Indiana Library Federation Bias Reporting Portal

Welcome to the Indiana Library Federation Bias Reporting Portal. This mechanism is designed by the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility (DEIJA) Committee. 

Click Here to Submit a Bias Incident Report 

Purpose and Goals

The Indiana Library Federation (ILF) takes seriously its commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility and in support of its Code of Conduct. The purpose of the Bias Incident Reporting Portal is to provide a standardized and transparent protocol by which bias incidents and related concerns occurring in the context of Indiana Library Federation affiliated work can be reported with the goals of:

• Demonstrating transparency in process
• Providing a mechanism for resolving bias incidents
• Providing timely and appropriate education to ILF membership
• Compiling long-term data regarding bias incidents to inform the ILF mission and strategy
• Preventing future bias incidents

The Bias Incident Reporting Portal is intended for reporting only incidents or concerns that occurred within the context of ILF work. This portal is not intended for reporting bias incidents that occur within the context of general Indiana libraries. For reporting non-bias but still ILF-related ethical concerns, see ILF’s Code of Conduct linked above.

What is a Bias Incident?

A bias incident is characterized as a behavior or act—verbal, written or physical—which is personally directed against or targets an individual or group based on perceived or actual characteristics such as race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medication conditions), marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national or ethnic origin, physical or mental disability, citizenship status, genetic information, ancestry, veteran status, or age.

Bias Incident Response Team

Transparency, consistency, and privacy of process is critical to ensure ILF meets the intended purpose and goals as described above. All reported incidents are reviewed by the ILF Bias Incident Response Team (the “Response Team”). The Response Team is led by the Chair of the ILF DEIJA Committee and provides support and resources to impacted parties, strategizes how best to address reported incidents, promotes education and dialogue, and affirms ILF’s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion and its Code of Conduct. All members of the Response Team have participated in DEIJA and anti-bias training.

The Response Team consists of:

• 3 members of the ILF Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility (DEIJA) Committee
  • 1 of which is the Chair of the ILF DEIJA Committee
  • 2 that are solicited as volunteers from the ILF DEIJA Committee;
  • 1 member of the ILF Board appointed by the ILF President; and
  • 3 At-Large Members solicited by the DEIJA Committee from:
    • The general ILF membership
    • A non-ILF member who is skilled in anti-bias work

A Report is Submitted - What is the Process?

Receiving the Report

All reports must be entered into the ILF Bias Incident Reporting Portal (linked above). Each report will receive a unique identification number. Once the appropriate information is entered, an email with the incident will automatically be sent to all members of the Response Team.

Response Team Assignment and Incident Leadership

The Report Receivers will determine who from the Response Team should be part of the review process for the incident at hand. The Report Receivers will ensure there is no conflict of interest between the Response Team and any of the parties related to the incident. Depending on the incident and involved parties, the whole Response Team or a subset of the team may review the incident. New Response Team members can be added from ILF membership, IBLN, or beyond if necessitated by the nature of the incident or involved parties, as determined by the Report Receivers.

It is the duty of the Bias Incident Response Team Lead to either serve as or assign a lead for each reported incident.

Responding to the Report

If the Reporter has provided their contact information, someone from the Response Team will follow up with the Reporter in no more than 3 business days from the report date.

Every case is unique and will require consideration for how to proceed with resolution, open dialogue, and/or investigation. The following activities may be included in the review processes:

• Review the report, ensure its not spam or if it needs to be referred to another ILF reporting body. Forward to appropriate body if necessary.
• Schedule a meeting between the Reporter (if their name is provided) and at least 2 Response Team members to listen to the Reporter and collect additional information.
• Schedule a meeting between the alleged offending individual(s) involved in the reported incident and at least 2 Response Team members to listen and to collect additional information.
• Determine what mediation steps are necessary.
• Develop and enact appropriate mediation actions towards resolution.
  • Mediation and resolution should be education and growth focused.  Affirm the DEIJA values of ILF with the alleged offending individual(s). Offer opportunities, professional development, readings that the individual may engage in to become more informed about bias and its impact on organizations and the library profession.
  • Utilize the ILF Bias Incident Review Form, attached hereto as Appendix B, to document the review process including but not limited to:
    • Individuals contacted. Date contacted. Information collected.
    • Actions taken.
    • All communications made (email, verbal interactions in person or via phone).
    • Final recommendation of the Response Team
    • Follow up with the Reporter (if their name is provided) to share updates on the process.
    • As appropriate, share individual incident reports and review process with the ILF Board at regular Board meetings.

It is the responsibility of the Bias Incident Response Team Lead to ensure reviews of incident reports proceed in a timely manner, information is communicated to the Reporter and other appropriate parties, and appropriate actions in support of a resolution are taken.

As appropriate, the ILF management team members may be called on to assist with scheduling meetings and communicating.

Record Keeping and Privacy

All reporting forms, documents, notes, paperwork, and other collected materials for a given report will be housed in an unique, confidential incident report folder in the ILF Bias Incident Response Team SharePoint folder.  It is the responsibility of the lead for that incident to ensure all documentation is collated. All collected documentation will be kept as confidential as possible and will only be provided on a need to know basis.

Annual report

The DEIJA Committee, with assistance from the ILF management team, will annually compile deidentify bias incident report data for sharing with the ILF Board at the July meeting and general membership. The report will inform the next year’s ILF educational and professional development offerings.  

Contact Us

If you have any questions about the bias reporting process and how the bias reporting team can support your needs, please contact us via email.