By Melissa Cardenas-Dow (melissa.cardenasdow@gmail.com) | There’s nothing like talking about earning power to drive home the idea of survival. In the world of work in library services in higher education settings, survival often equates to working as adjunct, visiting, or temporary librarians. There are many reasons why an academic librarian, with a graduate degree or two or three and experience in academic reference and instruction services, would choose to work as an adjunct. The academic librarian desires more experience. The flexibility in time commitment might be more desired...
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 Sarah Kostelecky (sarahrk@unm.edu) | Where do you go to find information about events not being covered by the mainstream media? As a Native American from Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico and Education Librarian at the University of New Mexico, I find my social media connections to be a valuable resource to find this type of information. I started seeing posts and photos of protest about the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in late August. I was surprised to learn the Dakota pipeline’s proposed route is only a few miles shorter than the more well-known Keystone XL pipeline...
By Raymond Pun (raypun@csufresno.edu) | The digital divide: we hear it so often in our profession. It’s an ongoing struggle across the country particularly in an age of digital information and technology. As someone who has worked in public libraries in New York, I’ve interacted with many patrons who either do not have access to technologies at home and/or do not possess the skills in using computers, tablets, etc. Now as an academic librarian, I’ve been thinking a lot more about community engagement and outreach services in Fresno County, California where I am...
By Jody Gray | It is common knowledge that among people of color and American Indians there is a coping mechanism called “code switching.” Basically, the idea is that an individual alternates their behaviors or language to fit a particular situation. It is so common, it often plays out as just our survival instincts taking over. As someone who has worked in the field of equity and diversity for over a decade, I’m not immune. Code switching can lead to me compartmentalizing parts of my identity to stay present in the work at hand. For the most...
Hello and welcome to Intersections, the blog of the ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services! A successor to the Diversity & Outreach Columns blog, we envision Intersections to be a vibrant and thriving place for our members to share the stories of our members’ work in creating safe, responsible, and all-inclusive spaces that serve and represent their communities. What’s more, we’ll also will be sharing exciting news from the Office, including information on conferences, initiatives, grants, and much more. We invite you to be a part of...