Instructors frequently ask students to consult scholarly publications to ensure they tap into the best minds available in each subject domain. Sometimes, this limits diversity of opinion. If your native language is not English or you reside in the Global South, the hurdles of getting published in top academic journals are difficult to overcome. There are, however, several websites and databases that actively see to include diverse perspectives and alternative viewpoints. For example:

• NPR’s Diverse Sources Database helps its journalists to find experts from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in the media.
• The Google site Find POC Experts links to relevant resources that provide expert contacts, such as the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity; Politics of Race, Immigration, and Ethnicity Consortium; and the National Conference of Black Political Scientists.
• WomenAlsoKnowStuff helps researchers find political scientists – those holding PhDs who happen to be female. On Twitter, follow @WomenAlso for more sociology-relevant news.
• The Cite Black Women Collective (@CiteBlackWomen) and Berlin 500 Women Scientists (@berlim500wa) have active twitter feeds as well.
• Diverse Sources invites experts whose voices and perspectives have been ignored in the past to list themselves in this directory of science, health, and the environment.
• The Open Notebook links to several databases of diverse scientists in chemistry, physics, astronomy/astrophysics, engineering, and neuroscience.
• EU-funded GenPORT hosts the Expert Women in Life Sciences WILS database of women in science.
• The Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) speakers’ bureau, AAJA Studio, lists AAPI experts on such topics as Civil Rights & Voting Rights; Courts, Constitution, & Justice; Diversity & Inclusion; Economy, Business & Jobs; Environment; Government; Health; Housing; Immigration; National Security & Cybersecurity; Politics & Elections; and Technology.
• Users can limit searches in the Editors of Color database by areas of expertise, genre (fiction and nonfiction), types of media, and country/state/province).
• Green 2.0’s Environmental Experts of Color Database “ensures a wide range of experiences and backgrounds,” presenting “a more representative set of perspectives on vital environmental issues.”

Resources in our library

As Lisa Peet noted in her 2021 March 18 Library Journal article, Ithaka Library Director Survey on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Antiracism Reveals Disconnects, libraries are reassessing “their perspectives and strategies around diversity, equity, inclusion (EDI), and racism.” The NOVA libraries are no exception. Two databases in our collection stand out:

• ProQuest’s Ethnic NewsWatch includes newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press.
• EBSCO’s LGBTQ+ Source database includes journals, newspapers, and books about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and allied subject matter.

NOVA’s Antiracism LibGuide helps students explore the history and conditions that led to the unrest of 2020 through books/e-books, articles, videos, and podcasts. The section of the LibGuide devoted to Tools for Taking Action provides a roadmap for those in the NOVA Community wishing to get involved.

Recommendations for faculty

To expand the range of non-white perspectives assigned to students, instructors might review the syllabi of courses taught at Tribal Colleges and Universities and Historically Black Colleges to see which texts assigned for courses similar to the ones they are teaching.