By: Julia Davis, Branch Manager II, Orange Park Library We’ve all seen the statistics- library science is a field desperately lacking in diversity. As of 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that librarians are 83.1% white and 83.2% female. While there are countless initiatives on a national and state level to help draw new, diverse professionals into the field, one of the best places to start is by examining your own hiring practices and how they may be contributing to this ongoing static. Not sure where to start? Here are three great ways to begin the...
Intersections
About Intersections
Intersections, the blog of the ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services (ODLOS), highlights the work of library and information science workers as they create safe, responsible, and all-inclusive spaces that serve and represent the entire community, as well as initiatives and projects supported by the office that promotes their work. Please note that these blog posts are by individuals and do not reflect the views of their employers.
By: Joanna Tine, Community Engagement Specialist at K12, Joyner Library at East Carolina University The modern job hunt is considerably different than it was ten years ago. What I mean by that is, the modern job hunt is considerably different than it was last year. Despite a changing marketplace, it’s important to become familiar with the unchanged expectations and considerations of the processes of seeking employment. Before the Search If you’re starting out on the journey towards a new job, you most likely have a few interests and preferences in mind....
By: Jamia Williams, Health Sciences Librarian, Drake Memorial Library Before I started looking into onboarding practices, I knew that I was like many people thinking that onboarding was similar to orientation, but it is not. Onboarding is a continuous process of bringing a person into the culture of your institution. Orientation is usually a one- or two-day event that introduces a new employee to the university or college, it is also a way to make new people feel welcomed. I think of orientation as being the foundation of a person’s onboarding. Unfortunately, some...
By: Kari Siders, Director of Library Public Services, Centennial Library, Cedarville University Erica has been searching for a few months on a quest to be the successful applicant for a library position. She updates her resume and writes one more cover letter. Finally, the call, someone wants to interview her for a position. In her elation, she pauses remembering what a mentor in her past told her, “always go into an interview prepared to sell yourself well.” At that point, her preparation begins. She reviews the job posting highlighting the skills that she would bring...
By: Rebecca Brown, Outreach Services Librarian, Ketchikan Public Library As a 6-foot-tall kid, I played basketball. Maybe that’s why “hard pivot” is how I keep describing this last year of library outreach. When COVID-19 first broke, I had just celebrated my first anniversary as the outreach services librarian at the Ketchikan Public Library. It had been a blissful first year: off-site library programs galore! Materials were distributed at homeless shelters, women’s shelters, and a youth detention facility. Senior center programs –...
By: Kawanna Bright, Assistant Professor, East Carolina University; and Joanna Nelson Rendón, Director of Young Adult Services, Pikes Peak Library District The Privilege Layer Cake (PLC) activity started as a conversation in Dr. Bright’s Privilege & Equity course and a mention by Dr. Bright in a keynote speech. Co-author Joanna Nelson Rendón was in attendance at the keynote and took the initiative to create a small group activity for her staff and another session for managers based on the activity. The success of those sessions led to an opportunity to bring the activity to...
By: Deborah Hakes, Director of Communications and Marketing, Georgia Public Library Service Finding an innovative way to fit the needs of their community is something for the Cherokee Regional Library to take pride in, just as they hope Next Chapter may offer a model for other public libraries to emulate. Cherokee Regional Library was recently recognized by Georgia Public Library Service as the state’s public library of the year for efforts like Next Chapter. For individuals leaving Dade County Jail in Trenton, Georgia, the barriers to re-entering normal life in the...
This interview was conducted via email with Sofia Leung and Jorge López-McKnight, co-editors of the recently published Knowledge Justice: Disrupting Library and Information Studies through Critical Race Theory, an anthology of essays focused on challenging the foundational principles, values, and assumptions of library and information sciences (LIS) in the United States. Sofia and Jorge opened up the conversation to include several authors who contributed to this anthology: April M. Hathcock, Dr. Antonia (Toni) Olivas, and Lalitha (Lali) Nataraj. Mimosa Shah (MS): What...
By: Lindsay Holbrook, Librarian, Jeffery Manor Branch-Chicago Public Library This past year has been one of the most challenging in recent memory. It has been fraught with danger, stress, and anxiety. With many suffering the loss of a loved one it has also been a time of personal financial crisis and extreme social isolation. While this may dull our outlook on the world, we should still consider something in the midst of it all. Why not be grateful? Having gratitude during the COVID-19 pandemic is probably the farthest thing from anyone's mind right now. It could be challenging...
By: Chapel Cowden, Health & Science Librarian, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library; Laura Perryman, Business Manager, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library; and Andrea Schurr, Digital Development Librarian, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library In alignment with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s core values and strategic goal of embracing diversity and inclusion, the UTC Library held its annual Staff Development Day in July 2019 in order to provide staff training on EDI issues and to begin a dialogue on our Library values related...