Mission and Vision
The mission or vision statement for the diversity plan usually distills the organization’s diversity definition and the environmental scan into a direct statement of how the library currently operates within the community and what it strives to achieve and contribute as a diverse institution. The mission and vision statement may re-state the organization’s definition of diversity and expand with several notes on the high-level strategies it will undertake to create or enhance a diverse environment.
Priorities and Goals
An integral part of the diversity plan will be the establishment of priorities and goals. Derived from the definition of diversity, priorities should articulate those areas where the plan hopes to see change within the organization—awareness of diversity, recruitment of diverse candidates, and communication and sharing among staff—and the goals and strategies which will be utilized. As is often suggested, goals should utilize a S.M.A.R.T approach—specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely—and contribute to key priorities.
Examples:
- Priority—Increase awareness of diversity within the organization.
- Goal #1—Upon completion of the diversity plan, the library director will announce the plan at all-staff meeting with three weeks of the plan’s completion.
- Goal #2—Human resources will include a copy of the diversity plan in all orientation packets for new hires.
- Goal #3—At least three diversity educational opportunities will be provided to all staff within the next year.
- Priority—Improve recruitment of diverse candidates for available positions
- Goal #1—A taskforce will be formed to create a communications plan for promoting employment opportunities to diverse audiences.
- Goal #2—Human resources will be charged with using the communications plan for each new opening and provide applicants with the option of indicating how they learned about open positions.
Accountability—Evaluating and Assessing the Plan
Whether a Diversity Committee appointed by the library director or a portion of the annual library staff in-service devoted to review, personnel time should be formally allocated for the ongoing assessment and evaluation of Diversity Plan performance. Also necessary is a mechanism for reporting back to library leadership and for holding staff members at every level accountable for both successes and breaches.
In addition to measuring performance in each priority area based on achievement of stated goals, libraries can also utilize an activity grid to document specific activities that contribute to specific priorities and which address specific audiences or constituencies within the diversity plan.
Examples of assessment: