The ACRL DVC Board invite you to save Friday, October 25 for our 2019 Fall Program on cultural humility at Cedar Crest College from 9:00am – 3:00pm.
Sara Ahmed (2012) describes diversity initiatives as frequently being “happy talk” or “papered diversity” that institutions write into their strategic plans and mission statements to manage their image but then do not integrate into everyday practices.
While some libraries make a concerted effort to provide diversity or cultural competency training through professional development opportunities, often the attention is superficial or uninformed. By incorporating cultural humility into equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives, libraries can help shift their institutional cultures rather than simply check off the boxes.
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 under-serving some cultures while over-serving others and making a commitment to rectify the disparity.
Through speakers, lightning talks and workshops, this program will give librarians tools to self-reflect, facilitate difficult discussions, and imagine new possibilities.
We happy to announce that Lorin Jackson, the Research and Instruction Resident Librarian from Swarthmore College and co-founder of WOC+Lib, an online community dedicated to amplifying the voices of librarians of color, will run an interactive workshop in the afternoon on cultural humility that promises to be fun, enlightening, and practical.
Please put October 25th on your calendar and start to think about whether you might like to present – the Call for Proposals will go out soon!
We look forward to seeing you all again and to continue to build our community.
*Ahmed, S. (2012). On being included: Racism and diversity in institutional life. Durham, ND: Duke University Press.