAME staff to network and share information.

The first meeting is being held between 2 and 4pm on Tuesday 9th February.  It is open to all BAME staff working at SCONUL member institutions. If you would like to attend, please register here:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/open-forum-for-bame-staff-working-with-sconul-member-libraries-registration-136254034485

If you have colleagues for whom this may be of interest, we would be grateful if you could pass the details on to them. We would also encourage all interested staff to sign up to Lis-SCONUL (by sending an e-mail request to sconul@sconul.ac.uk) so that we can keep them informed about future events.

The Forum will be led by the SCONUL BAME Group and will be held twice a year. Attendance will alternate, with one meeting for BAME staff members only and the other to include allies.  

The SCONUL BAME Group is chaired by Regina Everitt, Assistant COO (Service Excellence) and Director of Libraries, Archives, and Learning Services at the University of East London who will also introduce the Forum. The first meeting will also include contributions from Marilyn Clarke, Director of Library Services at Goldsmiths University and Masud Khokhar, Director of Library and Archives at the University of York.

The leaders will provide brief contextual statements about their career progression then open the conversation to a range of topics of the choice of participants as well as about the recommendations from the 2019 SCONUL report  on BAME staff member experiences in academic and research libraries (https://www.sconul.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/BAME%20staff%20experiences%20of%20academic%20

and%20research%20libraries_0.pdf).

Please do come prepared with questions, examples of good practice, recommendations for actions to drive change, and any other information for exchange.  The good practice shared will inform the development of a toolkit of guidance for members on how to attract, develop and maintain BAME talent.

Background:  

The 2019 SCONUL report on BAME staff member experiences in academic and research libraries recommended key areas of change for member institutions:  leadership, voice, zero tolerance, cultural and behavioural change, effective partnerships for change, and career progression. 

The SCONUL BAME Group has been formed to assist member institutions with delivering this change.   The Group has worked with the SCONUL office and AdvanceHE to develop training on how to lead on race equality within institutions.  This training will be piloted by the SCONUL Board in the first instance.