There has been a lot of decolonisation work going on in Cambridge libraries for some time now, but don’t worry if you’re new to the subject.  There are lots of resources out there and also lots of colleagues to talk to across the University.  On this tab, you’ll find some brief pointers.

The Cambridge University Libraries Decolonisation Working Group webpages include: an introduction to the group, complete with the names of reps (including for Faculty, Departmental, and College libraries), a framework for decolonisation work in Cambridge, an introduction to the Decolonisation Fund for Teaching Collections, a link to the DWG’s reading list, and a list of our occasional all-staff updates.

The Decolonising through Critical Librarianship group maintains a very informative blog which features examples of decolonisation work in Cambridge and reports from various activities including the training meetings that the group facilitates.  You can also join their mailing list.  The group also contributed a chapter to this excellent book: Narrative expansions : interpreting decolonisation in academic libraries edited by Jess Crilly and Regina Everitt.

There are lots of great examples of good practice and initiatives across the UK and international library sectors.  To take just one example: since late 2022, RLUK (Research Libraries UK) has been organising online talks in a series called Inclusive Collections, Inclusive Libraries.  The talks held so far are freely available on YouTube and can be accessed through RLUK’s useful online list.