[Michlib-l] Discomfort with Wednesday post about "neutrality"

[Kristin Fontichiaro]

Hello, all --

There was a post on this earlier this week in which a librarian asked for
advice on policies that would help her library navigate the pushback some
of her DEI posts are receiving. Their query received one response.
Admitting that they had not viewed the content in question, the respondent
argued that the profession should be more careful about betraying
neutrality and that we would do well to walk more in the shoes of our
(assumed majority white) patrons and plan posts accordingly.

I have been really uncomfortable about that for the past few days and have
been waiting for someone to pipe up and voice concern about it. And now I
am more uncomfortable that no one has, so I guess it's time for me to.

Our profession's Code of Ethics advocates for equitable access and service
for all
<http://www.ala.org/united/sites/ala.org.united/files/content/trustees/orgtools/policies/ALA-code-of-ethics.pdf>
and
that we leave our personal perspectives at the door when we show up to work
to live out the library's mission. The Code of Ethics never actually says,
"Be neutral," or, "Equity matters, but if it ruffles a few feathers, just
let it go." I am haunted by Elie Wiesel's articulation that, "Neutrality
helps the oppressor, never the victim
<https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1986/wiesel/26054-elie-wiesel-acceptance-speech-1986/>."
When we ask whose shoes we should be walking in, we might do better to ask
who is most in need of empathy and whose perspectives are most
underrrepresented.

I'm no DEI expert. I know how far I have to go in my own journey and that I
have said and done dumb or hurtful things when I didn't know better. But if
we are going to say we're proud to serve all, we have to acknowledge that
this should not be a self-congratulatory pat on the back but a call to
action.

I don't believe that shame is an effective learning tool
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/19/style/loretta-ross-smith-college-cancel-culture.html>,
and I am NOT writing this to provoke angry jabs at the respondent. We may
share a goal of equity but have different paths of getting there. Libraries
outside of metropolitan areas serve very different communities from those
in more diverse areas, and our action steps toward equity may look
different or move at different rhythms or speeds ... as long as we keep
moving forward.

I hope this message will help us all have a chance to take a deep breath,
step back from the weird and stressful times we are living in, and ask,
"How can our library welcome a wider swath of the population?"

Thanks for reading and for everything you do to help those who need it
most.

Kristin

-- 
Kristin Fontichiaro
University of Michigan School of Information
4427 North Quad
105 S. State St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285
734.647.3593
Blog <http://fontichiaro.com/activelearning> | Book an Appointment (school
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*Projects:*
Michigan Makers <http://michiganmakers.si.umich.edu> | Making in Michigan
Libraries <http://makinglibraries.si.umich.edu>
Data Literacy in High School <http://dataliteracy.si.umich.edu> | Public
Library Management MOOC
<http://ai.umich.edu/portfolio/public-library-management/>
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