Diversity matters: widen representation in your reading

If you are a student at Birmingham Newman University, you can help us to diversify the library collection in the following ways:

• We want your suggestions of books to buy, across all subject areas, that are written by people from a diverse range of communities (for example people from the Global South, people who identify as LGBTQ+, or people with disabilities). Please let us know what books you would like to see in the library by completing our Diversity Matters - Suggest a Book form. We may not be able to buy every single suggestion, but we will do our best!
• Additionally, if you notice any books in the collection that appear outdated and that may use outdated language or harmful narratives to speak about specific groups of people, please contact your Academic Service Librarian to discuss the matter.
• We would love to partner with students to work on diversification and decolonisation efforts as part of the University's Student-Staff Partnership Project scheme. If you have an idea for a project, please email us so we can start a discussion.

If there is anything else you would like to see the library do, please let us know!

As above, we welcome suggestions for books via our Diversity Matters - Suggest a Book form and we would also encourage you to contact your Academic Service Librarian if you have concerns about outdated or harmful books within the library.

For academic staff, we can help you to review the diversity of the readings and texts that you recommend to students, and can help you to find literature from a wider range of sources if required. For more information, please view our Diversifying module reading page or contact your Academic Service Librarian for advice.

The University of Liverpool has created a helpful guide for academic staff that offers a starting point of things to consider when looking to decolonise your teaching. We'd also recommend reading WonkHE's article How not to decolonise your curriculum.

We also add books to our collection that may help you with the decolonisation process. Some recommendations are below. If you think something is missing, let us know!