The Residency Interest Group (RIG)'s subgroup on diversity residencies is seeking academic institutions to test the newly developed Diversity Residency Toolkit.

RIG, an interest group of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), charged the subgroup on diversity residencies in June 2019 to examine diversity residences in terms of institutional readiness, support, and success. In response to this charge, the subgroup has developed the Diversity Residency Toolkit that contains four tools that provide guidance for a residency program from its inception to its completion and beyond:

1) Guidelines for Establishing Residency Planning and Steering Committees – Recommendations on the creation of a steering committee to provide a continuous support system for the resident(s) and a planning committee which serves as the initial start to the planning process of a residency program.

2) Pre-residency checklist for institutions – Designed to broadly assess an institution’s current readiness to host a resident by outlining the activities, tasks, and support mechanisms that are recommended to be implemented prior to a resident’s arrival.  

3) Guidelines for establishing a mentorship program – Outlines the roles and expectations for mentors, residents, and residency coordinators/supervisors and is appropriate for developing a new mentorship program or revising an existing one.  
 
4) Residency support survey – Assesses the level of support an institution provides residents based on four factors that contribute to a supportive environment: mentorship, professional development, career advancement, and inclusion.

For the purposes of testing out the implementation of the toolkit, prospective testers must:

- Be an academic institution (college or university) in the US or Canada
- Have a current residency program or are in the process of creating a residency program;
- Have or will host diversity resident(s);
- Commit to testing all four tools;
- Have or will secure the consent of the resident or prospective resident;
- Provide feedback on all four tools by attending at least 1 community call, and completing the Framework for Institutional Feedback on the Diversity Residency Toolkit.  

Testers do not need to be part of the ACRL Diversity Alliance.  

Interested parties may indicate their interest by submitting the following form.

Inquiries may be directed to rig.diversitysubgroup@gmail.com