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Diversity at Ina Dillard Russell Library

How to use this LibGuide

The purpose of this LibGuide is to make it easier for patrons to find diverse materials and resources.  Above there are several tabs related to a variety of subjects.  Please choose the tab that most closely matches your research needs.  Each tab contains information on locating materials in the library's physical collections, as well as provides links to a variety of databases and online resources.

Diversity at Ina Dillard Russell Library

 In support of Georgia College's Diversity Action Plan, the library has chosen to highlight the diversity of the library's collections, both physical and online.  While the library houses a large range of diverse titles, the issue is how to make patrons aware of such resources.  The purpose of this guide is to assist library patrons in locating materials and resources that are related to different areas of diversity.  Many of the databases that Georgia College subscribes to are multi-disciplinary and will provide articles in many subject areas. However, users may find this Libguide helpful when performing research for topics related to diversity and multi-cultural topics.

What is the Georgia College Diversity Action Plan?

In 2013, President Dorman charged Georgia College's Diversity Planning Action Committee with the task of developing an actionable 3-5 year Diversity Action Plan (DAP). The ultimate goal of the DAP is to assist Georgia College in achieving Inclusive Excellence. Inclusive Excellence is defined as practices and processes that help to assimilate diversity and quality efforts, and leads to infusing diversity into recruiting and retention of faculty, staff and students, admissions and retention processes and activities, hiring and promotion processes and systems, curriculum, creative learning experiences and scholarship, co-curricular activities and administrative structures and practices. 

The definition of diversity traditionally utilized by Georgia College includes race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity/expression and socioeconomic class. In addition, diversity also encompasses differences of thought and opinion within the university community. Historically, there has been exclusion and marginalization of certain members of society that have resulted in limited access and success in institutions of higher education, resulting in societal inequities and gaps in opportunities. The value of diversity at Georgia College promotes a university that is inclusive, while strategically restricting traditions, processes and systems that perpetuate exclusion and marginalization to create equity within all aspects of the university experience.

To learn more about the Diversity Action Plan, please visit the website of the Office of Inclusive Excellence.