SRRT (Social Responsibilities Round Table)

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The Social Responsibilities Round Table works to make ALA more democratic and to establish progressive priorities not only for the Association, but also for the entire profession. Concern for human and economic rights was an important element in the founding of SRRT and remains an urgent concern today. SRRT believes that libraries and librarians must recognize and help solve social problems and inequities in order to carry out their mandate to work for the common good and bolster democracy.

Learn more about SRRT on the ALA website.

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Current Events Discussion for Libraries on Global Migration Crisis: Causes & Solutions, Jan. 13 @ 2 p.m. E.T.

  • 1.  Current Events Discussion for Libraries on Global Migration Crisis: Causes & Solutions, Jan. 13 @ 2 p.m. E.T.

    Posted Jan 08, 2024 05:42 PM

    The Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association invites library staff and patrons to the next session of its Current World Events Discussion Series.

     The Global Migration Crisis: Causes & Solutions

    When: January 13, 2024 at 2 PM Eastern - Zoom Registration Will Open Soon

    According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are currently over 110 million forcibly displaced people worldwide. 62.5 million are internally displaced, 36.4 million are refugees, and 6.1 million are asylum seekers. 43% of the global population of forcibly displaced people are children. Half of the refugee population are from Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine.

    Various factors have accounted for the massive increase in the forcibly displaced and refugee population in the past decade. These include growing authoritarianism, wars, and global warming. At the same time, we are witnessing the increasing dehumanization of refugees and the growth of anti-immigrant and racist populism in various parts of the world even as the need for immigrant labor has increased after the tragic losses of human life during the COVID pandemic.

    In the U.S., we are facing a humanitarian crisis at the Southern border where refugees fleeing poverty, violence, authoritarianism and climate change are attempting to enter the U.S. in search of work and a better life, but mostly face rejection, arrest and detention. Those who do enter and are undocumented are subjected to exploitation as workers and as women, including as child laborers.

    Due to the U.S. Congress's inability to ratify comprehensive immigration reform, neither those who are arriving now nor the nearly eleven million undocumented immigrants who have been living, working, and paying taxes in this country for years, are able to find a pathway to legalization and citizenship.

    Join us for an analysis of these problems and possible solutions.

     For registration and a list of suggested readings,  please click on the link below.

     Current World Events Discussion Series for Library Staff & Community Members