By Rachael-Joy Davis, Library Services Specialist, California State University, Sacramento University Library As a member of the User Services department, I supervise 25-30 student employees at a busy library service desk. Our student employees are the first and last faces library patron see when entering or exiting the library. They are fulfillment operators and shelvers, reference and roving reference support, and technology troubleshooters. They are friendly, familiar faces to our patrons and provide exceptional service in a non-threatening, positive, and inspirational...
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: Lorraine LaPrade, Librarian/ Services Associate, City University of New York/ Teachers College, Columbia University Before COVID-19 and the switch to remote work, I kept my position as a librarian—champion of the research process—and my background as an artist and social dancer—champion of creative expression, lover of the dance break—separate. However, working remotely has shown me that in order to manage all of my responsibilities, I needed to bring these, seemingly, unrelated experiences together. Once I added a little more dancer to my...
By: Elby Wang, Reference/Outreach Librarian, Cherry Hill Public Library Keeping a library program alive year after year is a mighty endeavor for any team. At Cherry Hill Public Library, our English as a Second Language (ESL) teammates have become even more than a team. We have become a family, and I am writing to share our ESL family’s quarantine story. We are proud to share that our volunteer teachers are teaching seven classes a week with remote learning, including conversation, reading, writing, and book club classes. Moreover, new connections continue to be...
By: Karleen Delaurier-Lyle, Information Services Librarian, Xwi7xwa Library I have worked at Xwi7xwa Library for approximately three years, both as a student worker and as the Information Services Librarian. At the reference desk, I am frequently asked how people can make their research relevant to the land they are on. I humbly offer up this blog post as a place for people to think about themselves, the places they are from, and the land they occupy. In a recent UBC Centre for Teaching and Learning Technology (CTLT) webinar session called "Centering Indigenous Perspectives in...
By: Talia Evans, Media Relations Specialist, Kansas City Public As stay-at-home orders and social distancing recommendations were handed down as COVID-19 spread, the first thought on the minds of so many at the Kansas City Public Library was, ‘how can we still help our community?’ More importantly, what about those who rely on us for access to a computer and the internet? After figuring out the basics, the focus quickly shifted to the digital divide which exists in our city. Citywide, 13 percent of all homes don’t have a computer and 17 percent are without...
By: Laura Lipke, MLIS The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting our service to communities in ways librarians could never have foreseen. Even with historic knowledge of the 1918 Pandemic, no amount of disaster planning could have prepared the profession for the implications we are facing in this current crisis. However, there are many insights we may now learn from these circumstances. One of these lessons is in the methods and sources we utilize to design and communicate with our patrons from traditionally underserved communities. As librarians, we are well aware of the increasing...
By: Alejandra Méndez, Doctoral Student, the University of Puerto Rico Since the implementation of the PROMESA Act in 2016 (PROMESA Act, 2016), Puerto Rico’s educational institutions have undertaken massive budget cuts. These cuts, along with the devastating effects of hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, and the earthquakes that have impacted the Southern municipalities of the island since December 2019, have led to the additional closure of public schools (Lebrón & Bonilla, 2020). In the 2018-2019 fiscal year, the then-appointed Secretary of Education, Dr. Julia Kelleher...
By: Veronica Ramirez, MLIS Student, San Jose State University When I was 12 years old, my family relocated from a small town in the state of Zacatecas, Mexico to Mountain View, California. I was placed in ESL classes and experienced a challenging time trying to learn a new language. My teacher suggested that my mother take me to the local public library so that I could check out books and practice reading in English. Coming from a small town in rural Mexico, this was my first time going to a public library. My favorite books to check out were the ones with animals as protagonists such...
By: Raymond Pun, Instruction/Research Librarian, Alder Graduate School of Education, California For the past year and a half, I have been working on my dissertation research focusing on the impact of digital exclusion of the lived experiences of people of color, and how they use their local public library’s technology resources in California. Prior to COVID-19, I interviewed individuals experiencing the digital divide phenomenon and were also avid public library users. I learned that their public library supported their needs on a daily basis. Whether they were receiving...
An Interview with Sol M. Lopez, Technical Services Manager, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center Interviewed by Jaime Groetsema, Technical Services and Collections Management Librarian, Naropa University 1. What made you become interested in mentorship in Technical Services? Mentorship is instrumental in getting grounded in cataloging. Catalogers may get the theoretical basis and some practice in graduate courses, but it is by working with a variety of formats, and the support of experienced catalogers to train and help with questions! I was...