Symposium on the Future of Libraries
Leading for equity provides an opportunity to examine our practices and policies with an equity lens. This shift in practice moves away from viewing the services we provide as merely transactional and instead builds them in partnership with community.
The implications for this shift are far reaching, which this session will demonstrate with some recent examples of leading for equity. The session will kick off with CiKeithia Pugh from The Seattle Public Library sharing about their work to prioritize centering community voices and equitable partnerships as they create relevant, responsive youth services programming. Betha Gutsche from OCLC will share how WebJunction’s national Supercharged Storytimes is applying an equity lens to a training program that builds the skills and knowledge of storytime providers across the country as they nurture early literacy skills in the readers of the future.
Following these examples, this interactive session will provide an opportunity to explore how an equity lens can be applied throughout your library. Some questions we’ll consider together: How do you currently determine how resources are allocated? How do you center community voices and work in partnership to create relevant and responsive programming? What role does community have as your thought partners? How is leadership shared? And how do you report back (i.e., community accountability)?
Participants will come away with insights and ideas for how to apply an equity lens at their library, and a sense of the opportunities that can open up when community voices and partnerships are at the center of services and programming.
ALA Unit/Subunit: ALA, Center for the Future of Libraries
Meeting Type: Symposium on the Future of Libraries
Cost: Included with full conference registration.
Open/Closed: Open
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CiKeithia Pugh
Early Learning Program Manager
The Seattle Public Library
Betha Gutsche
WebJunction Programs Manager
OCLC