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.

Shhh…Visualizing the Silent Dialogue about Race

This presentation demonstrates the evolution of the “race card project,” inspired by Michele Norris (www.theracecardproject.com), at a large public university. We describe how the project got started within the context of the university’s annual campus and community wide diversity awareness programming. We will share the simple steps of setting up a race card wall and monitoring the comments, as well as the challenges that are involved with a sensitive topic like this, particularly when dealing with a diverse student body. Finally, we will outline our efforts to incorporate this outreach event into the curriculum through collaboration with faculty. The audience for this presentation will be able to a) plan this outreach event on a very low budget, b) anticipate potential challenges based on the characteristics of their own institution, and c) identify partners for collaboration outside their library.

Presenters

Stephanie Everett has more than 10 years of experience in public-sector communications, including positions in higher education, nonprofit organizations, and state government. She is the Manager of Planning, Communications, and Engagement at the University Libraries at the University of Akron. She holds a B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University, an M.A. in Communication from The University of Akron, and an M.L.I.S. from Kent State University. 

Beate Gersch is the Coordinator of Instruction Services at University Libraries at The University of Akron, where she also serves as liaison to the School of Communication and the Department of Modern Languages. She holds a Ph.D. in Media Studies from the University of Oregon, an M.L.I.S. from Kent State University, and an M.A. in American Studies from the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.

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