In summer 2023, the UWM Libraries made great strides in fulfilling an important goal of our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategic plan by acquiring a number of books from independent publishers that focus on historically underrepresented communities.
The Libraries’ purchase plans with large publishers have always included books by and about traditionally marginalized voices and communities, but this recent effort by the Collection & Resource Management (CRM) department identified smaller presses with missions to amplify those voices.
They include:
- Akashic Books, concentrating on historically underrepresented authors and subject matter.
- BLF Press, devoted to BIPOC authors and subject matter.
- Indolent Books, emphasizing LGBTQ+ authors and subject matter.
- Kaya Press, publishers of Asian and Asian-American authors and subject matter.
- Kegedonce Press, focused on Indigenous authors and subject matter.
Among the volumes acquired were “A Gentle Habit,” by Cherie Dimaline (Kegedonce); “On the Origin of Species and Other Stories,” by Bo-Young Kim (Kaya); “Black from the Future: A Collection of Black Speculative Writing,” edited by Stephanie Andrea Allen and Lauren Cherelle (BLF); “Was Body,” by Billie R. Tadros (Indolent); and “Fair Play: How LGBT Athletes Are Claiming Their Rightful Place in Sports,” by Cyd Zeigler (Akashic).
“The books we added are definitely a positive addition to our collection,” said Chris Doll, library associate director for CRM, “and we will continue to purchase from these publishers as we work to identify even more publishers from historically underrepresented communities.”
Titles from this initiative are available for browsing and checkout, and are located on the DEI bookshelf near the Library Grind in the Golda Meir Library.
Find the UWM Libraries DEI strategic plan at this webpage.
For more information about this initiative or to suggest books to purchase, contact Chris Doll at cmdoll@uwm.edu.
