Core Access and Equity Section

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Portraits of three Core members with caption Become a Member: Find Your Home: Core.

 

  • 1.  Discussion thread: systemic racism in libraries and other institutions

    Posted Oct 03, 2022 04:11 PM
    Hello to the members of the Core Access & Equity Section,

    I am Jharina Pascual, the 2022-23 Chair. As part of the charge of the Leadership Team for this section, we have been asked to facilitate and support "discussions around timely topics related to access and equity in libraries."
     
    Within this ALA Connect Discussion board, I will periodically post new topics for discussion among membership. We hope that these topics are relevant to you and provide avenues for useful and productive conversations about the role of Core, Core members, and of librarianship generally to promote better policies and actions around access and equity in libraries.
     
    Please share your thoughts on any or all of the questions below:
    • What is the role of Core in dismantling systemic racism in libraries (or educational institutions)?
    • What are you doing as a manager/librarian/staff member?
    • What are the challenges that you are facing in trying to address issues related to systemic racism?  (Larger institutional or government policies, funding, lack of foundational knowledge or tools?)
    • What are you doing that's working well?
    This conversation is informal, but please be respectful of your fellow members when participating.




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    Jharina Pascual
    Core Access & Equity Committee Leadership Team
    Chair 2022-23
    she/her/hers
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  • 2.  RE: Discussion thread: systemic racism in libraries and other institutions

    Posted Oct 13, 2022 12:27 PM
    I think that Core should educate the members of the Division about what is systemic racism and some strategies to overcome it.  We should put on programming that addresses systemic racism and we should either link to creditable sources or create our own to help with the education.  Also, Core should model how to behave in a large organization in order to help overcome this issue.

    In my own institution, the University of Cincinnati Libraries, we have created a committee that addresses systemic racism.  It started last year, and since then the group has put on programs about systemic racism, sponsored a 21 day challenge, and posted blog posts about this topic.  We will be doing displays of our resources to help educate the staff and the public about this issue.  I hope that these programs, along with other resources, will get our staff to think about systemic racism and how they can overcome it.

    It is a huge problem in our society with many different aspect to it.  Continuous learning about ourselves and others will help with this problem.

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    Deborah Tenofsky
    Head Research, Teaching & Servs
    University of Cincinnati
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  • 3.  RE: Discussion thread: systemic racism in libraries and other institutions

    Posted Oct 17, 2022 04:22 PM
    These are big questions and I think it is important to address them here. Core opening dialogue about this topic is a step in the right direction. Engaging members to think about and acknowledge the systemic racism in this profession in and in our own workplaces is part of the work. Pushing for library workplaces to be aware of our biases and change hiring, onboarding, promotion, and retention policies to be more inclusive and honest is crucial. I agree with Debbie that creating resources and tools would be beneficial. We could also offer trainings with experts in the field, host a sponsored book club, or host sessions addressing systemic racism at next Core Form.

    In my own, work, I utilize principles of cultural humility to be open and learn. I speak up when I see injustice. We have had several training opportunities that address systemic racism. We had one session which addressed how to avoid white supremacist values and culture in your organization.  I educate myself and learn to be better every day. 

    Some of the challenges to addressing these issues in past workplaces have been local politics, lack of funding, lack of information, and lack of support. I feel fortunate to have a workplace that addresses these issues and is doing the work to create change.

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    Debra Trogdon-Livingston
    User Experience and Education Strategist
    NNLM Region 2 / Medical University of South Carolina
    She/Her/Hers
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