Library and Academic Institution Movements & the Law

Happy Indigenous Peoples Day! To mark National Indigenous Peoples Day we are pleased to announce that the CFLA-FCAB’s Indigenous Matters Committee’s – Red Team-Joint Working Group on Classifi…

CRKN has completed the first step in decolonizing Canadiana collection metadata by replacing the subject heading “Indians of North America” with “Indigenous peoples.”

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are fundamental values of the association and its members, and diversity is listed as one of ALA's Key Action Areas. The Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services uses a social justice framework to ensure the inclusion of diverse perspectives within our profession and association to best position ALA as a trusted, leading advocate for equitable access to library services for all.

WITNESS partnered with El Grito de Sunset Park to find new ways to use eyewitness video and open source data to expose systemic police violence.

Max Macias writes: “It is with great excitement and honor that the Oregon Library Association’s Committee on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Antiracism present the OLA EDI Antiracism Toolkit! You can download a copy at the Oregon Library Association Web Site, or the State Library of Oregon website. A paper copy of this toolkit will be distributed to every library in Oregon. They will also receive a digital copy to print and share with staff.”

TOOLKIT OVERVIEW Throughout this project we documented the tools we used, the processes that worked best for us and the things that made our light bulbs go off. We compiled those learnings into this Toolkit for others to use, share and help grow. The Toolkit can be used as a step-by-step guide, or you can jump right in to the section you’re most interested in!

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The information provided in this Toolkit is designed to help you recognize some of the biases that we all have, including, specifically, the implicit biases of judges, prosecutors, and public defenders.

By Valentina Iturbe-LaGrave, Ph.D., Director for Inclusive Teaching Practices In the last few days, many of us have seen or read about the gruesome and violent videos of young Black men being forcibly restrained, hunted down, and killed in broad daylight and read the stories of a black woman being killed in her own home. Violence against Black and Brown bodies has been a horrific and longstanding trope of the American experience. While it has always impacted us, the recent demonstrations and riots eclipsing COVID19 news and media coverage challenge our courage at a time of immeasurable community and individual trauma. To help you navigate these complex and challenging times, we offer a brief summary of trauma-informed critical pedagogy as a way to consider how trauma may be impacting you and your students. We also invite you to check-in with students, and teach in a way that does not re-traumatize students but instead supports healing the mental and emotional effects of the trauma. Below are some critical trauma-informed pedagogy considerations, suggested readings, and resources to help you on this journey. As always, contact the Director for Inclusive Teaching Practices for one-on-one consultations on Zoom, email, or over the phone.

Resources related to the #blacklivesmatter, #marchforourlives, #marchforscience, #metoo, #timesup, and #nobannowall social movements.

Political Protest and Social Movements resources

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Many libraries have put together LibGuides or other resources in support of diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, antiracism, etc. On … "Antiracism, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Social Justice Resources"

Author Art Spiegelman says he felt "jaw-dropping disbelief" upon learning about the decision from a Tennessee school district to ban his graphic novel about the Holocaust.

Founded in 1936, the Society of American Archivists is North America's oldest and largest national professional association dedicated to the needs and interests of archives and archivists. SAA represents more than 6,200 professional archivists employed by governments, universities, businesses, libraries, and historical organizations nationally.

The field of information and library science has long struggled with the lack of diversity in the workforce. In response, a number of programs have been created to encourage students of color to pursue careers within the library and information sciences. Despite this, the number of diverse individuals working in the field is still low. This paper explores instances of discrimination towards library and information science students of color and how these experiences shape their academic career and their outlook on the profession overall. Qualitative interviews were conducted with five students of color currently pursuing a master’s degree in library and information science and will be transcribed and analyzed for overarching themes. This paper intends to identify ways students of color in LIS master’s programs can be better supported.

Bias in library systems directly affects patrons’ experiences in the library. This ALA Editions excerpt looks at implicit bias -- how it can be identified and how it can be reduced.

After the tragic police murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, there has been a sudden groundswell of interest in beginning the monumental task of tackling the racial injustice and systemic racism…

Let me tell you about someone I met a couple of years ago in 2019. Her name was Judge Deborah A. Batts. The Honorable Judge Batts was the first openly gay person to be appointed as an Article III federal judge. She held this position for over 25 years in the Southern District of New York. As part of the library team in my previous position, we commemorated her 25 years of service with a candid interview during Pride month with her fellow openly gay judges also at the US Courts for the Second Circuit: Judge Alison J. Nathan, Judge J. Paul Oetken and Judge Pamela K. Chen. If you watch this interview as many times as I have, you can’t escape the gravitas of Judge Batts words when she describes herself as a “trifecta” and says “it’s important to pass it on…” As a librarian, and particularly someone working with the law, I believe the responsibility of pass it on should be a major tenet in our profession And despite that altruistic goal and the best of intentions, I oftentimes find myself in situations where we have failed to do just that. Why is that? What is missing? Who is missing? Whose voices we are missing? I don’t presume to have any of the answers. However, I’ve decided to create this platform and hear from my esteemed friends on the notes we pass to each other. By now, we all know the concepts, or at least we can find a new libguide with further reading. Let’s now dismantle and create. Let’s now more forward and be intentional. Let’s create the space and pass it on. Notes Between Us (NBU) is a blog about conversations and topics of interest to the writers. The writers are expressing their personal opinions solely. Their essays represent their personal beliefs and not that of their workplaces or any organization they are associated with. By Marcelo Rodríguez

AALL stands against racism and we fully support the Black Lives Matter movement. AALL is striving to do better as an Association to bring more awareness to the biases in the legal information profession, and to help others understand the impact of racism. This guide was created to provide resources on anti-racism, diversity, inclusion, and equity for members and their organizations.

Diversity, Leadership and Education Workshops, Training and Keynotes.

A publication of the Black Law Librarians Special Interest Section (BLL-SIS) of the American Association of Law Libraries

"House Democrats introduced legislation Wednesday aimed at improving diversity at the State Department by establishing a senior post in the agency tasked with increasing the numbers of women minorities and those with disabilities serving in the foreign and civil service."

"A federal judge in California on Thursday appeared poised to block parts of President Donald Trump's executive order restricting diversity training for federal contractors that covers "divisive topics" saying she was concerned that it was too broad and vague."

"The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged President Trump to withdraw his executive order that extended his administration's ban on race- and sex-based discrimination training to include federal contractors."

"Law schools would have to train students in bias racism and crosscultural competency under a proposal before the American Bar Association's policymaking body this month."

"In September 2020, President Trump issued an executive order excluding from federal contracts any diversity and inclusion training interpreted as containing Divisive Concepts, Race or Sex Stereotyping, and Race or Sex Scapegoating."