Project summary
We Are Our History (WAOH) is a Bodleian Libraries project that helps the Libraries take a close look at its collections, its work with audiences and its staffing through the lens of race and the legacies of the British Empire. It supports the Bodleian's commitment to actively foster inclusion and diversity in everything it does.
We Are Our History is a Mellon Foundation-funded project that runs until June 2024.
The project's title takes inspiration from a quote by the American writer James Baldwin: "History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history."
Project dates
2022–2024
Project aims
The project's aim is to make recommendations for improvement across eight work areas in three themes through conducting research in each area and piloting activities.
Collections
- Bodleian and Empire: Digs into how the Bodleian Libraries got its global collections, much of which came during the Empire days, bringing hidden stories to light.
- Collection Description: Reviews language used in the cataloguing and classification of archives/collections and updates historically insensitive terms, making how things are described more inclusive.
- Collection Development: Identifies gaps in the collections and works to make our collections more diverse.
- Digitisation: Reviews our digital content and puts more content from underrepresented groups online.
Audiences
- Public Engagement: Gets input from diverse communities on content for exhibitions and events, amplifying unheard voices.
- Communications: Improves messaging – and encourages conversation – about the Bodleian's work in this area.
Staffing
- Organisational culture: Supports staff on issues around equality, diversity and racial equity through training and toolkits.
- Staffing: Reviews recruitment and retention data to identify and address any inequities, taking positive steps to help build a more diverse staff.
Expected outcomes
Each area will investigate, try new approaches, and make suggestions to advance racial equality across the Bodleian Libraries.
While wide-ranging, this project focuses on building a sustainable base for lasting change by integrating recommendations into future policies, rather than expecting immediate transformation.
Project lead and governance
The principal investigator of the project is Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian, Bodleian Libraries and Head of Gardens, Libraries, & Museums at the University of Oxford.
The project is governed by an advisory board made up of academics and experts in equality, diversity and inclusion from across Oxford and beyond.
The project is delivered by a team of colleagues from across the Bodleian Libraries.
Richard Ovenden said about this project:
In We Are Our History and its related work areas, we have an extraordinary opportunity to put inclusion and diversity at the heart of the Bodleian Libraries and to foster these principles into all aspects of our work.
We are motivated by the chance to create meaningful, sustainable changes that will over time build inclusive research streams and make our institutions more reflective of the diversity of human experience.
Amplifying historically lesser-heard voices, breaking down barriers and integrating recommendations into ongoing policies, will allow us to build meaningful, sustainable change into the fabric of our services.
By re-examining our past and present with nuance, we can build a more inclusive future that better represents all of our stories and histories within our collections, staff and audiences.
