SRRT Newsletter

News from SRRT

Newsletter Archive, 1969-Present

 

SRRT Newsletter: Current Issue

Issue 215, April June

Current news and events from the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association

 

 

About The SRRT Newsletter  

 

The SRRT Newsletter has been published since 1969, offering alternative viewpoints on libraries and their role in society. You can view past and current issues in the Newsletter Archive. 

The SRRT Newsletter is published quarterly by the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association. Now solely an electronic publication, The SRRT Newsletter is also indexed by the H. W. Wilson Company. Copyright © 1969-2020 by the Social Responsibilities Round Table. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without permission. Views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of ALA/SRRT. The editors reserve the right to edit submitted material as necessary or as the whimsy strikes.

Editorial Policy – adopted by SRRT Newsletter Editorial Board, January 26, 2013; presented to Action Council at 2013 ALA Annual Conference.

 

Submission Guidelines

The SRRT Newsletter invites submissions from library and information workers, students, educators, and all others who recognize the critical importance of libraries in addressing community and social issues. Submission content should align with the goals of SRRT: matters of social responsibility and values, current social needs, and opportunities and problems as they relate to libraries, library workers, or the communities they serve.

Send your submissions electronically in one of the following formats: MS Word, RTF, or plain text pasted into the body of an e-mail. Submissions should be 500 to 1,000 words. Graphics are encouraged. If using images that are already on the Internet, the URL of the image and a caption or description may be added to the text of the submission.

Please send submissions and inquiries to SRRT Newsletter Editors at srrt.newsletter.content@gmail.com, indicating "SRRT Newsletter" within the subject line of your e-mail.

 

Editorial Team

Co-Editors: Julie Ann Winkelstein and Dee Dixon
Reviews Editor: Madeline Veitch
Editorial Board:
Jess Costello
Kyle Evans
Miguel Juarez
Laura Koltutsky

 

SRRT Statement on Racist Aggression at ALA Conferences

February 2, 2019

We at the Social Responsibilities Round Table condemn strongly the incidents of racist behavior that have been reported at the most recent American Library Association Midwinter Meeting, the best known of which is the verbal attack on Councilor-at-Large April Hathcock at a Council Forum on Monday evening, January 28, 2019. Other attendees have reported acts of aggression, exclusion, and racial profiling at this and previous conferences. This ongoing pattern of exclusionary behavior is absolutely unacceptable and completely contrary to our values as both a profession and an organization.

We fully support the action steps outlined by April Hathcock1. We note that in a statement issued on Thursday, January 31st, the ALA Executive Board has made at least some steps towards each of these requests. We urge the ALA Council and the ALA Executive Board to continue to move forward in addressing the concerns of its members. Further, we request that, in the interest of transparency and accountability, the ALA Conference Services Office give regular accounts of incidents of racism, homophobia, and other bigotry reported at conferences.

The change we must see goes beyond simple "diversity": we must take a truly progressive approach to championing anti-racism in our actions. If we are to live up to the directive in the ALA mission statement to "enhance learning and ensure access to information for all,"2 we must do better. We must protect each other, we must respect each other, and we must value each other. If we will not do these things for each other, we cannot do them for our communities.