This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Regular episodes of Get Booked will continue to come out every Thursday, with bonus episodes of The Handsell coming out every Monday. Read the full article at Teen Librarian Toolbox. Diversity in school libraries isn’t just about the numbers, it’s about the impact it has on the lives of the students who use … “As a library system, it’s important for us to highlight and elevate authors of merit, writers of color, women and the LGBTQIA community. However, given that the public library is a forum that … Working with an advisory committee, listed in Table 1, we adapted our survey instrument with two objectives. Alex’s visit opened the eyes of many students who saw him, as some of them may have seen themselves going down the same path as he did in his youth. The Summit begins with an inspirational message of the importance of serving diverse communities. Commonly known as Día, this initiative works to emphasize the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds and was referenced as a best practice in The Importance of Diversity in Library Programs and Material Collections for Children white paper. Let’s look at a specific field where diversity matters: healthcare. Children’s print and digital materials should represent all types of diversity, including race, Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. However, from the dominant culture’s perspective, diversity in libraries is a threat because it challenges normalized knowledge, ideas, and practices. Every school should have a library. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. How can libraries support these important conversations and discussions on campus? As part of his role, Reynolds will be recording interviews with students from around the U.S. to create a story archive of America’s children. ( Log Out /  For example, libraries should aim to develop programs for children, teens, young adults, middle-age individuals and seniors. The workshop “Reflecting Community: The Importance of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Library Staffing” had participants up and moving at the Public Library Association (PLA) Conference in Philadelphia on March 22 as they brainstormed action items for creating a more diverse workforce. Programs should appeal to singles, couples (of all sexual identities) and families. The stories he writes today are a reflection of that experience. We argue that greater diversity in cognitive neuroscience research is needed to improve reproducibility and to serve the treatment needs of a diverse population. Creating a culturally diverse library collection and instilling its use throughout the school curriculum helps to build a school community that is supportive, empathetic and accepting of others. ( Log Out /  It was a tremendous visit that hammered home for me the importance of having an inclusive library. What about ensuring that those students who come from BAME backgrounds get the books that reflect their culture, heritage and ethnic backgrounds? This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – it means there’s tons of choice out there for children of all ages. Then keynote speaker, ALA president, Camila Alire presents on the importance and implementation of diversity. The library is the physical and metaphorical center of my classroom. Jenn and Amanda, former booksellers, take 5 minutes every episode to pitch you a book they think you’ll love, with notes about what readers the book is perfect for. Maha Kumaran is associate librarian for the Education and Music Library at the University of Saskatchewan. In an informal interview, three practitioners with responsibilities for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), either within their institutions or on a consortial/association level, discuss the impact of these two historical events on their current work and their future plans. It is plain that achieving diversity is not a simple or instantaneous endeavor. A strong emphasis is placed on the importance of having diverse library collections that take into account numerous factors, such as race, class, disability, and religion. Staff Diversity. If you’re not sure where to begin, there’s help out there. They can play an active role as a social meeting place. Membership diversity is important for the long‐term success of ORS and the fields of orthopedics and musculoskeletal research. Including diversity in library programming and materials for children is important for all librarians meeting the informational and recreational needs of their local communities. Sarah was asked by our students the importance of ensuring students see themselves reflected in the books they choose from the library. Keep an eye on your inbox. But what about diversity? Sarah’s novel Nothing Ever Happens Here features a character that is transitioning and is aimed at a middle grade audience. “Along with giving students choice [in reading], diversity is the most important issue in the field of teen and children’s literature right now,” says Elaine Fultz, district library media specialist at Madison Jr/Sr High School in Middletown, OH, and among those who responded to SLJ’s survey. The answer is simple - at your local public library. My politics are decidedly left and if you ask for my opinion, expect an honest answer. Although the majority of literature addressing the issue of diversity in the field of academic librarianship focuses on minority and ethnic racial groups, attention is beginning to be placed on other "nontraditional" users—that is, any student who differs from the typical college student with regard to abilities, age, gender/sexuality, nationality or ethnicity, and locale (students taking classes at a remote campus … To incorporate awareness of the value and importance of diversity at all levels of the Libraries so that staff recognize their responsibility in maintaining a culture supportive of and committed to diversity; provide a supportive and safe working and learning environment. • A focus on diversity, inclusion and social justice can be both retrospective and forward-thinking. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Much has been written about how to increase diversity in libraries, including suggestions for improving every step of the process from library and information science education, to hiring and retaining a more diverse workforce, to developing diverse collections and library programs. One of the most engaging and mind blowing author visits we’ve had was from Alex Wheatle, who has a life story so gut wrenching that you have to hear it to believe it. Libraries, which house centuries of learning, information, history, and truth, are important defenders in the fight against misinformation. Amazon.ae: Diversity and Inclusion in Libraries: A Call to Action and Strategies for Success: Jones, Shannon D., Murphy, Beverly: Rowman & Littlefield Multifaceted activities and services provide groups of different ethnical backgrounds with possibilities to enjoy their cultural heritage as well as to cultivate their mother- tongue. Mirror books, on the other hand, provide children with the opportunity to see representations of themselves and their experiences Día was also recognized by the Library of Congress for assuring cultural relevance in literacy programs in the 2013 Literacy Awards Best Practices publication. Our data collection instruments originated in research we conducted on employee diversity in art museums (in partnership with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Association of Art Museum Directors) and cultural organizations in New York City (in partnership with the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs). We discuss the challenges to achieving this goal, including consideration of confounding and correlated variables, recruitment, necessary costs, and best practices for dealing with them. We adapted the methodology for this study from several previous Ithaka S+R projects. Multicultural literature serves many purposes, but its greatest accomplishment is its ability to bring people closer together, regardless of culture and ethnicity. It is a reading world adorned with a carpet, comfy chairs, a lamp, and bins of neatly organized books. If diversity audits are done as a one-off, primarily just so a library or library worker can say they did it, that moves into performative territory. Building a diverse classroom library may be the only way our students get to learn about themselves and the world around them in a non-stereotypical, edifying, non-threatening way. Multicultural literature creates a sense of belonging, forging a connection between home and school environments, and across cultures. More information about the Día initiative can be found at http://dia.ala.org. Important to Libraries A primary mission shared by both academic and public libraries is to meet the streaming video needs of students and patrons for diverse and inclusive content such as African American Studies, LGBTQ+ Studies, Women’s Studies, Disabilities Studies and more. This question came up multiple times regarding my recent series of posts on doing a collection diversity audit. On posts, in tweets, and in my mailbox, one of the questions we – TLT – get asked a lot is “What about the conservatives?” Because we post regularly about GLBTQAI+ literature, talk about advocacy, etc., some are left with the impression that we do not care about meeting the needs of the more conservative parts of our population, which is in no way true. she was interviewed by two of our students. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! I’ve touched on this topic before, using Booktrust to display a list of 30 MG & YA books by authors of colour. 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