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Criss Library Receives Insight Into Diversity Magazine’s 2024 Library Excellence in Access and Diversity (LEAD) Award

Criss Library will be featured, along with 55 other recipients, in the March 2024 issue of Insight Into Diversity magazine.

an open book graphic with the words 'Library Excellence in Access and Diversity Award 2024'

We are pleased to announce that the UNO Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library received the 2024 Library Excellence in Access and Diversity (LEAD) Award from Insight Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education. The LEAD Award honors academic libraries’ programs and initiatives that encourage and support DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) across their campus. These include, but are not limited to research, technology, accessibility, exhibitions, and community outreach. Criss Library will be featured, along with 55 other recipients, in the March 2024 issue of Insight Into Diversity magazine.

“Our library team is honored to have received this award for their efforts to make Criss Library a welcoming and inclusive campus resource for our UNO students, faculty, staff, and for the greater Omaha community,” said David Richards, Dean of Library Services. Richards shared that, “The goal is to continually look for ways we can make the library an inviting, comfortable, engaging, respectful, and resourceful space for our entire community.”

Insight Into Diversity magazine selected Criss Library due to the work from the library’s DEAI committee when it comes to inclusive policies and accessibility within the library. Over the years, the library has performed Kindness Audits to identify areas of improvement within the library. Audit data led to focused discussions on ways the library could be more welcoming and easily accessible and resulted in updated LibGuides, a new video to help patrons find materials via the Library Congress Classification System, and improved internal library wiki links to identify accessibility resources within the library and across campus. The library’s efforts also improved the library’s physical building by identifying potential barriers to patrons using wheelchairs.

“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.”

A call for nominations for this award was announced in October 2023.

For more information about the 2024 Library Excellence in Access and Diversity (LEAD) Award, click here.

About Insight Into Diversity

Insight Into Diversity magazine is the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education today. Insight is the leader in recognizing inclusive excellence in higher education through its many prestigious awards. They are also known for being the leader in advancing best practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion through their website and print magazine.

On Insight’s online Career Center readers will also discover career opportunities that connect job seekers with institutions and businesses that embrace a diverse and inclusive workforce. Current, archived, and digital issues of Insight Into Diversity magazine are available online.

About the University of Nebraska at Omaha Libraries

UNO Libraries fulfill the UNO mission through dynamic services, highly qualified and adaptive personnel, unique and extensive collections, and accessible learning spaces and environments. The Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library on UNO’s Dodge Campus provides UNO students, faculty and staff, and the Omaha community with the resources and materials needed to excel academically and professionally.