A.T. Still Memorial Library recognized with Library Excellence in Access and Diversity Award
Posted: January 30, 2024
A.T. Still University’s (ATSU) A.T. Still Memorial Library has been named a recipient of the 2024 Library Excellence in Access and Diversity (LEAD) Award by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.
The LEAD Award honors academic libraries’ programs and initiatives that encourage and support diversity, equity, and inclusion. These include, but are not limited to research, technology, accessibility, exhibitions, and community outreach. A.T. Still Memorial Library will be featured, along with 55 other recipients, in the March 2024 issue of Insight Into Diversity magazine.
“ATSU thanks Insight Into Diversity magazine for recognizing A.T. Still Memorial Library’s efforts in the areas of diversity and inclusion,” said ATSU President Craig Phelps, DO, ’84. “Congratulations to Library Director Hal Bright, MLS, AHIP, and our Missouri, Arizona, and California library staff on this achievement.”
Insight Into Diversity magazine selected A.T. Still Memorial Library because of the library’s multitude of projects in support of its diversity statement and action plan, including staff education initiatives on accessibility and cultural competency, diversity collections and exhibitions, and engagement with ATSU’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion, student organizations, University diversity initiatives, and committees.
“Diversity and serving the underserved, both of which are mentioned in our University’s mission statement, are some of the strongest core values of ATSU,” Bright said. “I am proud of the work our team has performed in these areas and this award shines a light on the success we have had in the past year.”
A call for nominations for this award was announced in October 2023.
“We know that many academic libraries are not always recognized for their dedication to diversity, inclusion, and access” says Lenore Pearlstein, owner and publisher of Insight Into Diversity magazine. “We are proud to honor these college and university libraries as role models for other institutions of higher education.”
The LEAD Award is the latest Insight Into Diversity honor ATSU achieved. The University has been awarded the Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award in each of the last seven years, and ATSU’s innovative Dreamline Pathways program has earned the magazine’s Inspiring Programs in STEM Award.
For more information about the 2024 Library Excellence in Access and Diversity (LEAD) Award, visit insightintodiversity.com.