Channel: Libraries & Advocacy – Stephanie L. Gross, MSLIS

Preserving Our Values Libraries as social change agents

June 16, 2016, 12:50 pm

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By Karen Muller | May 31, 2016

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In 1999, the American Library Association (ALA) Council adopted the statement “Libraries: An American Value.” The principles in that document, in the Library Bill of Rights, and in our mission all speak to the importance of libraries as agents of change and protectors of our heritage. These books speak to those principles.

The Intellectual Freedom Manual is a guide to providing library service in support of First Amendment rights. For the manual’s 9th edition, the background information on its policies has been pulled into a separate volume, A History of ALA Policy on Intellectual Freedom: A Supplement to the Intellectual Freedom Manual, compiled by editor Trina Magi and assistant editor Martin Garnar for ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. The essays on these core intellectual freedom documents and their interpretations provide insights on why they were developed, as well as narratives on events that precipitated discussions that led to agreed-upon practices for dealing with issues. Two of the three core documents, the Library Bill of Rights and the Code of Ethics, both adopted by ALA Council in 1939, informed the third, the Freedom to Read Statement, which was adopted in 1953. These were documents of their time, and the histories of their evolution are important reading. ALA Editions, 2015. 172 P. $85. PBK. 978-0-8389-1325-3. (Also available as an ebook.)

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Filed under: Libraries & Advocacy Tagged: censorship, ethics, ethics in libraries, freedom of access, intellectual freedom

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4 Ways to See Your Library from a Patron’s Perspective

October 13, 2016, 8:18 am

≫ Next: Best LL&F Advice of 2016

≪ Previous: Preserving Our Values Libraries as social change agents

As a librarian who interacts daily with other library staff, it’s easy to forget how our users may view the library. Our patrons may not know where to locate items in our collection or how many ite…

Source: 4 Ways to See Your Library from a Patron’s Perspective

Filed under: Libraries & Advocacy

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Best LL&F Advice of 2016

December 8, 2016, 7:52 am

≫ Next: New McCarthyism starts against librarians in Trump’s America?

≪ Previous: 4 Ways to See Your Library from a Patron’s Perspective

dumpsterfire-2016-t-shirt-black-midnight-swatch-400x400 This past year has sucked. The world is less melodic (Bowie, Prince, Cohen, etc.) and safe now more than ever. There is no better time to step up and be a leader. Below is a list of some of the best LL&F posts of 2016. If you are new to our blog, consider this a sampler of the great advice from library leaders all over the world. My hope is you find some wisdom and direction too help kick ass in 2017.

9 Ways to Become an Even Awesome Library Leader in 2016

You’re a Librarian 24 Hours a Day: Interview with Heather Lowe of Dallas Public Library

Don’t Overthink It: How Librarians Can Conquer Perfectionism with Mindfulness

4 Ways to See Your Library from a Patron’s Perspective

Advice on Being a Good Library Boss

Why We Talk Crap About Patrons

Fix Your Library’s Internal Communication in 20 Minutes with Standup Meetings

Lead From Where You Are

Introverts and Extroverts: Interpersonal Dynamics in a Library Workplace

Write Your Own Story

Do you you advice or a story to share about your leadership journey? Maybe 2017 is the year you contiribute to LL&F! Please email librarylostfound@gmail.com if you want to write for the blog. Read on LL&F Blog

Filed under: Emerging Trends in Librarianship, Internships & Work Experience, Jobs, employment, training, Libraries & Advocacy, LIS: Library and Information Science, Mentoring & Leadership Building Tagged: leadership in libraries, leadership training, librarians, library activism, library advocacy, public librarians, succession planning

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New McCarthyism starts against librarians in Trump’s America?

December 13, 2016, 7:23 am

≫ Next: Stand, Fight, Resist

≪ Previous: Best LL&F Advice of 2016

Naomi Schaefer Riley

In Donald Trump’s America, you might have to wave good-bye to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, with budget given as an excuse—not the best of news for the rural people who voted for him.

But there is also another possible danger: McCarthy-style witch hunts against librarians, along with the questioning of the need for the current number of them.

Today a New York Post columnist named Naomi Schaefer Riley took potshots at librarians worried about about the Trump administration’s threat to such trifles as free expression and diversity. None other than an acquaintance of mine, Sarah “Librarian in Black” Houghton, was among those in the crosshairs.

In Why quiet-loving librarians can’t shut up about politics, Naomi Schaefer Riley wrote:

Read article: New McCarthyism starts against librarians in Trump’s America?

Filed under: Censorship and Free Speech, Libraries & Advocacy, LIS: Library and Information Science, Museums & Special Collections Tagged: Donal Trump, IMLS, Institute of Museum and Library Services

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Stand, Fight, Resist

December 19, 2016, 11:48 am

≫ Next: Yes, Digital Literacy. But Which One?

≪ Previous: New McCarthyism starts against librarians in Trump’s America?

December 16, 2016

The idea that libraries are neutral spaces has been well and disabused over the last few years. From the services we offer to the collections that we curate, the decisions that libraries and librarians make are political ones that reflect values. Sometimes those are the values of the organization, sometimes the values of the individuals, and sometimes they are the values of the communities that the library serves. Those values are illustrated by our technologies, our ontologies, and our descriptors. Those who attempt to hold that “neutrality” of information access is an ideal for which to strive have had a hard time holding to that stance as increasing numbers of librarians question and deconstruct our profession. I would like to suggest something even stronger…that even if it were possible for libraries to be neutral spaces, that to create such a space would be morally questionable, and potentially actively morally wrong.

I say this as someone who firmly believes in the maxim of combating bad speech with more speech. I am not here advocating controls or restrictions on speech. But it is not the responsibility of every library to collect and distribute literature of hate, or falsehoods, or lies. Some libraries do need to collect everything, the good and the bad, for archival and historical study purposes, but those libraries are fairly obviously identified in practice and the vast majority of libraries should and could take a stand with their actions, programs, policies, and collections to be on the side of justice and scientific fact.

Neutrality favors the powerful, and further marginalizes the marginalized. In the face of the current political climate, with the use of opinions as bludgeons and disinformation as the weapon of choice for manipulation and intellectual coercion, it is up to those who value fact and believe in the care of those in need to stand up and positively affirm that to do otherwise is evil.

Filed under: Emerging Trends in Librarianship, Leadership and Managment, Libraries & Advocacy Tagged: equity, ethics, fascism, intellectual freedom, justice, librarians, Libraries, Library, mandate, security online, social contract

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Yes, Digital Literacy. But Which One?

December 20, 2016, 1:37 pm

≫ Next: Library Policies Created By Patron Bashing

≪ Previous: Stand, Fight, Resist

Hapgood

One of the problems I’ve had for a while with traditional digital literacy programs is that they tend to see digital literacy as a separable skill from domain knowledge.

In the metaphor of most educators, there’s a set of digital or information literacy skills, which is sort of like the factory process. And there’s data, which is like raw material. You put the data through the critical literacy process and out comes useful information on the other side. You set up the infolit processes over a few days of instruction, and then you start running the raw material through the factory, for everything from newspaper articles on the deficit to studies on sickle cell anemia. Useful information, correctly weighted, comes out the other end. Hooray!

This traditional information/web literacy asks students to go to a random page and ask questions like “Who runs this page? What is their expertise? Do…

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Filed under: Libraries & Advocacy

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Library Policies Created By Patron Bashing

December 21, 2016, 12:40 pm

≫ Next: [IFLA-L] Open Societies are Healthy Societies: IFLA rejects unjustified barriers to the free movement of persons

≪ Previous: Yes, Digital Literacy. But Which One?

Library Lost & Found

images-2 Talking crap about patrons, as I’ve said before, might be the number one barrier to customer service in libraries. And when we talk about customer service we don’t just mean personal interactions at the public service desk – that’s the tip of the iceberg. We mean policies, procedures, services: from design to implementation. And sadly, a culture of patron negativity melts the iceberg (and prevents innovation).

Some examples (write yours in the comments):

Public service desks that look like military forts
I’m sure there’s some historical reason for gigantic public service desks – like we didn’t have computers back then or whatever – but c’mon. My library has an AV desk (“AV”, by the way, stands for “audiovisual”…that’s another discussion). Anyway, the AV desk is so large that helping a patron involves taking a short jog around the block. Showing the patron where a movie is – a hallmark of good customer service…

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Filed under: Customer Service, Libraries & Advocacy, public libraries, User Experience Tagged: community outreach, library patrons, user experience

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[IFLA-L] Open Societies are Healthy Societies: IFLA rejects unjustified barriers to the free movement of persons

February 2, 2017, 10:16 am

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Human Rights | Library ethics & Advocacy | Freedom of Movement

logo-ifla Open Societies are Healthy Societies

Libraries are at the heart of healthy societies. By bringing people together – students, researchers, creators, citizens – they support learning, sharing, and the creation of new ideas.

They also support the delivery of key human rights, as set out both in national constitutions and international conventions, most importantly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: freedom of expression and access to information, as well as the right to participate in cultural life and enjoy the benefits of scientific progress.

Libraries have long supported the flow of ideas and information across borders. IFLA has called for reforms to laws that hold this back. Evidence shows that such flows promote innovation and creativity, which in turn drives growth, jobs and equality everywhere.

However, arbitrary and unjustified barriers to the movement of people jeopardise this situation. Such policies run contrary to states’ obligations under international law, which prohibit discrimination of any kind on the basis of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, as set out in the UN’s New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants.

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Read more: www.ifla.org/node/11176

Filed under: Censorship and Free Speech, Libraries & Advocacy Tagged: diversity, ethics, FOIA, freedom of movement, Freedom of speech, human rights, IFLA, migration, tolerance

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Libraries Serve Refugees | Resources by librarians – for everyone

February 8, 2017, 11:54 am

≫ Next: Mark Cuban: Don’t Go to College to Study Business. Study the Humanities | February 18, 2017

≪ Previous: [IFLA-L] Open Societies are Healthy Societies: IFLA rejects unjustified barriers to the free movement of persons

Library Services | Refugees | Outreach

Urban Librarians Unite (ULU)

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This is an effort to bring together resources and assets to help libraries serve refugees. This is a growing and developing resource and is an active space for developing services, programming, and resources. All input is welcome. We are particularly looking to build a body of experts in this area and connect them to libraries that are developing services to refugee populations.

We will be looking at best practices, toolkits, case studies, government resources, NGO partnership possibilities, and asset development. Please check back for regular updates and if you are interested in joining our research team contact us ASAP.

This list is meant as a resource and is far from exhaustive. If you have more information or other resources we are interested in hearing about it. Please contact us here.

This content has been broken down into:

FAST RESOURCES – General practical information including toolkits, govt reports, and webinars
TOOLKITS – Toolkits, just-add-water
GOVERNMENT RESOURCES – Official reports, practical guidance, watch for changes
LOCATIONS – Libraries that are providing direct support services to refugees
ARTICLES – News stories about libraries providing services to refugees

Link to website

Filed under: Customer Service, Libraries & Advocacy, public libraries Tagged: best practices, bibliography, government, library services, outreach, refugees, resources, toolkits

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Mark Cuban: Don’t Go to College to Study Business. Study the Humanities | February 18, 2017

February 21, 2017, 1:12 pm

≫ Next: Preserving U.S. Government Websites and Data as the Obama Term Ends

≪ Previous: Libraries Serve Refugees | Resources by librarians – for everyone

Career Advice | Higher Education

by John Fea cuban

Johnson: So essentially what you’re making the case for is education and job training for grown ups.

Cuban: No, no. I think that won’t matter. What are you going to go back and learn to do?

Johnson: What it takes, right? Whether it’s finance, whether it’s software programming.

Cuban: No finance. That’s the easiest thing — you just take the data have it spit out whatever you need. I personally think there’s going to be a greater demand in 10 years for liberal arts majors than there were for programming majors and maybe even engineering, because when the data is all being spit out for you, options are being spit out for you, you need a different perspective in order to have a different view of the data. And so having someone who is more of a freer thinker.

Cuban’s forecast of the skills needed to succeed in the future echoes that of computer science and higher education experts who believe people with “soft skills,” like adaptability and communication, will have the advantage in an automated workforce.

Cuban highlighted English, philosophy, and foreign language majors as just some of the majors that will do well in the future job market.

Watch the entire interview here.

Filed under: Libraries & Advocacy Tagged: career advice, employment, higher educaiton, soft skills

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Preserving U.S. Government Websites and Data as the Obama Term Ends

February 22, 2017, 7:07 am

≫ Next: ‘Not Sitting Quietly Anymore’: How Librarians Are Fighting Trump

≪ Previous: Mark Cuban: Don’t Go to College to Study Business. Study the Humanities | February 18, 2017

Archives | Internet |Government websites

Jefferson December 15, 2016

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Long before the 2016 Presidential election cycle librarians have understood this often-overlooked fact: vast amounts of government data and digital information are at risk of vanishing when a presidential term ends and administrations change. For example, 83% of .gov pdf’s disappeared between 2008 and 2012.

That is why the Internet Archive, along with partners from the Library of Congress, University of North Texas, George Washington University, Stanford University, California Digital Library, and other public and private libraries, are hard at work on the End of Term Web Archive, a wide-ranging effort to preserve the entirety of the federal government web presence, especially the .gov and .mil domains, along with federal websites on other domains and official government social media accounts.

While not the only project the Internet Archive is doing to preserve government websites, ftp sites, and databases at this time, the End of Term Web Archive is a far reaching one.

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‘Not Sitting Quietly Anymore’: How Librarians Are Fighting Trump

February 23, 2017, 11:24 am

≫ Next: How values guide our understanding of trends and transition

≪ Previous: Preserving U.S. Government Websites and Data as the Obama Term Ends

Librarians | Activism | Social justice

Feb 20 2017 5:23 PM

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Photo by B. Harvey via Stocksy

Though some people may think the job involves more shushing than rallying, many librarians consider “making America read again” to be a radical political proposition.

When Audrey Lorberfeld woke up in her Brooklyn apartment on Saturday, January 28, she was, like much of the country, angry. In the first week of his presidency, Donald Trump had already signed executive orders reinstating an expanded global gag rule, calling for the construction of a border wall between the United States and Mexico, reopening the possibility of the Dakota Access pipeline, and, on Friday, January 27, barring any travelers into the US from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Within hours of the order’s signing, two Iraqis who’d flown into JFK—53-year-old Hameed Khalid Darweesh, arriving from Iraq, and 33-year-old Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, arriving from Sweden—were detained. Overnight, while lawyers representing the two refugees worked to file a suit for their release, news of their detention spread, and by 11 AM on Saturday, organizations like the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) had put out a call for protesters outside JFK’s Terminal 4.

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How values guide our understanding of trends and transition

March 2, 2017, 11:41 am

≫ Next: The Sharing Economy and libraries: does “access over ownership” ring a bell? (FREE IFLA/ALA Webinar, March 8)

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Center for the Future of Libraries | Library Trends | Core Library Values

future-web

For many futurists and trend spotters, “futuring” is fundamentally about the study of change.

“We can learn a great deal about what may happen in the future by looking systematically at what is actually happening now,” wrote Edward Cornish, one of the founders of the World Future Society.

We study change so we can prepare for the many futures that might happen. We start seeing what’s coming next. We study so that we won’t be surprised. And we study so that we’ll be better prepared to start creating the future.

That’s good news for library and information professionals. We are expert in finding, organizing, processing, and prioritizing information. From wherever we are in our organizations, we all have opportunities to observe changes in our communities and consider the implications over the long term.

But observation is simply not enough. One of the biggest lessons my colleagues and I have learned while developing the Center for the Future of Libraries is that studying change is useless without considering values. We need to look at trends and changes with consideration of our own professional values (confidentiality and privacy, diversity, equitable access, intellectual freedom and expression, preservation) and the values that we seek to provide to our communities (a civic commons, democracy, discovery, education and literacy, public discourse). And so, looking at changes, we need to ask ourselves what they might mean for intellectual freedom, for education, for equitable access, or for any of the other values that drive our work. Read more….

Filed under: Censorship and Free Speech, Emerging Trends in Librarianship, Leadership and Managment, Librarians as Activists, Libraries & Advocacy, LIS: Library and Information Science Tagged: access, activism, best practices, Center for the Future of Libraries, diversity, equity, librarians, library services, professional values

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The Sharing Economy and libraries: does “access over ownership” ring a bell? (FREE IFLA/ALA Webinar, March 8)

March 8, 2017, 7:17 am

≫ Next: You’ve Got the Job, Now What? How to Stay Relevant at the Workplace

≪ Previous: How values guide our understanding of trends and transition

Professional development | Continuing education | Webinar | Advocacy

I plan to attend.

IFLA New Professionals Special Interest Group

Sharing Economy and Libraries

People around the world have been transforming the unused capacity of things they own and services they provide, such as business expertise, power tools, bikes and even cars. The National Journal writes “Libraries are especially apt to increase their relevance in the coming years, considering the rise of the ‘sharing economy,’ a concept arguably invented by the first libraries.”

In the digital era, how do libraries continue to be relevant community resources?

Even though the Sharing Economy model resembles a traditional library borrowing model, libraries are extending their services to borrow everything — from seeds and kitchen appliances to music instruments, crafting tools, sewing machines and opening Repair Cafes.

Join us for the webinar on March 8 at 11:00 am EST (5:00 pm CET) with Loida Garcia-Febo and George Needham!

Speakers

Keynote: “Librarians building capacity for advocacy through education” by Loida Garcia-Febo

Libraries are pillars of public…

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Filed under: Jobs, employment, training, Leadership and Managment, Librarians as Activists, Libraries & Advocacy, LIS: Library and Information Science, Mentoring & Leadership Building, School Libraries/School Media Centers Tagged: #LibraryAdvocacy, #LibraryFunding, IFLA, outreach, webinar

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You’ve Got the Job, Now What? How to Stay Relevant at the Workplace

March 8, 2017, 9:00 am

≫ Next: What You Need to Know About Yourself to Help You With Workplace Change

≪ Previous: The Sharing Economy and libraries: does “access over ownership” ring a bell? (FREE IFLA/ALA Webinar, March 8)

Career Advice | Mentoring | Employment |Professional development

By Waajida L. Small on February 22, 2017

Do more, achieve more, stay relevant

You’ve made it through the first 18 months of your social-impact job! Give yourself a pat on the back. I know it wasn’t easy but you didn’t break, and now you’ve made a name for yourself.

As I mentioned in part one of this series, You’ve Got the Job…What’s Next?, once you’ve been at your job for 12-18 months, you should be working toward “Superstar Status” by stepping outside of your role and establishing yourself as a leader. You’ll need to be more and do more in order to stay relevant.

Here’s how to stay relevant at the workplace by excelling at your work and stepping up for new challenges, opportunities, and responsibilities:

Be an advocate and an ambassador

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What You Need to Know About Yourself to Help You With Workplace Change

March 8, 2017, 9:05 am

≫ Next: Ten Things That Are Worse For Your Career Than Getting Fired

≪ Previous: You’ve Got the Job, Now What? How to Stay Relevant at the Workplace

Workplace | Self-Knowledge | Adaptation

Excellent points concerning self-knowledge and success in the workplace.

Read article…

The Office Blend

windsofchange2

I’ve been told that I am not the best role model concerning change. I agree with the characterization. I initially balk at the mere idea of change — holding on to hope that the change won’t come to pass. (Then adjusting my course will not be necessary.)

As you may have read in this post, I’ve struggled to cope with those changes. I muddle along until the “new normal”finally appears. However, until that time I feel annoyed and out of sync. For better or worse, my “go to” reaction is to keep things frozen — until I can carefully consider every aspect of the situation. Unfortunately, holding time at bay usually isn’t an option.

Regardless, I firmly acknowledge the value of flexing our workplace “change muscles”. But knowing ourselves is likely the very first place to look when building this skill set. I believe that we all have a leading…

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Filed under: employment, Internships & Work Experience, Jobs, employment, training, Leadership and Managment, Libraries & Advocacy, Mentoring & Leadership Building

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Ten Things That Are Worse For Your Career Than Getting Fired

March 9, 2017, 11:45 am

≫ Next: Four Reasons to Care About Your Digital Footprint | Internet Society

≪ Previous: What You Need to Know About Yourself to Help You With Workplace Change

Career advice | Employment | Job termination

by Liz Ryan | March 7, 2017

Shutterstock

Dear Liz,

I am in a sticky situation at work. I was transferred into this position against my will a year ago.

My supervisor “Vince” is the least popular supervisor in the company. Nobody transfers into his department voluntarily…..

Dear Cam,

If Vince terminates you, you will find out that getting fired is not a big deal, especially when you know it’s a personality conflict and nothing more……

Getting fired is not damaging to your career unless you believe it is.

Here are 10 things that are worse for your career than getting fired: [italics mine]

1. Staying in a job you hate only because you’re afraid of making a change.

2. Letting your co-workers down so many times that they stop trusting you, and building a bad reputation for yourself in the process.

Read article:

Filed under: employment, Internships & Work Experience, Jobs, Jobs, employment, training, Leadership and Managment, Libraries & Advocacy, LIS: Library and Information Science, Mentoring & Leadership Building Tagged: career advice, HR, termination, unemployment, work history, work transition, workplace

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Four Reasons to Care About Your Digital Footprint | Internet Society

April 13, 2017, 9:14 am

≫ Next: THE RAZOR’S EDGE: Libraries in a Time of Crisis: Remaking the Social Compact

≪ Previous: Ten Things That Are Worse For Your Career Than Getting Fired

Filed under: EdTEch: Educational Technology, information literacy, Libraries & Advocacy Tagged: digital citizenship, digital footprint, digital literacy, internet safety, privacy

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THE RAZOR’S EDGE: Libraries in a Time of Crisis: Remaking the Social Compact

April 20, 2017, 7:00 am

≫ Next: 15 Ways To Get The Confidence Boost You Need At Work

≪ Previous: Four Reasons to Care About Your Digital Footprint | Internet Society

Public libraries | Democracy | Activism | Library services

by Brendan Howley

Fifty-six years ago, on Jan. 20, 1961, President John F. Kennedy put millions of Americans to a very particular test: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Kennedy’s call to action has the feel of a different time—of a different America—when libraries were reverential places where books came and went in silence, except for the soft thump of the librarian’s rubber stamp on the due date card.

Welcome to the battered U.S. social compact of 2017, the centenary of Kennedy’s birth. Perhaps never since the chaos of the civil rights movement slamming into the nascent resistance of the Vietnam War has America been so darkly, damagingly split. Culturally, politically, emotionally, and even spiritually, the country has precious little common ground.

Libraries are that common ground. Moreover, they at once stand apart from their communities—as trusted repositories of a community’s past and intellectually honest resources for the community’s future—and couldn’t be closer to the day-to-day pulse of community life. They aren’t alone as essential services: Museums and hospitals, each in their own ways, serve vital needs of identity and care. But libraries are custodians of the very fabric of society, because they nurture discovery, self-worth, and belief in possibility, and they share the tools to make social goods manifest.

And libraries share something else, something intangible that needs to be made tangible: inclusivity. Libraries serve everyone without distinction. Standing up to the Department of Homeland Security, which Edward Snowden cheered in a now-famous tweet, a New Hampshire public library and its community—with the help of the Library Freedom Project—protected their patrons’ privacy by installing an anonymous internet browsing network. This is no small thing—and I write this as someone who, in his past life, was an investigative journalist specializing in intelligence and counterintelligence matters. Read more…

Filed under: Librarians as Activists, Libraries & Advocacy, public libraries Tagged: activism, civil liberties, social contract

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15 Ways To Get The Confidence Boost You Need At Work

May 11, 2017, 10:32 am

≫ Next: New ACRL Report Highlights Library Contributions to Student Learning and Success

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Career advice | Mentoring | Coaching |Workplace

May 10, 2017 Forbes coaches Council

Competence, professionalism and interpersonal relationship skills are some of the crucial ingredients for workplace success, but they can only take you so far without self-confidence. If you’ve been feeling unsure of yourself at work lately or if you feel your skill set is no longer a match for your job requirements, you are in dire need of a confidence boost.

While self-assurance is not typically something we are born with, it can be built successfully by taking the right steps.

Below, 15 members of Forbes Coaches Council share their best advice to help you get the boost of confidence you need to fulfill your workplace potential.

1. Review Your Past Wins

Think of a past win or accomplishment and remember how good it felt to succeed, how effortlessly you were able to accomplish your goals, and how you have everything within you necessary to do it all over again. Confidence can build heavily on memory – if you lack confidence in a new opportunity or a new environment, remember what got you there in the first place. – Amanda Miller Littlejohn, Package Your Genius Academy

2. Start By Noticing Your Inner Critic

Read more…