April 2022

 Hello from ILA’s Committee for Diversity and Inclusion!

Each month our committee sends out a list of resources focused on topics of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. We hope you find these useful, and if you come across anything that falls under the diversity and inclusion umbrella that you feel might be helpful or interesting for library staff across Iowa, please feel free to send them my way and I will work with the committee to include them in our Resource Roundup or to otherwise share them out as appropriate.

Upcoming webinars and continuing education opportunities:

• Racial microaggressions: Their effects on mental and physical health
• Establish an Organizational Culture That Supports Your DEI Initiatives 1
• Celebrate AAPI Month All Year Long with Debbi Michiko Florence, Gita Varadarajan, and Wendy Wan-Long Shang
• Windows & Mirrors
• Works in Progress Webinar: Understanding and mitigating bias and racism across collections at Yale University’s museums, libraries, and archives
• Info2Go! Juntos: Lantix Family Engagement at Your Library
• Centering Community, Building Equity: A Social Justice Approach to Outreach with Families and Children in Underserved Communities

June 2022 Social Justice Discussion Group - Microaggressions

This coming month, we’ll be reading, watching, and listening to resources about Microaggressions. Please explore these resources with us and join us for a discussion or two. Discussions will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, June 1 at 10:00 am 2 and Monday, June 13 at 2:00 pm 2 (Meeting ID: 864 3832 3094, Passcode: 427944).

We would love it if you joined us for either or both discussions. The level of participation is up to you; you may actively contribute or just listen and learn.

• What exactly is a microaggression? 1
• Microaggressions are a big deal: How to talk them out and when to walk away
• Microaggressions in Librarianship
• Unmasking “racial micro aggressions”
• We Need to Retire the Term “Microaggressions”
• Tool: Recognizing Microaggressions and the Messages They Send
• Examples of Racial Microaggressions 1
• Stop Saying “That’s So Gay!”: 6 Types of Microaggressions That Harm LGBTQ People

CDI is also exploring assembling some toolboxes for libraries to use when evaluating how to be more equitable and inclusive. If you have experience in any of the following areas, we would love to hear from you! Please let us know a bit about what you did, how you did it, and advice you’d offer to others. Also, if you have other topics that you’d love to see a toolbox for, please let us know.

• Starting an EDI committee at your library/institution/city
• Evaluating your library policies through the EDI lens
• Evaluating your collections through the EDI lens

On behalf of ILA CD&I,

Amanda Bellis
Chair, ILA Committee for Diversity and Inclusion
abellis@ankenyiowa.gov