At a glance
Introducing DEI Analysis at Brent Council
In the UK's second most culturally diverse borough, DEI Analysis gave Brent the evidence to show that public money is being spent fairly and transparently.
Population served
Most culturally diverse borough in the UK
From Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups
The challenge
What the library was up against
Given Brent's cultural diversity, the public library service is focused on delivering a collection inclusive of all communities, aligned with the Brent Black Community Action Plan.
The team monitors shifts in local communities and migration in and out of the borough, so the collection has to move with them — which requires evidence, not assumption.
The solution
What they did
collectionHQ's DEI Analysis module provides a dashboard analysing the supply of DEI titles in Brent's collection.
Specialist suppliers, representative staff
The library works with suppliers specializing in diverse, inclusive and community language titles, and works closely with a team of diverse staff representative of the communities served.
Representation beyond ethnicity
Beyond ethnicity, the team is focused on material representing other communities including LGBTQIA+ and disability.
The results
What changed
Decisions backed by evidence
Purchasing decisions are validated with evidence rather than intuition.
Transparency on public money
The team can demonstrate that public money is being spent in a fair and transparent way.
The right material, in the right place
Stock can be moved dynamically so that the right material is in the right place for the right people.
“It offers a quick and easy way of providing the evidence to further validate purchasing decisions and I can feel confident that our local communities are represented.”
Allan Costello
Library Stock Development Manager, Brent Council Libraries
More case studies
Other libraries, other pressures
Collection management
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After service closures, a third fewer librarians and a change of LMS, South Gloucestershire used collectionHQ to re-establish a collection management process — and gave dead stock a second life worth 9,017 extra circulations.
South Gloucestershire Council Libraries
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DEI
Curating an inclusive collection at Evanston Public Library
A decade-long collectionHQ customer cut Dead on Arrival stock from 17.5% to 14.1% while lifting DEI representation from 21.9% to 24.9% — by promoting books rather than weeding them.
Evanston Public Library
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Curating an inclusive collection at Oak Park Public Library
Manual tagging showed the diversity of new material but never the whole collection. DEI Analysis gave Oak Park a holistic view across twelve industry-respected DEI topics.
Oak Park Public Library
Oak Park, Illinois, USA
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See what your collection data could tell you
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