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

[Katherine Mason]

I also would like to thank Kristin for speaking up. I spent time looking
for answers to Kim's question but was struggling to find the "right" words.

Maybe I looked past it - is there a social media "toolkit" that assists
libraries with developing policies, canned responses to comments,
strategies for shifting the conversation back to its original focus?

Thanks again Kristin

Kathie

Kathie Mason
Collections Librarian
Eastern Michigan University



On Fri, Apr 16, 2021, 3:34 PM Kristin Fontichiaro via Michlib-l <
michlib-l at mcls.org> wrote:

> 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
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>
> *Projects:*
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>
>
>
>
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