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The North Olympic Library System strives to offer equitable and accessible services to all community members, and has prioritized this value in the 2021-2023 Strategic Initiatives.

NOLS worked with Ascending Leadership, an equity, diversity, and inclusion consultant, in Spring 2021 to complete an equity, diversity and inclusion assessment. Read more about the assessment and next steps below.

Public Comments:

NOLS welcomes feedback regarding the ongoing work with its Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiative. Please reach out to director@nols.org with any comments or suggestions.

Community Survey

In May 2021, Ascending Leadership and NOLS offered an in-depth community survey to better understand community members’ experiences at the library. The survey received over 877 responses in the three-week period that it was available. Ascending Leadership used this data to help inform their recommendations and reports.

Staff/Board Survey and Interviews

Staff and Board of Trustees surveys were conducted to learn more about experiences in the workplace related to belonging, equity, safety and communication. Fifty-three staff responded to the staff survey. Five Board members responded to the Board survey.

All staff and Board members were also invited to an interview with Ascending Leadership. Thirteen staff and four Board members of various demographics and tenure, participated.

Public Community Briefing

NOLS provided a virtual community briefing regarding its commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, and its work with Ascending Leadership. Executive Director Noah Glaude and Ascending Leadership consultants discussed the project and next steps at the April 26, 2021 briefing. Click here for the PowerPoint presentation used during the briefing.

NOLS Equity Assessment

Ascending Leadership presented NOLS with an organizational assessment of their insights and observations from community members, staff, and Board members. The report provided recommendations for future action toward greater equity and inclusion and examined the core themes of safety and belonging, communication and transparency, and equity and accountability. A staff report was also created to document the progress of NOLS’ equity initiative.

Next Steps

NOLS received a report and recommendations from Ascending Leadership in June 2021. Ascending Leadership presented their findings at the June 24, 2021 Board Meeting.

NOLS will utilize Ascending Leadership’s findings to develop a plan for furthering the strategic initiative. Stay tuned for more developments in the upcoming months.

Use #NurturingAnInclusiveLibrary and #LibrariesTransform to connect with the Library!