Building Inclusion: Student Outcomes from an Academic Library’s Gallery Exhibit in Florida

Abstract

In October 2022, University of Central Florida librarians created an interactive exhibit for students to express themselves on topics related to inclusion and diversity. At the main entrance to the library, there is a long gallery wall that typically showcases artwork or informational exhibits. To create a more inclusive exhibit of students’ voices, librarians created a series of prompts, and students posted their reactions to the prompts on this wall. Librarians developing the exhibit purposely decided to reimagine the exhibit from one that tells a story about a traditional diversity topic to one that creates a positive sense of community among students. The popularity of the wall was overwhelming, with over 3,000 individual responses from students. The exhibit acted as a conversation prompt and a way for students to share their perspectives. This paper outlines the steps to creating a similar exhibit and an analysis of students’ responses.