ACRL Anthropology and Sociology Section

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Charge: Supports the study of those aspects of library service that require knowledge in the areas of human and societal studies such as anthropology, sociology, criminal justice or criminology and other related fields.
Community members can post as a new Discussion or email ALA-ACRL-ANSS@ConnectedCommunity.org
Before you post: please note job postings are prohibited on ALA Connect. Please see the Code of Conduct for more information.

  • 1.  Fwd: online code of conduct

    Posted Jan 17, 2023 06:53 PM
    Hello ANSSers,

    ALA recently adopted a new Online Code of Conduct that applies to our group listserv and other Connect listservs.

    I have a couple of concerns with the code, and I'm curious what others are thinking. Perhaps if my concerns are widely shared, this is something that ANSS Executive could raise up the chain, and we could ask for ALA to consider making revisions. Please share your thoughts...

    #1
    re: " Promotion of paid products, events, or services not initiated by the American Library Association is not allowed. We encourage the sharing of nonpaid opportunities that may benefit the community. However, we ask that you do not spam. Be conscious of the number of times that you share the same opportunity and be thoughtful of the number of communities where this information is shared. When sharing your opportunity, we ask that you not just aim for reach within our community but also seek to ensure that your opportunity matches the specific needs of that community's members."

    Everything from the third sentence (beginning with "However") makes good sense to me. But the limitation to only sharing nonpaid activities or ALA only paid activities seems to be going too far.

    e.g., I noticed a post on the ACRL Instruction Section list from last Friday, wherein the liaison to NRCFYE (a first year experience prof org) stated that she can no longer share conference and event opportunities from that group because it would violate the new code of conduct. Surely, this would impact our own ANSS liaisons in a similar manner. That's a clear problem.

    e.g., Many of us are involved in outside of ALA groups, activities, publications, etc., that are relevant to our work here that we may want to share with the ANSS community. We already have the example of other complementary professional organizations. Sometimes our own libraries may host paid symposiums or other events that are relevant to ANSS members that we want to promote. As a personal example, I teach a class with Library Juice Academy and might like to be able to share that when enrollment is open. Rory Litwin, the founder of LJA, wrote up a statement that explains why this rule should be reconsidered. See https://libraryjuiceacademy.com/alas-new-online-code-of-conduct-and-commercial-activity/


    #2
    re: " Job Postings are Restricted to the ALA Job Community or ALA JobLIST. We recommend the use of the ALA JobLIST career center for a greater variety of career-related services. If you do choose to post an opportunity Connect, it can be placed in our ALA Jobs community only"

    It's been a long-time tradition to post job ops on group listservs. It helps spread the word about jobs that are of interest to the group. This is helpful for networking purposes, and sometimes people come across relevant jobs even if they weren't actively searching for work. And of course, it's super helpful to people who are either casually or actively seeking new job opportunities. Even if you're not looking for a job, it can be helpful to know how other institutions are scoping their job descriptions, if there are any new trends in jobs, etc. Who does it really serve to restrict job postings to only specific ALA locations?

    Sincerely,
    Hailey

    p.s. If you haven't run into the new code of conduct yet, I just found in attempting to post this message that it wouldn't send...I received a notice that I had to first log in to Connect and accept the new code of conduct and then re-send this message.


  • 2.  RE: Fwd: online code of conduct

    Posted Jan 23, 2023 11:38 AM
    I agree that this language has the potential to be problematic and interrupt ways that we share information in our ANSS community. I would add that this sounds like it might prohibit conversations where we're discussing  how we use or evaluate various products like databases in our instruction and research practice -- which has rarely "sold" a product to me but often helped me develop new techniques/ideas for my library work.

    ------------------------------
    Miriam Rigby
    Social Sciences Librarian
    University of Oregon
    She/Her/Hers
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Fwd: online code of conduct

    Posted Jan 24, 2023 12:37 PM

    I tried to post this earlier but it did not get thru apparently. Not allowing job announcements to appear in roundtables greatly reduces the chances of reaching out to specific diverse populations.  Posting in specific roundtables brings job announcements to the attention of various groups.  If one wants to increase diversity in hiring this new plan is not the way to do that.  Has the ALA leadership considered this? 

    David Woolwine, Ph.D., MLS
    Professor of Library Services
    Hofstra University 
    Hempstead, New York 



    ------------------------------
    David Woolwine
    Professor Library Services
    Hofstra University
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Fwd: online code of conduct

    Posted Feb 03, 2023 12:57 AM
    I found the code of conduct problematic too. I've been trying to reach out to post job openings at Stanford and had to stick to only posting in the ALA JobList, which is expensive and does not reach targeted populations  with appropriate skill sets or DEI populations.  I want to announce job openings at Stanford, but felt that I could not, due to the code. Thank you for raising this topic. 
    Best, 
    Regina Roberts 
    Head of Social Sciences Resources Group
    Stanford Libraries

    ------------------------------
    Regina Roberts
    Head, Social Science Resources Group
    Stanford University Cecil H Green Library
    She/Her/Hers
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Fwd: online code of conduct

    Posted Feb 03, 2023 12:52 PM
    I hope that ANSS Executive Committee was able to discuss the Code of Conduct at their recent meeting. At this point, I am only hearing agreement with the issues that I raised regarding the Code. Also notable is a recent post to the ACRL listserv from the Community & Junior Colleges Section that is publicizing a letter asking ALA to revise the Code. It pretty much reflects our discussion here. I am pasting it in below.

    Would ANSS Executive sign onto this letter and send it to our ALA/ACRL leaders?

    Thank you,
    Hailey

    -----

    Greetings,

    I am forwarding this open letter per my role on the CJCLS Communications Committee, on behalf of CJCLS Chair Victoria A. Hart.

    Regards,

    Ken Simon | Reference Librarian & Library Chair
    Pasadena City College Library
    1570 E. Colorado Boulevard
    Pasadena, California 91106
    Tel 626.585.7818 | kssimon@pasadena.edu

    January 31, 2023


    Dear ACRL/ALA Colleagues:


    I am writing on behalf of the Community and Junior Colleges Section of ACRL. We are reaching out regarding the recent update to ALA's Online Code of Conduct. Our membership has brought forward concerns that we feel are worth sharing as the Code of Conduct Committee continues to make revisions.


    Background: The transition from Sympa listservs to ALA Connect has resulted in a significant drop in participation from CJCLS members. Although ALA Connect can be configured to behave much like the former listserv, there is a widely held perception that it is more confusing, more formal, and less welcoming. This serves as a barrier to participation. The CJCLS Community's moderator has done outreach to increase participation and encourage members to engage as they did before, but the lack of participation persists.


    Job postings and ALA's Online Code of Conduct: In ALA Connect, the Code of Conduct restricts job postings to a Connect Community that requires ALA membership to view. Those who may benefit most from seeing these postings - those without a current job, or those new to a library career - are also those who may be least able to afford the ALA membership necessary to join that community. These are potential future ALA members, blocked from a resource that will help them enter the profession. The alternative, ALA JobLIST, requires institutions to pay to list jobs, something that is not feasible for many community colleges. Additionally, the serendipity of finding a job opportunity in one's professional area, even when one is not intentionally seeking a new position, is lost by restricting job postings to a forum just for jobs. This aspect of the Code of Conduct hinders the ability of potential candidates to connect with positions, is a barrier for those new to librarianship, and has a chilling effect on the perceived value of Connect Communities such as the CJCLS Community.


    Professional Development Opportunities and the ALA Online Code of Conduct: The ban on promoting paid professional development opportunities that are not sponsored by ALA or its divisions makes it harder for members to learn about career-enhancing opportunities offered, for example, by state associations or other facilitators. As with the ban on job postings, this reduces access to professional opportunities and damages the perceived value of Connect Communities. 


    Scope of Online Code of Conduct: An overarching concern is that the revisions mentioned above bring the revised Online Code of Conduct out of scope. An informal survey of other organizations' online codes of conduct shows that they cover behavior and citizenship, including collegiality, harassment and its consequences, and infringement on intellectual property.1  Where bans on job announcements exist, an alternate forum for job postings is available that is not tied to organizational membership.2


    Finally, the content prohibitions included in the Online Code of Conduct may contribute to the perception that ALA Connect is unwelcoming and intimidating. While a Code of Conduct rightfully carves out a space to remove messages that include such things as personal attacks, racist or discriminatory content or violations of privacy, adding a list of other content that will be removed inspires fear and makes people feel like they may do something wrong by having to agree to so many rules. It is a barrier to participation in an environment that is already struggling to achieve levels of participation comparable to the Sympa listservs.


    We write to urge the Code of Conduct Committee to revise the Online Code of Conduct so that its scope is in line with what members may commonly expect from Codes of Conduct, and in the process to remove elements that hinder ALA members' (and potential future members) from realizing the career-enhancing - and career-launching - value of participation in ALA Connect and its Communities. 


    We kindly request, and look forward to, your response to our concerns.


    Regards,


    Victoria A. Hart
    Chair, ACRL Community & Junior Colleges Section
    Director of Library Services, Northeast Lakeview College


    1 AIGA Code of Conduct: www.aiga.org/membership-community/...; American Medical Association Code of Conduct: https://www.ama-assn.org/about/code-conduct
    2 American Anthropological Association Communities: https://communities.americananthro.org/terms-and-conditions



    Original Message