Diversity

Libraries Transforming Communities to distribute more than $7 million in grants to support small and rural library accessibility efforts, call for Grant Advisor RFPs now open

CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) announced today that its Libraries Transforming Communities project will offer more than $7 million in grants to small and rural libraries to increase the accessibility of facilities, services and programs to better serve people with disabilities.

New from ACRL - “Implementing Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”

CHICAGO – The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) announces the publication of “Implementing Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Handbook for Academic Libraries,” edited by Corliss Lee and Brian Lym with Tatiana Bryant, Jonathan Cain, and Kenneth Schlesinger. This thorough book captures emerging practices that academic libraries and librarians can use to create more equitable and representative institutions.

Academic libraries supporting students academically, socially, and financially

CHICAGO — Academic libraries are confronting a myriad of challenges, including consequences stemming from the pandemic, the changing demographics of student bodies, and the financial obstacles that many students are struggling to overcome. What’s needed is practical guidance on how to effectively serve students’ needs amidst rapid change.

ALA begins a new tradition with the first-ever LibLearnX

CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) hosted the first LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience (LLX) conference online, Jan. 21-24, 2022. LibLearnX is a completely new conference experience, built from the ground up based on years of research, exploration, and most importantly, input from library professionals. The 2022 conference was intentionally designed as a benefit for ALA Members, with an opportunity to learn, network, and celebrate. The event attracted 2,100+ participants and 66 exhibiting organizations.

ALA/ARL Seek Feedback on Draft Cultural Proficiencies for Racial Equity Framework

CHICAGO; WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Joint ALA/ARL Building Cultural Proficiencies for Racial Equity Framework Task Force seeks feedback from the library community on the initial draft framework.

Library and archives associations call on members to take action on US National Day of Racial Healing

CHICAGO — On January 18, 2022, the sixth annual US National Day of Racial Healing, the American Library Association (ALA), the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and the Society of American Archivists (SAA) call upon our collective memberships—comprised of several hundred thousand archivists, librarians, and other information professionals, and thousands of libraries and archives of all kinds—to observe the day with reflection and action.

Learn Best Practices for Academic Interviews with New Core Report

The library profession has seen radical change in people’s thinking about all aspects of work and life, due in part to the sudden and prolonged shift to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing calls for social justice and antiracism in our services and practices. While many manuals for hiring and interviewing exist, including those in professional library associations and organizations, they may already be out of step with the rapid changes of recent years.

Core Classroom: Hearing the Story: Creating an Oral History Project

CHICAGO—Storytelling is an important way to preserve the history of a community and/or culture. The human voice can convey so much more than the written word, so oral histories are a good way to preserve a community, family, or history of an important event. People have differing views about events and capturing the viewpoints through recording their stories is something that libraries have been doing for many years.