Divisive Politics and Threats to Academic Libraries - Working Paper for Comment

For academic librarians, emerging and reactivated threats include mandated shifts from the social sciences and the humanities to STEM at state-funded universities, the introduction of outcomes-based curriculum, the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and other programs or courses of study, and the elimination of tenure and the freedom of thought it protects. [...] According to the Dallas Morning News, the sponsor of the legislation has been reaching out to campus administrators to remind them of the consequences of failing to comply or to “subvert the provisions of the bill.” According to the article, there is an undercover effort in the state to expose programs that continue DEI initiatives under another name. [...] They must also resist the reduction of libraries to mere technical workshops and assert the importance of literature, history, and the arts in nurturing the intellectual and cultural growth of young minds. [...] No Child Left Behind ignored countless studies demonstrating the impact school librarians had on test scores and literacy, collection development quality and its support for the curriculum, and the quality of the technology libraries introduced to students and the schools themselves in the days before the proliferation of education technology. [...] These same professionals understand the need for and value of policies, and by bringing their expertise to policy making, strategy sessions, and future planning, library professionals can flex their dexterity and raise the profile of the library and the profession.