Social Justice Commons^™

The Library As A Safe(R) Space: Student Thoughts About The Library’S Role On Campus, Jessica Crossfield Mcintosh, Kristin Cole, Megan Powell

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

As the demographics of college students continue to evolve, libraries must examine areas of need between their staff and the campus community. These changes and recent other recent campus events required Otterbein’s Courtright Memorial Library to question its role in providing safe(r) spaces to students of minority communities and to examine its role as a social justice advocate for inclusivity on campus. Our student body is historically white, yet our 2019 freshman class was the most diverse in its history with 23% students of color. The enrollment of students with diverse backgrounds continues to climb with our welcoming of first-generation …