ALAO and SWON Libraries Consortium are partnering on a series of 3-4 webinars a year. Webinars will allow attendees to hear about exciting new opportunities and participate in a dialogue with the presenters. Innovation Conversations gives people a chance to hear from and speak with library leaders on hot topics, new trends, or exciting initiatives. The first part of the online meeting will feature a short presentation on the topic that brought this library leader(s) to our attention. The second part is a live interview and Q&A session with attendees.

What We (don't) Talk About When We Talk About Diversity

In 2012, ACRL issued a document outlining eleven diversity standards for academic libraries to use in developing the skills and competencies that are necessary to serve diverse populations. ALA lists “diversity” as one of its 11 core values. Lately, the rhetoric around “diversity” has expanded to include the terms “inclusion” and “equity.” Typically, when we use the word “diversity” we refer to specific categories of identity: race, gender, ability, and sexual orientation, to name a few. As colleges and universities engage in more diversity initiatives, how is the conversation around diversity, equity, and inclusion taking shape? What do we mean when we talk about diversity in academic libraries? What is left unsaid when these conversations take place? Focusing on race, this session will challenge attendees to unpack, rethink and reframe the diversity conversation. The presenter will share findings from a content analysis project of academic library diversity plans, provide a brief overview of critical race scholarship in the field, and challenge attendees to think critically about current library rhetoric around race. Attendees will come away from this session with new frameworks to consider as the foundation for anti-racist work not just in academic libraries but higher education as a whole.

This presentation was a very popular session at the October 27 ALAO conference, “Libraries Act. Respond. Transform: The ART of Empowerment.” In case you missed the session, the conference or want a refresher, here is another opportunity for you to engage with this important topic.

Presenter

Ione Damasco, associate professor and coordinator of cataloging at University of Dayton. 

Moderator

Katy Kelly is president of ALAO and associate professor and coordinator of marketing and engagement at University of Dayton.

ALAO Pricing: