Skip to Main Content

Conducting a Diversity Audit: Methodology

A step-by-step guide on how to conduct a diversity audit of one or more library collections. Included are recommendations on what topics to cover, but these may need to be adjusted depending on the collection.

A quick summary of a diversity audit is "to compare the diversity of one or multiple library collections against general demographic data to gain an understanding of how a library can improve in addressing diversity concerns". 

The steps to conducting a diversity audit are as follows:

1. Conduct Demographic Research

2. Select Collections to Audit

3. Determine Key Figures and Identifiers

4. Determine Method of Organization

5. Conduct the Audit

6. Chart Data and Compare

7. Future Collection Management

Each step is described further in the subsection headings under Methodology.