How do you make networking effective and meaningful for your career and community? Library professionals affiliated with the American Library Association’s (ALA) New Members Round Table (NMRT) share their strategies for connecting with colleagues and building relationships. 1) Get in the mindset. “You have to go in looking for a positive interaction,” says Athanasia Fitos, … Continue reading 11 Tips for Meaningful Networking
Have you always been an avid reader? Do you have any fond book or library memories from childhood? I always have been an avid reader. It was encouraged in our household. I remember an 18-hour car ride to Colorado from Houston, and reading Lonesome Dove [by Larry McMurtry] for like 17-and-a-half of those 18 hours. … Continue reading Newsmaker: Andrew Luck
“We must construct a moral pathway to the future,” he said. “It’s the library that pushes back. We must be truth protectors.” Miller—who has written 12 books and two memoirs, and was director of Howard University’s African-American Resource Center for more than 40 years—was the keynote speaker at the Closing General Session of the third … Continue reading Protectors of Culture
At “Proceed with Care: Steps Toward Building Trust with Marginalized Communities,” a September 29 session at the third National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color in Albuquerque, New Mexico, two former Escondido (Calif.) Public Library (EPL) employees shared with attendees how they created a participatory archives to engage marginalized communities and put “justice-seeking, caregiving, and … Continue reading Archive with Care
“We are all familiar with what happened in Flint,” said Cassandra Allen, outreach librarian at the National Library of Medicine. So what part can libraries, universities, and other organizations play in making sure people of all races, cultures, and income levels are treated fairly when it comes to environmental development, implementation, and policy? At “Environmental Justice … Continue reading The Path to Environmental Justice
At “Under the Hood: Exploring Academic Library Resident Programs in Practice,” a September 28 panel at the third National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color in Albuquerque, New Mexico, three librarians of color talked about the benefits, challenges, and outcomes of their current and recent residencies. Moderated by Madison Sullivan, business research and instruction library … Continue reading The Reality of Residency Programs
American Library Association (ALA) President Loida Garcia-Febo hopes these prompts and others can be leveraged to create better advocates and visibility for libraries on the local, national, and international level. “This is a time for action. We’re living in challenging times,” she said. “We need a seat at the table.” At “My Library, My Story,” … Continue reading My Library, My Story
At “Engaging and Serving Black Immigrant Communities,” a September 28 session at the third National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Ana Ndumu, PhD postdoctoral researcher at University of Maryland iSchool, presented her findings on the obstacles black immigrants face in accessing information and what libraries can better do to reach … Continue reading Serving Black Immigrants
“Building and place names do matter. They can be those institutional symbols of racism,” said Natalia Fernández, associate professor at Oregon State University (OSU) and curator and archivist of the Oregon Multicultural Archives and OSU Queer Archives in Corvallis. “It can be very impactful, hurtful, and it’s important that we have these conversations.” In “Campus … Continue reading Renaming and Reconciling
Sandy Littletree, PhD candidate at University of Washington and 2011–2012 president of the American Indian Library Association (AILA), posed these questions at the outset of “The History and Currency of Tribal Libraries: Sovereignty, Information, and Empowerment,” a September 27 session at the third National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “There … Continue reading The Challenges of Tribal Libraries
“You are the gatekeepers of American culture. You are what this country needs even though it doesn’t know it needs you. And you do it anonymously,” he said. Sáenz, a New Mexico native, welcomed a standing-room-only crowd to the Third National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC) in Albuquerque on September 27. The Opening … Continue reading Praise for the Gatekeepers
What was the inspiration for Corduroy Takes a Bow? Was Corduroy an iconic character for you growing up? He was an iconic character for me, but more so for my daughter Genesis. I would read to her every single night, and that was the book that stuck. I had to read it over and over … Continue reading Newsmaker: Viola Davis
