NMRT (New Members Round Table)

Hello all,

 

My name is Maribel C. Pagan and I am a member of the NMRT Online Discussion Forum Committee. This month's topic is on Inclusivity in Libraries. If you would like to participate here in Connect, please click on the Reply button to share your thoughts.

 

The latest trend in libraries has been to focus on building community and serving our communities. Some of our most served patron groups are members of diverse populations, yet our libraries are often staffed by a homogenous, mostly white majority.

 

With this shift in library focus in mind, how do you ensure inclusivity to both library staff and patrons in your library? What practices have you put in place to ensure that all have access and are included in your library and its community? This could be through a wide variety of implemented practices, such as promoting and providing Open Educational Resources to your library community, increasing Spanish programs and materials in your library, or requiring diversity training among staff.

 

This discussion topic also invites reflections on personal experiences as well. If you have noticed new practices in libraries that have affected you personally as a member of a diverse population, your thoughts and words are encouraged and welcomed here.

 

Please, share your thoughts on creating a more welcoming and inclusive environment!

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Maribel Pagan
Librarian
Klamath Community College
They/Them/Theirs
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I found something that I experienced at both a community college and a public library when applying for jobs a few years back  very helpful. Before the interview at both places, they gave me a page with the questions they planned to ask at the interview exactly ten minutes before. I was allowed to make notes and bring the page into the actual interview with me. As a first generation college student whose parents weren't professionals, it really helped me relax during the interview and give better answers to interview questions. This is the type of practice I hope we adopt at my library when we're next hiring. It doesn't hurt candidates that interview well, but it really helps those of us who don't showcase our talents more accurately.

Nessa Vahedian Khezerlou

Information Services Librarian
Aurora University

She/Her/Hers

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Nessa Vahedian Khezerlou
Information Services Librarian
Aurora University
------------------------------

I love this idea and I hope more libraries pursue this route.  Piggy backing on your comment, I like to make sure my questions are written for anyone to understand.  English is not my first language and sometimes when questions use big words, I have a hard time understanding. It's also rather intimidating.

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Maria Lagasca
Library Manager
She/Her/Hers
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Nov 03, 2022 11:35 AM
From: Nessa Vahedian Khezerlou
Subject: Online Discussion Forum November 2022 Topic: Inclusivity in Libraries

I found something that I experienced at both a community college and a public library when applying for jobs a few years back  very helpful. Before the interview at both places, they gave me a page with the questions they planned to ask at the interview exactly ten minutes before. I was allowed to make notes and bring the page into the actual interview with me. As a first generation college student whose parents weren't professionals, it really helped me relax during the interview and give better answers to interview questions. This is the type of practice I hope we adopt at my library when we're next hiring. It doesn't hurt candidates that interview well, but it really helps those of us who don't showcase our talents more accurately.

Nessa Vahedian Khezerlou

Information Services Librarian
Aurora University

She/Her/Hers

------------------------------
Nessa Vahedian Khezerlou
Information Services Librarian
Aurora University
------------------------------

I absolutely love all of your input and find it very encouraging that you are presenting personal experiences on ways to be more inclusive. It seems like a lot of our progress could be working with our communication, such as providing interview questions early on and wording that is easier to understand.

I also love how you are both taking the approach of how we can be more inclusive towards library staff. I personally had also experienced some barriers because of financial difficulties, health conditions, and receiving all of my early education from my parents whose first language was Spanish, not English. So I feel very strongly about how we need to support aspiring librarians and our library workers, and I think it's great the conversation has steered in this direction.

Do you think that communication can be used to develop more inclusivity towards our library workers even after the interview process?

------------------------------
Maribel Pagan
Librarian
Klamath Community College
They/Them/Theirs
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Nov 08, 2022 05:19 PM
From: Maria Lagasca
Subject: Online Discussion Forum November 2022 Topic: Inclusivity in Libraries

I love this idea and I hope more libraries pursue this route.  Piggy backing on your comment, I like to make sure my questions are written for anyone to understand.  English is not my first language and sometimes when questions use big words, I have a hard time understanding. It's also rather intimidating.

------------------------------
Maria Lagasca
Library Manager
She/Her/Hers
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: Nov 03, 2022 11:35 AM
From: Nessa Vahedian Khezerlou
Subject: Online Discussion Forum November 2022 Topic: Inclusivity in Libraries

I found something that I experienced at both a community college and a public library when applying for jobs a few years back  very helpful. Before the interview at both places, they gave me a page with the questions they planned to ask at the interview exactly ten minutes before. I was allowed to make notes and bring the page into the actual interview with me. As a first generation college student whose parents weren't professionals, it really helped me relax during the interview and give better answers to interview questions. This is the type of practice I hope we adopt at my library when we're next hiring. It doesn't hurt candidates that interview well, but it really helps those of us who don't showcase our talents more accurately.

Nessa Vahedian Khezerlou

Information Services Librarian
Aurora University

She/Her/Hers

------------------------------
Nessa Vahedian Khezerlou
Information Services Librarian
Aurora University

I recently watched a webinar training about having a bias-free interview process and I think it fits really well into this discussion.

I am sharing the Bias Free Hiring Guide by Turner Consulting Group.  This is a quick reference guide that discusses the way bias affects our hiring process. The guide discusses different types of bias, such as the the affinity bias which means we are more likely to hire someone who has a similar background. This similarity creates a sense of comfort; however, this comfort has little to do with the qualifications of the candidate. It also discusses racial, gender, and immigrant bias. The guide has an outline that includes some questions that you should not ask in an interview and why they contribute to a biased hiring process.  The guide also recommends creating an Interview Marking Guide and reviewing it with all members on an interview panel. Each member of an interview panel should also review the different bias listed in the guide. 

I thought to go a step further, members of the interview panel could utilize Project Implicit to determine where they have implicit bias. The awareness of their own bias may help them move through the stages of bias literacy and progress beyond what the guide calls "unconscious incompetence."  

In the webinar I took a couple of weeks ago, they also mentioned that being flexible in using a combination of experience + education when hiring can help in the hiring process. For example, "requires ____ degree or comparable job experience" can open up the position to a variety of candidates who may otherwise not apply if the requirement is based solely degreed education. 

Lastly, the presenter of the webinar  recommended the book Motivation-Based Interviewing  by Carol Quinn.

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Dacy Shute
Community Engagement Librarian
Hickory Public Library
She/Her/Hers
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Nov 10, 2022 01:30 PM
From: Maribel Pagan
Subject: Online Discussion Forum November 2022 Topic: Inclusivity in Libraries

I absolutely love all of your input and find it very encouraging that you are presenting personal experiences on ways to be more inclusive. It seems like a lot of our progress could be working with our communication, such as providing interview questions early on and wording that is easier to understand.

I also love how you are both taking the approach of how we can be more inclusive towards library staff. I personally had also experienced some barriers because of financial difficulties, health conditions, and receiving all of my early education from my parents whose first language was Spanish, not English. So I feel very strongly about how we need to support aspiring librarians and our library workers, and I think it's great the conversation has steered in this direction.

Do you think that communication can be used to develop more inclusivity towards our library workers even after the interview process?

------------------------------
Maribel Pagan
Librarian
Klamath Community College
They/Them/Theirs
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: Nov 08, 2022 05:19 PM
From: Maria Lagasca
Subject: Online Discussion Forum November 2022 Topic: Inclusivity in Libraries

I love this idea and I hope more libraries pursue this route.  Piggy backing on your comment, I like to make sure my questions are written for anyone to understand.  English is not my first language and sometimes when questions use big words, I have a hard time understanding. It's also rather intimidating.

------------------------------
Maria Lagasca
Library Manager
She/Her/Hers


Original Message:
Sent: Nov 03, 2022 11:35 AM
From: Nessa Vahedian Khezerlou
Subject: Online Discussion Forum November 2022 Topic: Inclusivity in Libraries

I found something that I experienced at both a community college and a public library when applying for jobs a few years back  very helpful. Before the interview at both places, they gave me a page with the questions they planned to ask at the interview exactly ten minutes before. I was allowed to make notes and bring the page into the actual interview with me. As a first generation college student whose parents weren't professionals, it really helped me relax during the interview and give better answers to interview questions. This is the type of practice I hope we adopt at my library when we're next hiring. It doesn't hurt candidates that interview well, but it really helps those of us who don't showcase our talents more accurately.

Nessa Vahedian Khezerlou

Information Services Librarian
Aurora University

She/Her/Hers

------------------------------
Nessa Vahedian Khezerlou
Information Services Librarian
Aurora University