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The library sector has been shaped by a Western, colonial perspective, and decolonisation is high on the agenda in many university libraries. The Libraries and Learning Skills department is integral to conversations around decolonising the curricula, research, and library policies and practice.
The University of Lincoln has developed action plans within schools and colleges and has a commitment from the Senior Management Team to make decolonising a serious and long-term project. As part of this plan, the library is central to both developing professional services understanding, and also engaging with the academics and the curriculum.
At Lincoln, Academic Subject Librarian, Oonagh Monaghan is liaising with academics and students to help develop the conversations around the curriculum and reading lists alongside work on revealing coloniality within the existing collections. The toolkit is a compilation of resources which can help with those conversations.
A competition was launched by the library in collaboration with the Decolonising at Lincoln Steering Group and the Lincoln School of Design, with the aim of creating a recognisable image for the University of Lincoln project. This image could then be used to promote and highlight marginalised voices within the resources and also start conversations around more problematic areas within the collections. The image will be used on shelf-ends and bookmarks so that issues around coloniality can be more visible.
The design has already been utilised in presentations by the library and by academics and has been translated into a vinyl sign in the dedicated zine collection area of the library.
Members of the public are welcome to visit the library to look at our zines. Zines have a long history of being used by marginalised and excluded people and communities due to their DIY and self-publishing format. The aim is to provide a medium that diversifies our collections further and challenges white-centred practices which impact our collections, users, and services. Find out more about zines and our collection on the Library website https://guides.library.lincoln.ac.uk/design/zines.
To find out more about the Decolonisation at Lincoln project and the work we are undertaking, please contact us at decolonisation@lincoln.ac.uk.