Committee & Task Force Reports 1 COMMITTEE & TASK FORCE REPORTS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Evan E. Boyd, Committee Chair COMMITTEE MEMBERS • Evan E. Boyd, United Lutheran Seminary, Chair • Drew Baker, Claremont School of Theology • Ondrea Murphy, Delaware State University • Lee Staman, Center for Action and Contemplation • Alice Song, Fuller Theological Seminary • Donna Wells, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary • Christine Fruin, Staff Liaison The 2018–2019 year for the Atla Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee was spent reassessing aspiration projects and laying groundwork for future planning and projects in the midst of several committee membership and Atla staffing changes related to the committee. As such, the committee was able to have a few programs during the year. In particular, the committee was able to develop several monthly blog posts focused on helping the membership learn ways to support the diversity they may encounter in their institutions. Drs. James Estes and Kirk VanGilder celebrated Deaf History Month, providing a short summary of deaf and Deaf community history in the United States and ways to better meet the needs of deaf patrons as well as 2 ANNUAL YEARBOOK providing resources for learning more about deaf culture and vari- ous organizations serving the religious needs of the Deaf and hard- of-hearing. In addition, Drew Baker celebrated Asian American and Pacific American Heritage Month in a similar fashion. The commit- tee hopes to continue providing these resources in the coming years. In 2019, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion scholarship received over 25 well-qualified applicants from ALA-accredited programs in the United States and Canada. The 2019 recipient is University of Toronto student Tomoko Shida. Shida is currently pursuing a Master of Infor- mation degree at the University of Toronto’s iSchool. A first-generation Japanese Canadian Anglican, she has seen firsthand the harm that can be done when discourse surrounding theological doctrine and praxis fails to grapple with the social, cultural, and political realities of Indigenous and diasporic communities, as well as those outside of the global West. A longstanding concern for her, therefore, is seeing that the Christian church confronts the wrongs it has committed in the past and seeing that it participates actively in the work of reconcilia- tion both domestically and globally. She believes that archivists and librarians can play an important role in this, by ensuring that evidence of past wrongs is not destroyed or concealed, and by amplifying Indig- enous and international voices and texts within library collections. During the 2019 conference in Vancouver, the committee sought out Alex MacCutchan of the Vancouver Public Library, who presented on VPL’s project to review and update its services in order to be more inclusive for members of the Trans, Gender Variant, and Two-Spirit communities. This session explored the steps VPL undertook as it updated its programming, public services, facilities, and staff train- ing to better meet the needs of these patrons. We thank Alex for presenting on this important topic. During the coming year, the committee hopes to rebuild and reenergize around its work and looks forward to a successful year continuing to advance “Atla’s culture that affirms the intrinsic value of all members regardless of racial, cultural, age, career stage/profes- sional experience, sexual orientation, gender expression, expression of religious tradition, disabilities, or socioeconomic differences.”