January 2021

 January 7, 2021

Equity-Based Library Policies Workshop 

 

Next Wednesday, January 13th, 10 am - noon

 

The Committee for Diversity and Inclusion is excited to announce a powerful and crucial workshop for Iowa libraries. Researcher and educator Dr. Adrienne Coleman of Candid Conversations Matter will lead a two hour workshop focused on developing equity based policies in our libraries. Rooted in Inclusive Excellence, Racial Justice and approached through an Equity-Minded Lens this workshop will instruct learners on how to examine patterns of inequity within their libraries and take a strategic approach to eliminating those inequities. All attendees will also receive a DEI toolkit designed to continue building capacity to become equity-minded and institute anti-racist policies, practices, programs, and services. Additional topics that will be addressed include LGBTQIA+ Allyship, cultural competence, and crucial conversations. This session will be recorded and available for a limited time after the live presentation. 

 

Thanks to generous donations from ACRL, ISLA, LLAMA, PLF & Information Technology ILA subdivisions, this workshop will be free regardless of a registrant's ILA membership status. Non-members are encouraged to show support for this and future continuing education opportunities by joining ILA.

 

Registration can be found here.

 

Throughout the month of January we will be reading, watching, and listening to resources about the topic of Race. Discussions are scheduled for February 3rd  at 9:00 am and February 8th at 2:00 pm (Please contact Jillian Rutledge for Zoom passcodes). We would love it if you joined us for either or both calls. The level of participation is up to each attendee; you may actively contribute to the discussion or just listen & learn. Here are some resources for the discussion groups:

• Nikole Hannah-Jones on Race, Education, and Growing up in Waterloo (Talk of Iowa) 

• 26 Mini-Films for Exploring Race, Bias and Identity With Students (Published 2017)

• Teaching While White 

• 10 Books About Race To Read Instead Of Asking A Person Of Color To Explain Things To You 

• 17 Books On Race Every White Person Needs To Read 

• Twitter thread on Structural Racism in Libraries 

• Advancing Racial Equity in Public Libraries 

• Race, Ethnicity, Nationality and Jellybeans

• Understanding the difference between race and ethnicity

• Why We Confuse Race and Ethnicity A Lexicographer’s Perspective

• Why diversity matters: A roundtable discussion on racial and ethnic diversity in librarianship

• Racial Microaggressions: Comments That Sting | The New York Times

• Reading and Talking about Race: An Intro to ALA’s Great Stories Club (Part 1: Deeper Than Our Skins)

• Discussing Race with Young Kids | First Steps

• 31 Children's books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance

• Exploring the Race and Ethnicity Question

• Understanding the difference between race and ethnicity

We encourage all libraries to sign the Urban Libraries Council’s Statement on Race and Social Equity. 

 

Examples of public library statements on racial equity:

• Free Library of Philadelphia statement

• Arapahoe Libraries statement

• Indianapolis Public Library statement

Additional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion resources:

• Safe Space Training

• Dates, Practices & Accommodations: Being mindful of non-Christian religious holidays when planning programs