*Cross posted to multiple lists*
Best of Core Forum: When the Tools are Broken: (Re)Building Community
Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2024
All webinars are one hour in length and begin at 11 am Pacific, noon Mountain, 1 pm Central, and 2 pm Eastern time.
Description: Building toolboxes, refining skills, and developing frameworks are only a handful of methods library professionals are using—and learning to use—in their everyday workplace. The necessity grows with each challenge faced, whether it's censorship and book banning, navigating workplace conflict, or maintaining the organization’s commitment to social justice. Those who lead and manage teams, departments, and libraries work to find the means to best serve their organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion needs. Busy schedules, small budgets, and fewer resources create further barriers. And for many, this work is done alone and without a community to support needed changes. The tools and skills that were given and taught by their organization, and profession, are broken.
In this interactive session focusing on building a community, participants will share learned experiences, develop accountability partners, and actively learn potential responses to an array of workplace challenges. Participants will crowdsource solutions and options to challenging situations at their libraries. This results in practices that build professional networks and enhance leadership capacity.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of this webinar, the attendees will be able to:
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Develop accountability partners and allies to sustain leadership and service.
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Build community through shared experiences of identifying barriers to accomplish goals.
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Practice navigating challenging scenarios to develop a routine for handling them.
Who should attend?
The primary audience for this webinar is for folks invested in diversity and access in their library, but may be feeling at a loss at how to make change.
Presenter:
Dr. Melia Fritch is a Professor and Academic Services librarian at Kansas State University. Leading the Learning Experience and Design team, Melia assists with creating learning environments and consults in the development of innovative services and intuitive interfaces for both internal and external users. She is the co-coordinator of the Dow Center for Multicultural and Community Studies housed within Hale Library; serving as the Libraries’ Diversity Point Person for the university, Melia fosters a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusivity, and belonging within the university community. Her research interests include critical information literacy/library instruction, curriculum development, critical pedagogy, instruction assessment, and qualitative research, with a central focus on diversity and equity. She holds a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction, Master of Library Science, Master of Arts in English with an emphasis in Cultural Studies, and a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies.
Tara Coleman, recipient of the 2023 I Love My Librarian Award, is a Professor and the Program Services Coordinator for the Sunderland Foundation Innovation Lab at Kansas State University Libraries. She co-coordinates the Libraries’ Dow Center for Multicultural and Community Studies; serves as a university ombudsperson, and is the coordinator for the university’s common reading program, the K-State First Book.
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Registration fees for webinar: Core Member $57.67; ALA member: $71.10; Non-member $79.00
For additional information and access to registration links, please go to the following website:
https://elearning.ala.org/local/catalog/view/product.php?productid=1094
Core webinars are recorded and registrants receive a link to the recording shortly following the live event.
For questions about registration, contact ALA Registration by calling 1-800-545-2433 and press 5 or email registration@ala.org.
For all other questions or comments related to Core webinars, please contact Core CE staff at corece@ala.org.
*Posted on behalf of the Core Continuing Education Committee.*
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Searching for your place in ALA? If your role is in buildings, collections, management, or technology, then Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures may be the perfect fit for you! Six sections let you tailor your membership to the areas that match your interests and career aspirations. Our interest groups offer networking and problem-solving, while our volunteer opportunities give you practical experience for your résumé. Our members are critical to implementing and maintaining core library services; they come from every level of responsibility and help shape the future of the profession. We hope you’ll consider joining and finding your home in Core!
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Jen Montavon-Green
Head of Electronic Resources
University of Kentucky
She/Her/Hers
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