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

Fri Apr 16 16:31:25 EDT 2021

ALA has a good tool kit here <http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/socialmediaguidelines> . It at least provides some advice and philosophy though not a template for a policy.  Hopefully some shared their policies off list to OP. 

HTH, Mary

Mary Jean Harrison

Director

Coloma Public Library

151 W. Center Street

PO Box 430

Coloma Michigan  49083

269-468-3431

 <http://www.colomapubliclibrary.net/> www.colomapubliclibrary.net

The most important asset of any library goes home at night – the library staff.

Timothy Healy

From: Michlib-l <michlib-l-bounces at mcls.org> On Behalf Of Katherine Mason via Michlib-l
Sent: Friday, April 16, 2021 4:21 PM
To: Kristin Fontichiaro <font at umich.edu>
Cc: michlib-l at mcls.org
Subject: Re: [Michlib-l] Discomfort with Wednesday post about "neutrality"

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 <mailto: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>  |  <https://www.google.com/calendar/selfsched?sstoken=UUFHX1E5cXRtYUVQfGRlZmF1bHR8YmY3NDdlYzA4ZDM2MjFmMzAzMDM2OTA3NGM3NjliMzQ> Book an Appointment (school year only) 

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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