Tag: diversity and inclusion

Blogger Library Service to Underserved Children and Their Caregivers committee

Kreyòl, Community, Connection: Reimagining Outreach for Haitian Families

| ALSC Library Service to Underserved Children and Their Caregivers|1 Comment
Super Dad Saturday at the North Miami Public Library

Migration from Haiti to the United States is driven by a complex mix of systemic “push” factors, with nearly half of the nation’s Haitian immigrant population settling in Florida (Finnegan, 2023). For many Haitian families, the transition involves navigating urgent physiological needs before shifting toward “settling in,” a process that includes mastering English, securing childcare, and accessing healthcare (Finnegan, 2023). As we honor Haitian American Heritage Month this May, the City of North Miami Public Library highlights a model that centers these families through intentional, culturally responsive service. Building Trust with the Family Unit Many Haitian families harbor a deep-seated distrust of government entities due to historical experiences in Haiti. Libraries can overcome this by acting as intermediaries, transferring trust from established community partners to the library itself (Finnegan, 2023). North Miami strengthens these bonds by: Intergenerational Support and Accessibility In the Haitian diaspora, school-aged children often acquire English quickly…

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Blogger Erika Hogan

Big and Small: Building Belonging

| Erika Hogan|Leave a comment

I think a lot about what it means to create a space where everyone feels welcome. If the notion of “feeling welcome” sounds kind of abstract, I remind myself that inclusion isn’t abstract at all. It’s specific and located in small moments that make those big foundational values of librarianship tangible. Small steps help build a practice, so here are some reflections on books and ideas that get me thinking about what it means to build a sense of belonging.

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Blogger Library Service to Underserved Children and Their Caregivers committee

Equitable Programming

| ALSC Library Service to Underserved Children and Their Caregivers|Leave a comment

As library and library-adjacent staff, we all probably have a shared mission of making a positive impact on our communities in equitable and inclusive ways. However, how do we ensure that all of our programs, outreach, and services are as equitable as we can make them?  Last month, members of the Library Service to Underserved Children and Their Caregivers Committee, Georgette Spratling and Ewa Wojciechowska, shared how to grow with your community.  As you listen to community members and actively engage with families, there may be opportunities for larger projects and more partnerships to make them possible. This is a great time to ask yourself and your team questions to ensure that the overall approach will bring the largest impact you can make on those who could benefit the most.  Big Picture: Is this program reaching an underserved community where they are?  Example: A library is hosting bilingual Spanish storytime…

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ALA Annual 2023

Creating a Diversi-TEAM at #alaac23

| Jaime Eastman|Leave a comment

No matter the size of your library or your community, diversity is an important part of our experiences. This session was presented by Joselyn Williams and Chris Robinson. Their key idea: No one should be made to feel less than, unwelcomed, or judged. No characteristic or trait should outweigh your worth as a person. Examples included gender, race, ethnicity, age, cultural background, religion, political views, native language, sexual orientation, disabilities, education, and more. The Diversi-TEAM concept combines two elements: diversity and team. In this case, TEAM stands for Through Education Achieve More. This underscores the importance of education in addressing problems with insensitivity and microaggressions. Often, we aren’t aware of our microaggressions. The first step: being aware of our biases and understanding what counts as a microaggression. As an individual and as a leader, you can be the first example. By doing the hard work to recognize your biases and…

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Blogger Intellectual Freedom Committee

Changes to Roald Dahl’s Works Spark Controversy. Is it Right or Wrong?

| ALSC Intellectual Freedom committee|1 Comment

The Roald Dahl Story Company, recently purchased by Netflix, has agreed to change the wording in 17 of Roald Dahl’s written works, after suggestions by consultants from Inclusive Minds, an organization that aims to represent a diverse society through books that foster “inclusivity, diversity, equality, and accessibility in children’s literature.” [Article here.]

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Blogger Intellectual Freedom Committee

Intellectual Freedom & Information Literacy in Valentine’s Day Programs

| ALSC Intellectual Freedom committee|Leave a comment

It’s February, and with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, some of us are preparing for storytimes and programs that either celebrate the day itself, or look at concepts of love, family and friendship. ALSC’s Intellectual Freedom Committee recently released the Intellectual Freedom Programming Toolkit, created to help you incorporate concepts of intellectual freedom and information literacy into staple programs like these. Here’s 3 ideas inspired by the toolkit that you can use to incorporate these principles into your existing Valentine’s Day storytimes.

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Blogger Library Service to Underserved Children and Their Caregivers committee

Overwhelmed by: Outreach to Migrant Communities

| ALSC Library Service to Underserved Children and Their Caregivers|Leave a comment

Outreach to underserved communities is an overwhelming endeavor. Our committee does not want to make it look easy because it truly is not. However, we truly believe that all library staff can do this type of work with the right tools and support. This is why one of our focuses this year is to bridge the gap between tangible resources (like our existing toolkits) and how to get started. Melody Leung and Marika Jeffrey wrote an article in this summer’s issue of  Children and Libraries with some guiding questions to help evaluate your community, develop fruitful partnerships, and implement programs and outreach with specific communities in mind.  Guiding questions can be helpful but specific examples might help bring those concepts to life. Here is a specific example about reaching out to a migrant community: Getting Started  Four years ago, I started working in a rural community in Washington State. To…

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Blogger Chelsey Roos

How to Conduct a Diversity Audit

| Charlie|4 Comments

I learned about the concept of a diversity audit from a School Library Journal article by Karen Jensen. In a diversity audit, you evaluate an existing collection or service provided by your library to get hard numbers on how diverse your collection or service truly is. This can cover anything from seeing what percentage of your board books feature non-white characters, to how many LGBTQ+ titles are written by Own Voices authors, or evaluating the performers you’ve hired over the last year to see if they are representing diverse cultures.

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