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

[Holly Kirsten]

Thank you for replying, Kristin. I had actually tried to begin to compose a
reply on the day the post in question appeared. I was working at the
reference desk at the time, and since I couldn't quickly find the right
words when I got interrupted I just let it go. I figured someone else out
there would reply, especially with all the great workshops a lot of us
recently attended for Spring Institute. This just teaches me that I can't
wait for someone else.


Holly Kirsten
Head of Information and Outreach Services
Chesterfield Township Library

p: 586-598-4900 ext. 235 a: 50560 Patricia St. Chesterfield, MI 48051
w: chelibrary.org




Raising a reader is: Talking * Singing * Reading * Writing * Playing


On Fri, Apr 16, 2021 at 3:36 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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> Libraries <http://makinglibraries.si.umich.edu>
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> Library Management MOOC
> <http://ai.umich.edu/portfolio/public-library-management/>
>
>
>
>
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