Collection Equity Award Y3 - California State University, San Marcos

The Collection Equity Award would allow California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) to increase access to a more representative and inclusive collection of health-related literature through the purchase of additional monograph titles (both electronic and physical) that focus on underrepresented populations in the health sciences. CSUSM is a regional forward-focused university serving more than 16,000 students in a diverse region near the U.S.-Mexico border. The demographics of the university reflect the diversity of the region with a student body identifying as 49% Hispanic/Latin@/x, 9% Asian, 3% Black/African American, 2.8% American Indian/Alaska Native, 1.4% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and 12% identifying as other or two or more races. CSUSM is designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and 53% of our students are first generation undergraduates. Many CSUSM students are passionate about working with underrepresented communities or the underserved populations in North San Diego County. This award would provide resources our students need to understand the needs of and unique ways of knowing in specific populations that are not adequately represented in our current collections. Specifically, there are gaps in our collections related to health and medicine in treating certain populations, such as Hispanic, Latin@/x, and Asian American populations. For example, although almost 50% of students at CSUSM are Hispanic or Latin@/x, our monograph collections do not provide the resources necessary to support research and instruction on health issues solely related to this population. CSUSM is also home to a growing LGBTQ community of students, faculty, and staff. While our collections have improved in recent years in general representation of LGBTQ topics, health and medical titles that provide updated context for the barriers and needs of members of this group, such as transgender communities and gender affirming care, are still lacking.