Blogs

The DICE (Diversity Inclusion Community Equity) Community is pleased to announce that SLA is offering a scholarship to attend the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC). The next scheduled JCLC is October 5-9, 2022, in St. Pete Beach Florida. The selected recipient will receive a $2,000 stipend to cover conference registration, travel, lodging, and other expenses. This stipend will be provided in advance in order to reduce the financial burden on the awardee. JCLC brings together a diverse group of librarians, library staff, library supporters, and community participants to explore issues of diversity in libraries and how they affect the ...

Are you new to stating your gender pronouns, perhaps at meetings or in your email signature? Are you unsure about gender and sexuality terminology? Do you know what AFAB, FTX, Genderqueer, TERF, or Transmisogynoir mean? Do you know the difference between gender expression and sexual orientation? The US National Institutes of Health Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion have a couple of recent blog posts that are very helpful in sorting out terminology. Please take a look at LGBTI Safe Zone: Terminology and What are Gender Pronouns? Why Do They Matter? Both posts are very rich in explaining these concepts. Newly added (04/22/2022): The Trans Language ...

Using visuals a ppt presentation, newsletter, or a social media post is commonly done. With this resource posting we hope you take care to keep these thoughts at the forefront of your selection and decision processes when using images.   Permission to use Images/ Usage Rights – use of an image you don’t own does have protections. Research what is accessible to be used for your project and determine if you have to pay a fee, consent to specific contractual direction, or provide some acknowledgement. Some image use that likely require permission for uses include, but are not limited to, publication, broadcast, products, commercial display, websites, etc. ...

Here are a few land acknowledgement resources to get you started: Welcome/Land Acknowledgement (Educational Developers Caucus/Réseau de formateurs en pédagogie de l’enseignement supérieur, Canada) Briefly describes land acknowledgement in Canada, and has an example. Are you planning to do a Land Acknowledgement? (American Indians in Children's Literature blog) FAQs and what to think about when planning a land acknowledgement. Territory Acknowledgement (native-land.ca) Some whys and hows and additional resources. This site also has an extensive map of indigenous land areas so you can see on whose territory you are. Guide to ...

A space to highlight professional titles, qualification depending on type of institution in this industry. Text image of most popular terms found in Information Professional titles. IFLA Global Vision : “IFLA’s Global Vision Report Summary reveals insights into the views of over 31,000 participants from 190 UN Member States across all seven continents. Overwhelmingly, the most important key finding from the global vision discussion is the discovery that we are globally united in our goals . Across regions, library types and length of engagement with libraries, we share a deep commitment to the enduring value and role of libraries .” ...

Please consider Dis/ability //accessibility  from a patron as well as staff perspective. Areas of discussion: Accessibility from the POV of Patrons/Clients; Accessibility from the POV of LIS staff; Accessibility at Professional conferences or Association “Communities” events. Accessibility from the POV of Patrons/Clients: Stephanie Rosen, accessibility specialist at the University of Michigan Library, in 2018 started her position in this title asking of the  library staff : How is accessibility part of my job? What is disability? How can attention to the needs of people with disabilities ...

This Topic Box includes information on bias and (mis-)representation in online information tools. What books or articles should be added to this list? Reading list :   Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism , by Safiya Umoja Noble, NYU Press, 2018. Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor , by Virginia Eubanks, St Martin's Press, 2018. Race After Technology , by Ruha Benjamin, Polity Press, 2019 Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy , by Cathy O'Neil, Crown, 2016. DICE Topic Boxes are a collective and collaborative effort.  ...

This Topic box is meant to highlight the concept of Privilege and the advantages it gives to some, at the expense of others. As suggested in a blog post by librarian Cecily Walker , this topic box is meant to "discuss these concepts inside (and outside) of professional contexts with an eye toward dismantling those structures that work to keep our profession from diversifying." There are various types of privilege, some include white privilege, male privilege, cisgender privilege, straight privilege, class privilege, religion privilege, education privilege, age privilege, physical ability privilege, and economic privilege are some. To better understand ...

Intersectional Theory was introduced by Kimberlé W. Crenshaw, Professor of Law at Columbia Law School and the University of California, Los Angeles, in " Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics " The University of Chicago Legal Forum 140:139-167 (1989) Also see this 2016 Ted Talk by Crenshaw, The urgency of intersectionality How is this topic is discussed in the Information Professional community: Discussion of intersecting axes of privilege, domination and oppression. Source: Kathryn Pauly Morgan,. “Describing the Emperor's New Clothes: Three ...

Here are some readings on this topic. Members, please let us know via SLA Connect DICE if you know of additional resources we should add here.  Reflections on Gender Oppression and Libraries , by Sarah Lawton; Public Libraries Online, January/February 2018. Salary Negotiation Patterns between Women and Men in Academic Libraries , by Elise Silva, Quinn Galbraith; College & Research Libraries, 79(3):324-335, 2018. Find out the gender pay gap for your job , Office for National Statistics (UK), 2016. This interactive tool has data on dozens of full-time and part-time job classifications. DICE Topic Boxes are a collective and collaborative ...