Complete a collection audit in this transformative online workshop and guest speaker program March 8, 15, and 22 with live sessions at 2 pm Eastern Time.

Course Overview

When you attend this interactive online course, you’ll come away with: 

• The ability to assess current library collections, book promotions, and displays through a diverse lens in order to assess gaps in collections and service areas.

• An understanding of key diversity and cultural literacy concepts such as white privilege, unconscious bias, cultural appropriation, and intersectionality.

• The ability to recognize common problematic stereotypes, tropes, and microaggressions in media.

• The ability to assess the diversity and inclusiveness of current collection development and RA practices.

• Guidance on planning and executing a diversity audit.

• Tools, tips, and advice on how to better diversify collections and displays.

• A plan of action to better diversify your library collections and address gap areas that will transform your understanding of your library users and the services you provide.

Who should take this course

Any educator or librarian wanting to learn how to build and maintain diverse collections. 

Live sessions are also available on demand 

Can’t make a live session? All guest speaker sessions are recorded and available on demand following the initial broadcast.

Certificate of completion provided

15 professional development credits are available

For support with online courses, please contact libraryjournal@edmaker.co

This is a companion course to How to Build an Antiracist Library Culture, which we recommend taking before or after How to Build Diverse Collections. 

Course Format

Inspiring Live Guest Speakers + Facilitated Group Workshop for Project-Based Learning

Engage with presenters via live video stream, visual presentations, and chats, and workshop practical solutions in groups, with guidance from an advisor, to map out your own diversity audit. You’ll complete work to ensure that your collections are diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

Online Course Features

• Instructor-led online course features personalized interaction over 3+ weeks

• Real-time guest speakers and conversation via live video stream (with recordings available afterward)

• Workshop assignments to help you make progress on your goals

• Individualized attention from course facilitators who work with you in a coaching environment in the workshop to help sort out challenges

• Ongoing group conversation via discussion forums

• Supporting resources (articles, videos, worksheets) in the online classroom to provide a foundation for your work

• Access all course content for six months after the course ends

• Bonus: Register early and get immediate access to archival video recordings from related courses and other bonus content

Course Curriculum Advisor

Robin Bradford, Collection Development Librarian, Pierce County Library System (WA)

Recognized as a leader in the management and coordination of library collections, Robin Bradford has extensive experience managing library collections, budgets, vendors, contracts, and services. She is a highly regarded speaker on the subject of library collection development and has been an integral part of Library Journal courses for the past several years.

Group Rates

Discounted registration fees are available for groups of 3 or more. To get details on group pricing, contact us.

By registering for this event you confirm that you have read and agree to our Code of Conduct.

For support with online courses, please contact libraryjournal@edmaker.co.

Week 1: Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Session 1 | 2:00-2:45 pm ET

Actively Anti-Racist Service to Leisure Readers

Being aware of a lack of diversity in your library collections and having the intention to make a change is important, but having a plan of action to address these problems is where the magic happens. In this conversation between Robin Bradford and Becky Spratford, you’ll learn concrete strategies for making lasting change in your approach to collection development and readers’ advisory, ensuring your library’s collections and suggestions are diverse, inclusive, and anti-racist. 

Speakers:

	Robin Bradford, Collection Development Librarian, Pierce County Library System (WA)
	Becky Spratford, Readers’ Advisory Specialist

Workshop Q&A | 2:45-3:00 pm ET

An introduction to this week’s assignment and an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course

Session 2 | 3:00-3:45 pm ET

Conducting a Diversity Audit of Your Collections and Ordering

In this session, we’ll discuss the process of conducting a diversity audit of both your collections and your ordering processes. You’ll learn how to plan a diversity audit, which salient data points should be included, how to gather the requisite information, how to set goals to address gaps, and how to make diversity and inclusion natural and ongoing parts of collection management and promotion. You’ll come away with an understanding of what to do with your data once you have it, how to create a plan of implementation, and where to go next.

Speakers:

	Betsy Bird, Collection Development Manager, Evanston Public Library (IL)
	Dontaná McPherson-Joseph, Collection Management Librarian, Oak Park Public Library (IL)

Session 3 | 3:45-4:00 pm ET

Auditing Your Non-Fiction Collection

Can we apply the same audit process to all of our collections, both fiction and non-fiction? In this session, you’ll learn where the processes align, and where they differ, including top tips and considerations for your non-fiction collection audit. You’ll come away with a framework for assessing your current non-fiction collections and the vital information you need to know to make progress on your goals.

Speaker:

Colleen Wood, Knowledge and Learning Services Librarian, Darien Library (CT)

Week 2: Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Stereotypes, Tropes, and Cultural Appropriation: A Collection Development Deep Dive

Some common stereotypes in books and media are easy to spot—others require a more fine-tuned understanding of culture and history. In this series of enlightening sessions, you will learn how to spot problematic stereotypes and tropes and how to avoid unintentionally perpetuating such depictions. You will hear from several experts in the field about the ways that specific marginalized cultures—Native American, Asian American, African American, and LGBTQIA+—are portrayed in mainstream media, their cultural traditions misunderstood or misrepresented, and their stories appropriated by cultural outsiders. You’ll walk away with the knowledge you need to build a more representative, inclusive collection at your library or institution.
 

Session 1 | 2:00-2:30 pm ET
Speaker:

Jennifer Baker, Writer, Editor, Advocate, and Founder, Minorities in Publishing podcast

Session 2 | 2:30-3:00 pm ET
Speakers:

	Mahasin Abuwi Aleem, Childrens Collection Management Librarian, Oakland Public Library (CA), Co-Founder, Hijabi Librarians
	Hadeal Salamah, Lower and Middle School Librarian, Georgetown Day School, Washington DC

Workshop Q&A | 3:00-3:15 pm ET

An introduction to this week’s assignment and an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course

Session 3 | 3:15-3:45 pm ET
Speaker:

Carson Williams, Collection Development Librarian at Cornell University

Session 4 | 3:45-4:15 pm ET
Speaker:

Kara Stewart, Author, Teacher, Literacy Specialist

Session 5 | 4:15-4:45 pm ET

Sponsored Session by Overdrive

Equity, Representation and Your Digital Library

Diversity issues impact all communities. Libraries have been at the forefront at this critical time in our history, leading the way by tackling misconceptions with programs and materials. Join librarians from OverDrive and the Municipal Library Consortium (MO) as they reflect on the first iteration of OverDrive's Diversity Audit. We will discuss feedback from librarians, next steps, and actions taken by libraries after the audit. Learn more about how OverDrive's diversity audit can help you plan and prioritize creating a diverse digital collection.
Speakers: 

Maria Fesz, Collection Development Team Lead, OverDrive

Heather Arnold, ILS Administrator and Selector for the Municipal Library Consortium (MO)

Week 3: Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Session 1 | 2:00-2:45 pm ET

Reading, Writing, and Reviewing Diverse Books: A Conversation

There’s more to building diverse collections than auditing! In this session, we’ll approach diversifying your collections from new angles, considering the author and reviewer’s perspectives in the process. You’ll hear why one author started writing, what they found missing from the books they were seeing on the shelves, and what improvements they’ve seen since they’ve been in the business. You’ll also hear from a collection development expert and reviewer on both the great benefits and the limitations of the review. This session will help you broaden your approach to collection development and enhance your ability to build a more equitable collection.

Speakers: 

Cadwell Turnbull, author of The Lesson and No Gods, No Monsters

Kristi Chadwick, Science Fiction & Fantasy Columnist, Library Journal, Consultant, Massachusetts Library System

Workshop Q&A | 2:45-3:00 pm ET

An introduction to this week’s assignment and an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course

Session 2 | 3:00-3:45 pm ET

Librarianship Through a Racial Reckoning

How do our personal identities impact the culture of our libraries? A truly inclusive library culture begins, first, with ourselves and considering how our blindspots can impact what our library spaces become. Creating libraries that reflect, and are safe for, BIPOC children and youth, is an active, ongoing practice requiring intent and unflagging effort. In this closing keynote, Dr. Kim Parker will help you think through how you can create an environment that is liberatory and reflective of diverse populations, on your shelves and beyond.

For support with online courses, please contact libraryjournal@edmaker.co.

Thank you to our sponsor, Overdrive!