Action Plan for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice

Adopted, April 2023; updated July 2025

To more fully live up to its mission, vision, and values, the MIT Libraries established a set of goals in September 2022 to focus on immediate and meaningful action on equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice (EDISJ) in our work and within our organization. 

The actions below reflect the Libraries’ specific needs and intentions and align with both the MIT Values and our commitment to belonging and community. Our goals include:

• a commitment to fostering a healthy sense of belonging among all community members;
• work practices and policies that ensure equitable opportunities for all to thrive; and
• attracting library staff from different backgrounds and experiences

We see these as interim goals, and will continue to dedicate resources for this work and build a long-term strategy and roadmap for continued progress.

Belonging

The MIT Libraries will:

• Build a practice and culture of regular EDISJ assessment and accountability, with clear metrics on the impact of our efforts.
• Partner across the Institute to focus on vision and strategy alignment.
• Hire a new associate director focused on advancing organizational effectiveness, diversity, inclusion, and belonging. (Position and funding eliminated due to FY26 budget reductions.)
• Equip the new associate director with resources to advance EDISJ efforts and implement recommended strategies and practices. (Position and funding eliminated due to FY26 budget reductions.)
• Charge and activate a Libraries-wide Accessibility Working Group (team charged, January 2024). The group should continuously identify and address systemic biases and inequities across the Libraries’ user-facing services.
• Focus on ableism and ableist behaviors and practices in staff EDISJ training materials.
• Assess and eliminate barriers to access for all user communities.

Achievement

The MIT Libraries will:

• Redesign performance review and promotion processes. These should align with the Libraries’ values and professional development policy.
• Evaluate human resources processes to ensure that they advance the Libraries’ goals around community and belonging and establish a roadmap for process redesign and updates.

Composition

The MIT Libraries will:

• Design and implement organization-wide practices for hiring, professional development, and retention. These should increase staff retention and ensure our workplace attracts and supports individuals from all backgrounds.