Decolonisation of libraries is a fairly recent term. Within libraries of higher education institutions the movement was initiated through decolonising the curriculum endeavours led by student activists. The first of these is thought to be the Rhodes Must Fall campaign at the University of Cape Town in 2015, which subsequently spread to Oxford University (Sunnemark and Thorn, 2023). Initiatives gained pace and impetus during 2020 after the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests in the USA, and in the UK also led to many protests around the statues and buildings associated with slave owners. Many of these individuals have been seen as philanthropists, using their money to build universities, libraries, hospitals and museums, however this money was in many cases directly obtained through slavery and the oppression of Black people.

Many organisations felt during this particularly volatile time that they should address EDI, particularly by supporting Black staff or community members, and decolonising the library's collection was one of the activities most often chosen. Unfortunately, after the big initial push on equity and inclusion little further structural or organisational level changes have been achieved. Making structural changes, through a reimagining of what our learning establishments could look like, is at the heart of decolonisation. It is hard, and a long process. It is impossible to decolonise by yourself. But we can all work towards decolonisation in libraries if we truly believe in the goal of equity and inclusion for all.