Preferred citation:
ding, jaime (principal author), with contributions by Laura Sorvetti, Russ White, Mark Bieraugel, Sarah Lester. "Open LibGuide Review." Robert E. Kennedy Library. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif., October 7, 2020.
This LibGuide was created by jaime ding, with help from Mark Bieraugel, Russ White, Laura Sorvetti, and Sarah Lester on October 7, 2020. It was maintained and updated by jaime ding, with the last update in Winter 2022. jaime ding left Cal Poly in March 2022.
This project was developed for the Digital Publishing Pilot, now the Poly Publishing Program.
The framework, written language, and model of review has a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 under jaime ding.
The box below is an example of a tool of transparency used in our LibGuides.
This box is an example of a tool of transparency used in our LibGuides.
In order to critically engage with scholarship, scholars need to be aware of the inherent problems within the system of academic scholarship. Be aware that many databases have inherent bias that reflect a primarily white, cis-male standard that permeates American society and academia. Even the terms we use to search for research are inherently problematic. By acknowledging these inherent problems, all scholars can participate in improving the academic and public discourse.
This guide outlines the Robert E. Kennedy Library's Open LibGuide Review Sessions.
We have created this project to cultivate a community that provides space for critique, conversation and criticality, specifically for our LibGuides. Library guides, or LibGuides, are digital publications that librarians and specialists author to help scholars of all kinds to navigate and to develop skills to evaluate and apply specific information.
We hope to bring anti-racist practices to our LibGuides using critical race theory in acknowledging the structures of publishing, libraries, and reference in our work. This review system works towards implementing an open review system to ensure that LibGuides hold the criticality to fights against the farce of neutrality within knowledge organizations. We value all perspectives in our organization to come together.
Read the "Get Involved" box below to learn more about being a participant, reviewer, or author.
Each session will be a small, intimate conversation to discuss the work of the reviewer. The rubric (Sample Rubric) is used to guide the conversation, gather and organize feedback, and provide documentation for LibGuide authors for future edits. While these sessions are a form of open peer review, the ideas that come out of the sessions are not in any way a kind of governance, requirement, or standard.
The most important part is the conversation!
Observers are welcome!
For more questions, please see the FAQ.
We would love those who may not work with LibGuides on a daily basis to participate, as we are journeying through this critical pedagogy together. We value all perspectives to come together.
As a reviewer, please provide your thoughtful comments on the rubric for the upcoming review.
If you haven't been to a review session before, please take some time to read both the rubric and the LibGuide, then use the rubric to think through the LibGuide that is being reviewed. Please use the tab with your name on it to make comments.
If you have further questions about the rubric, check the FAQ or contact Jaime, Sarah, Russ, Laura or Mark.
This box is an example of a tool of transparency used in our LibGuides.
Check the FAQ for any questions pertaining to this tool.
Scholar Representation by Race
This tally acknowledges the white supremacy in scholarship: the numbers indicate the racial representation of the scholars listed in this LibGuide.
Black Scholars: 4 Indigenous Scholars: 2 Latinx Scholars: 3 APID(A) Scholars: 3 Other Identifying Scholars: 0 White Scholars: 8
You will find this on many of our LibGuides, as a system to keep us accountable in looking at the racial diversity of the sources we provide. These sources have been selected based upon research for the Kennedy Library's Digital Publishing Project.
