Beyond Diversity Speak: Practicing Cultural Humility in your Library

This year’s program will be focused on incorporating cultural humility into equity, diversity, and inclusion professional development in academic libraries.

Sara Ahmed (2012) describes diversity initiatives as frequently being “happy talk” that institutions write into their strategic plans and mission statements to manage their image but then do not integrate into everyday practice. While some libraries make a concerted effort to provide diversity or cultural competency training opportunities, often the attention is superficial and/or uninformed. Nicole Cooke (2016) stresses the importance of cultural humility in serving diverse populations.

Cultural humility is a cousin to cultural competency, but while cultural competency means learning about other cultures, cultural humility means continuously working to uncover how we and the institutions in which we engage are complicit in underserving some and overserving others and making ourselves accountable for rectifying the disparity. To do this, librarians and libraries need tools to help them reflect on themselves and their institutions, facilitate difficult discussions, and imagine new possibilities.

In the afternoon, Theatre of the Oppressed in NYC (TONYC) will run a workshop devoted to reflecting on some of the ways that systems of power structure how we and our institutions do our work.*  Their methodology is based on techniques developed by the legendary Brazilian theatre director and activist Augusto Boal, who based his work on Paolo Freire, who many of us are already familiar with. The workshop promises to be fun, enlightening, and practical and we are very excited to be able to offer it.

* Due to extenuating circumstances, Lorin Jackson will no longer be able to run the afternoon workshop. We are disappointed that she won’t be able to share her expertise, but hopefully, we will be able to work with her in the future.

Schedule

9:00-9:30 Registration

9:30-9:45 Welcome

9:45-10:15 Building Toward Social Justice Practice
Presented by Maisha Carey & Dr. Adam Foley from the University of Delaware

10:15-10:30 Community Reading Group: An Exploration in Cultural Humility
Presented by Molly Wolf from Widener University

10:30-10:45 Break

10:45-12:00 Special Collections Panel:
Elephant Bites: Scoping out a Special Collection Through the DEI Lens
Presented by Gary Galván from The Free Library of Philadelphia

Minding the Gaps: Using the silences in College and LGBT Community Archival Collections
Presented by Susan Falciani Maldonado & Kristen Leipert from Muhlenberg College

Cripples, Prostitutes, and Quacks: Practicing Cultural Humility in Historical Collections
Presented by Caitlin Angelone from The College of Physicians Historical Medical Library

12:00-1:00 Lunch

1:00-1:15 Chapter Meeting

1:15 – 3:15 Spect-Actor Workshop: Moving Practice into Action
Presented by Theatre of the Oppressed NYC

3:15 – 3:30 Wrap-up

 In correlation with this event, the organization is seeking to support the library studies of an individual that is focused on helping to create a more equitable society. A $1000 scholarship will be awarded to a student enrolled in an ALA-accredited program to help offset the cost of educational expenses.  To apply, please submit your resume and a 250-500 word essay describing your interest in cultural humility in librarianship. Eligible applicants must reside in, work, or attend school in the chapter’s service area.