Reimagining academic libraries through a social justice lens: A phenomenological qualitative study of challenges and strategies in a developing country context

Social justice is the process by which significant social institutions determine the distribution of fundamental rights and responsibilities and the allocation of the advantages of social cooperation. Social justice values (such as equity, diversity, and inclusion) are less focused in academic libraries and particularly in a developing world. This study addresses the gap and explore the major challenges and strategic pathways to foster EDI in academic libraries in Pakistan. A qualitative research approach with phenomenology design was used that based on ‘lived experience’ of the participants and what common emerged from the data. An interview method was employed and data were collected from 18 library directors. A thematic approach was employed, and the data were analyzed utilizing Nvivo software (version 14 plus). The findings revealed that EDI practices in academic libraries lacked inclusive services, resources, infrastructure, accessibility, and spaces, especially for differently abled and marginalized library users. Among all these solutions, the key strategy is creating awareness, training, and capacity-building for LIS professionals to learn, understand, and develop the required skills to promote an equitable library environment for diverse library users.