Celebrating Diversity: A look at the Library EDI Book Giveaway

A post by Tim Buckle, Acquisitions Co-ordinator

Here at Durham University Library & Collections, having a collection that is represents all communities has been something that we have been developing over the years. As someone who grew up in the 1980’s under Section 28 it is heartwarming to see such a growing range of inclusive titles being made accessible.

The launch of the Liberate My Library Scheme in February 2020 was one of the initiatives we started to help diversify our collections even further. We have done this against a National and International debate around what type of materials should a library give access to.

The success of Liberate My Library has reaffirmed the message that Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is something that the University community is passionate about, and has led to staff and students from across the University engaging with the library discussing ways to develop collections and initiatives further – whether that is through the library developing a toolkit to support decolonising reading lists, someone making a request for a title for purchase via Liberate My Library or through our most recent project a book giveaway. All of these things have made a difference to the range of resources we have and how they are used.

In 2023, we applied to the University EDI Fund to run an EDI Book Giveaway, which would take place at three key periods of the academic year. They are Black History Month (October 2023), LGBT+ History Month (February 2024) and Pride (May 2024). We then reached out to Staff and Student Networks and Departments for title suggestions. We had a fantastic response and from these titles we selected a handful of titles to purchase to give away.

In October we held our first giveaway and the theme was Black History Month. We gave away 61 books from a selection of 4 titles chosen by staff and students. The titles were ‘Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire’, ‘The Black Flamingo’, ‘Black and British: a short, essential history’ and ‘Red Dust Road: an autobiographical journey’. We wrapped them up and throughout October they were hidden around the Bill Bryson Library and study spaces on Level 2 of the Teaching and Learning Centre. When they were found by the lucky person they could take it away for themselves or pass them on to someone else to read.

All titles recommended for purchase via this scheme were also purchased for the library collections so if you missed out on finding a giveaway copy then you can see the full list of titles on our EDI Book Giveaway Reading List.

The October giveaway was a success and we are now doing it again this year in February for LGBT+ History Month. So throughout February why not visit the library and the study space on Level 2 of the Teaching and Learning Centre and see if you can find a copy of the latest giveaway titles. This time there are 5 titles and they are ‘Fabulosa!’, ‘Frank O’Hara Selected Poems’, ‘Godkiller’, ‘One Last Stop’, and ‘She Who Became the Sun’.

So why a giveaway, you may ask? Well, first of all we all love a freebie don’t we – and it is fun to do! A more serious reason is that it is a way for you to try something you may not usually read. The titles we are giving away this month are a mix of non-fiction, poetry, young adult fiction, romance and general fiction. We often hear people say they don’t know where to start with selecting a book to read for leisure, so this a fun way to try something new.

Although the giveaway is a lot of fun to do and take part in there is something bigger than just free stuff and that is about the importance of feeling represented in the library collections and for the library to continue to be a safe and inclusive space for all.

Remember: if you are lucky enough to find a giveaway book, please tag us on your social media channel(s) of choice – we would love to see them!

Good luck, and happy reading.