By: Cearra Harris, Teen Services Specialist/Spectrum Scholar 2018-2019, ImaginOn Library (Charlotte Mecklenburg Library) When the YMCA reached out to me to host a program on social justice for their annual Teen Summit I was initially hesitant. My hesitancy derived from the fact that my program would be held during their day’s breakout sessions and I would be competing with yoga, paint, and pop culture related sessions for program attendance. I was fearful that I would not be able to attract teens to a session that covered such a heavy topic, and even if I would be able to sustain...
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: Maggie Shawcross, Adult Services Librarian, High Plains Library District A few months back I was approached by a patron. She asked me if I knew about public charge and its implication to those who were seeking residency status or citizenship. She was concerned for a family member who had recently withdrawn herself and family off all public assistance. This cousin has a child with a chronic condition and the patron was worried that this child was no longer covered by government-sponsored health insurance. Unfortunately, I couldn’t give her an answer as I was only vaguely aware...
By: April Sheppard, Assistant Library Director, Arkansas State University Working in an academic library, one quickly learns the impact that library use can have on first-year student success. Not only do we get immediate feedback in the thanks we receive and seeing students return to the library, research repeatedly shows that library use increases first-year students’ GPA and retention. In one 2014 study, some library activities appear to show improvement after just one use.1 To see if this trend held up at Arkansas State University, we measured the impact of the...
By: Ariel Bacon, Collection Management Specialist, Ohio State University Libraries The last semester of my MLIS program at Kent State, a professor offered the unusual opportunity to complete my practicum experience at the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Facility (JDF) in Columbus, Ohio. JDF is a maximum-security detention center that can house up to 132 youth, although thanks to recent programs, like the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), the population hovers around 50-75. The facility houses all genders, ages 12-21, but the majority of the population are...
By: Celise Reech-Harper, Associate Director, Beauregard Parish Library Accessibility and inclusivity are often discussed in terms of physical barriers to reaching resources: distances that are too long, rooms that are not navigable, presentations that are unintelligible. However, accessibility is also often dictated by social constraints, expectations, and impressions. The presence of that particular type of access challenge surfaced in my library’s service area last year amid discussions with local partner agencies and community members. While senior adults in...
By: Chelsea Elwood, Supporting Library Specialist, Arapahoe Library District In February 2019, the Public Library Association, a division within the American Library Association, held the Social Justice and Public Libraries: Equity Starts with Us symposium at the Denver Public Library. A group of us from the Arapahoe Library District (ALD) were in attendance, representing all levels of our organization. During the symposium, we often broke out into small groups or discussions. These discussion groups focused on the following topics: staff and hiring, management,...
By: Jane Smith, Public Librarian When I think of the perfect world where everyone understands and believes in the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusion I think of all the opportunities and all of the well-deserved respect that our communities deserve. Unfortunately, we are nowhere close to that perfect world. I wish that I felt differently. From my experience of working in libraries, I’ve met many people who call themselves allies, who say they care about making positive change. They have good intentions—most of us do—but when it comes down to the actual, in...
By: Monica Porter, Access Services Supervisor, University of Michigan, Shapiro Library and Substitute Librarian, Ypsilanti District Library Academic Outreach and Young People! I am an Access Services Supervisor and a librarian by degree at the University of Michigan, “U of M.” We are partners with Washtenaw County which assists young adults, 16-24 with internships. Many of the students have stories to tell that range from living in shelters to being in single-parent homes. We have been a part of the Summer Youth Employment program since 2016 and it has...
By: Christina Caputo, Youth Services Librarian, Arlington Heights Memorial Library Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, all children were homeschooled. Presently, home-based learning has rising numbers of families opting for home-based teaching and learning. Homeschooling is not a novel or trendy movement. In fact, it was the norm centuries ago, for parents (or tutors in wealthy families) to educate the children at home. Public schooling is relatively new compared to homeschooling, which began in the middle of the 19th century. In 2016, there was an estimated 2....
By: Bob Sisson, Librarian, Northeast Regional Library Our library, the Northeast Regional Library, hosted an Immigrant Resources Fair on June 8, 2018. We are located in northeast Philadelphia and are part of the Free Library of Philadelphia. As a librarian at this location, I work in the Social Sciences and Technology department. In the past, I have done job fairs, community fairs, business fairs, and other large events. I thought the immigrant community could benefit from the same type of event. My idea was to locate, talk to, and attract prospective exhibitors. They were not charged...