In January 2022, Cambridge University Libraries launched a pilot decolonisation fund to enable faculty and departmental libraries to purchase diversity- and decolonisation-related material beyond reading lists. The fund was refreshed and relaunched with the support of the Decolonisation Working Group for the 2022/23 year and again for 2023/24.
Here is a very brief summary:
- The fund has £6,000 (from Collections & Academic Liaison (CAL) budgets (research and ebooks@cambridge))
- It is chiefly for faculty and departmental libraries
- FDL colleagues:
- Do you want to buy a book that relates to decolonisation which is not on a reading list?
- Would you have problems affording the book and/or getting hold of it through your vendors?
- If so, email details to recommendations@lib.cam.ac.uk if it’s a print book (by end June 2024) or to ebooks@lib.cam.ac.uk if you’re interested in an ebook (by 12 July 2024)
College libraries can also ask us to buy decolonisation-related ebooks.
The full 2023/24 collection development policy for the fund is here: https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/files/decolonisation_fdl_fund_cdp_2023-24.pdf
The January-July 2022 trial fund was spend on material detailed here in a CAL departmental update: https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/files/cal_newsletter_august_2022.pdf