Library core values can align with contemporary social justice issues. Library leaders who find it difficult to grasp the social justice movement need to think about how they should use their leadership to understand, if not embrace, social justice issues and the staff who support them.
Racial literacy requires critical thinking to assess situations or texts for inequalities, which is part of comprehensive information literacy skills. As society is making more of an effort to value underrepresented groups’ experiences, we need to make that same type of progress in libraries.
Many people documenting microaggressions in higher ed, faced with the resultant backlash, found that their institutions were not ready to back them up. At the 2018 American Library Association annual convention, a panel titled “Bullying, Trolling, and Doxxing, Oh My! Protecting our Advocacy and Public Discourse around Diversity and Social Justice” examined that gap.
What type of leader are you? What is your purpose, and who do you serve? Some new research about leaders’ mindsets examines assumptions and beliefs about the nature and purpose of leadership—and how to make the most of it.
Council revisited its ongoing plan to reorganize for effectiveness and efficiency, adopted several important resolutions, and more at the 2018 Annual ALA Conference,
Longtime archivist, former head of the Vancouver Public Library’s history division, and queer rights activist Ron Dutton donated more than 750,000 items documenting the British Columbia LGBTQ community to the City of Vancouver Archives in March.
As Canada’s Saskatoon Public Library, Saskatchewan, nears the launch of its new organization-wide restructuring, employees are both excited and apprehensive about their new roles, library leadership is optimistic about the shift to a community-led model, and negotiations with the library workers’ union are still in progress.
Library leaders often also head citywide initiatives and national associations. How do they balance the demands of both?
Success for your library means offering staff room to move up and having a plan for who can grow into their spots—even yours.
