Special For Everyone
Project to Address Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Special Collections
Special Collections holds material relating to minority and traditionally marginalised groups, as well as material containing links to colonialism and imperialism. Yet much of this has historically been inadequately signposted and at times absent from the narratives we have traditionally used to talk about the collections.
Through not clearly acknowledging these connections, important histories and strands of research can be overlooked. At the same time, problematic language in the collections and in legacy descriptions of them have the potential to cause upset and distress to researchers.
Our Special for Everyone project aims to address overlooked and marginalised groups within the collections through reflection and increased transparency around what our collections are and their origins, and to address the presence of problematic material so that Special Collections is a welcoming and inclusive space for all.
Inclusive Collection Development
- Mapping research and teaching at Newcastle University to ensure our Collection Development Policy supports programmes around equality and diversity.
- Prioritising the cataloguing of collections currently not publicised where they are of relevance to minority or marginalised histories.
Visibility in Collections
- Auditing our 200+ collections to identify those with relevance to minority and marginalised groups, including where these links are unclear or obscured by more traditional, celebratory or colonial narratives.
- Revising our collection practices, and amending descriptions and signposting, including adding content warnings to collection profiles highlighting problematic content.
- Improving index terms by adding original place names and personal names to catalogues where they are absent or only contain colonial names.
- Removing any offensive and outdated wording and terminology which may still exist in legacy catalogue descriptions given our hundred-year history of curating collections.
- Creating new and engaging digital content illuminating previously obscured voices and narratives in our collections.
Diversifying the Curriculum
- Reaching out to academics involved in diversifying and decolonising the curriculum, flagging potential sessions and opportunities for using our collections.
- Identifying how our work can support and supply evidence to the work of the University to ensure our Race Equality Charter mark.
Student Engagement
- Working with representatives from our student body to outline the scope of our collections, aims and planned deliverables.
- Exploring ways of broadening student co-curation, creating a dedicated online feature for showcasing student-curated outputs, including where students highlight divisive figures and themes from our collections.
Institutional Memory
- We will use the University Archive, reflecting the history of Newcastle University itself, to support contextualisation on campus through interpretation panels of key historic figures.
- Researching historic links between EDI and Newcastle University within the University Archives, sharing these findings through blog posts and online exhibitions.