Main Page/Regional hubs/Midwest/IowaCity/Notes - Revision history

71.236.104.53 at 15:27, 25 September 2023

2023-09-25T15:27:45Z

Tesskwilson at 16:36, 22 September 2023

2023-09-22T16:36:57Z

Tesskwilson at 19:03, 21 September 2023

2023-09-21T19:03:41Z

Tesskwilson at 18:51, 21 September 2023

2023-09-21T18:51:50Z

Tesskwilson at 17:48, 21 September 2023

2023-09-21T17:48:49Z

Tesskwilson at 15:32, 21 September 2023

2023-09-21T15:32:55Z

Tesskwilson at 15:31, 21 September 2023

2023-09-21T15:31:48Z

Tesskwilson at 15:31, 21 September 2023

2023-09-21T15:31:36Z

Tesskwilson at 15:30, 21 September 2023

2023-09-21T15:30:21Z

Tesskwilson: Notes from Breakout Session - Community Engagement

2023-09-21T15:25:13Z

Notes from Breakout Session - Community Engagement

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Notes from Breakout Session: Community outreach encompassing participatory research and connecting with marginalized communities/populations
- Community outreach

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 * involvement in community gardens and food sustainability efforts
 * books sent to correctional facilities
 Community Outreach (Academic Libraries)
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 * tabling at neighborhood meetings and community centers
 * language ambassadors / translation for community
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 * A lot of staff are on the same page about union meetings but hesitate to take action
 * Contention exists within union organizing
 Building power in the Midwest and Connecting to Library Values
 * Building relationships with coworkers
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 * Budget cuts
 * Funding

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:36, 22 September 2023
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	* tabling at neighborhood meetings and community centers		* tabling at neighborhood meetings and community centers
	* language ambassadors / translation for community		* language ambassadors / translation for community
		+
		+
		+	Notes from Breakout Session: Labor organizing
		+	* Union reps can be good and bad; sometimes they can communicate tough issues in a good way
		+	* Having a union rep in disciplinary meetings has been useful
		+	* Labor organizing does not necessarily mean unionizing; it could mean 20 people pushing forward and back with colleagues and fixing problems together
		+	* Having a union provides some legal protections
		+	* Being adequately staffed versus calling the cops
		+	* Reading groups with staff whose priority it is to have convos about "safety"
		+	* Everyone-But-Managers Book Club
		+	* Wages in Missouri ($12.50) versus Iowa ($16.00-17.00) versus Lawrence (~ $16.00)
		+	* MLIS - you need one to get a job; to survive cost of living
		+	* Asking "is this too much, is this going too hard?" because you are worried about pissing off admin
		+
		+	Des Moines Public Library Union:
		+	* 2 staff (librarians and clerks)
		+	* Unions meet together and bargain together
		+	*Took lower raise for librarians to get higher wage for clerks
		+
		+	Academic Library Unions
		+	* A lot of staff are on the same page about union meetings but hesitate to take action
		+	* Contention exists within union organizing
		+
		+
		+	Building power in the Midwest and Connecting to Library Values
		+	* Building relationships with coworkers

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:03, 21 September 2023
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	* Spreading ourselves and our limited funding too thin filling in gaps in social services		* Spreading ourselves and our limited funding too thin filling in gaps in social services
	* Vocational awe		* Vocational awe
		+
		+	Weaknesses
		+	* A great equalizer
		+	* Public buy-in, regulars caring about libraries and feeling ownership is an opportunity to draw on
		+	* Other ways to think of safety
		+	* Outreach - Libraries have the opportunity to establish trust with communities who may have greater privacy concerns and use that to leverage better policy
		+	* Regulars can mean substantial relationships - if staff have time and energy
		+	* Easy to say “from the library” to connect with partners
		+	* Organizing mobilizing efforts from grassroots efforts
		+	* People have concerns about Big Tech and AI - we can help educate
		+	* Potential backlash to the increased privatization of life
		+	* Crafting better stories
		+	* Great experiences
		+	* Loss of library levy (or other funds) creates space for more advocacy and community engagement
		+	* COVID closures gave libraries a chance to revisit core services and community needs
		+	* Professional connections and continuing education
		+	* High trust from community (in most cases)
		+	* Engaging with library students to make sure they have access to the resources they need to advocate and organize (radicalize them early)
		+	* Build user base
		+	* Seeking common ground among all groups
		+	* Organize supporters
		+	* Greater representation on staff, boards, etc. of traditionally under-represented groups
		+	* Shifting cultural values - majority may be quiet but will often speak up when pushed
		+	* Leveraging position in the community
		+	* Libraries partnering with other groups - public health, social services, etc.
		+	* Continuing to organize and mobilize people around IF challenges and book bans (both library workers and patrons)
		+	* Coalition-building
		+	* Connecting with marginalized communities
		+	* Free/fourth space
		+	* Hub for activism, diversity, inclusion
		+	* Civil rights law conversations
		+	* Organization - if systems are not in place they can be designed from scratch
		+	* Libraries are for everyone
		+	* We are (or could be) part of everyone’s abundance story
		+
		+	Threats
		+	* Not committed to civil rights in the way we are to the first amendment
		+	* Hate groups
		+	* Anti-progressive movements taking advantage of a divided society - misinformation and distrust of public institutions
		+	* Organized and well-funded opposition
		+	* General public not fully aware of the danger we are in
		+	* Our opposition is way more organized than we are
		+	* Labor precarity
		+	* Misinformation and disinformation around labor organizing
		+	* Normative whiteness
		+	* Enforcement of “unhelpful” (Iowa euphemism for racist) norms
		+	* Too big to fail structures and monopolies
		+	* Inward strife between organizations
		+	* Political climate
		+	* Commitment to policing patrons, refusal to be imaginative about safety
		+	* Pre-existing trust - public implicitly trusts libraries that may be reckless with their data - this impacts outreach abilities and is an ethics threat
		+	* Security - increased attacks on libraries are bridging more attention to library security and makes safety at the expense of privacy more appealing
		+	* Marketing - libraries utilizing conventional marketing teams - may be employing people with few scruples about data
		+	* LIS programs have shifted from “professors of practice” (actually working in libraries) to traditional adjuncts (not working in libraries)
		+	* Cool Big New Idea of unstaffed libraries (can’t actually meet many needs)
		+	* Uninformed legislation and legislators
		+	* Policies/legislation
		+	* Weak protection and policies
		+	* Burnout x 2
		+	* General lack of information seeking behaviors - how to start the conversation with patrons, community, etc.
		+	* AI? (related to misinformation)
		+	* It’s legal to bring concealed weapons into public buildings in Iowa
		+	* Get caught in crossfire of polarization (because we’re a place for everyone)
		+	* Nationalism and religious extremism
		+	* Vocal minority
		+	* Community events intended to spark controversial pushback from library (Brave Books Tour)
		+	* IF challenges under the guise of “protecting children” (in libraries) or “stopping drugs” (in prisons)
		+	* Book-banning and censorship
		+	* Organized attacks like M4L, bomb threats, etc.
		+	* Organized opposition to IF
		+	* Negative/opposition groups
		+	* Budget cuts
		+	* Funding

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:51, 21 September 2023
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	* tabling at neighborhood meetings and community centers		* tabling at neighborhood meetings and community centers
	* language ambassadors / translation for community		* language ambassadors / translation for community
		+
		+
		+	SWOT Analysis Notes
		+
		+	Strengths
		+	* Community connections
		+	* Belongs to everyone
		+	* Collaboration - libraries already have pre-existing networks for sharing ideas and strategies and are comfortable collaborating
		+	* There is nothing else like us under the sun
		+	* Free and indoors! Nothing is free anymore
		+	* Means-tested
		+	* Third space that is air-conditioned
		+	* Dedicated staff at libraries
		+	* We are fighting for a better world - diverse books, programming, etc. - every day against serious odds
		+	* Becoming targets demonstrates our power
		+	* We can and should step forward in these conversations/advocacies to write the futures of wages, privacy, vendor agreements, intellectual freedom
		+	* Agility in smaller and more focused groups
		+	* Digital connection and governance
		+	* Partnerships with affinity groups like ACLU and Pen America
		+	* The know-how and history of connecting people to information
		+	* Growing activism in youth groups that are speaking out
		+	* Widespread, nationwide, in almost every town
		+	* Local library workers can be responsive to specific communities
		+	* Community support - to and from
		+	* State and national level professional organizations
		+	* Trained staff, ongoing learning
		+	* Attitude - many librarians care but lack practical tools and knowledge
		+	* High public approval ratings
		+	* Community reputation
		+	* Community trust (at a time when that is rare)
		+
		+	Weaknesses
		+	* Mental health crisis
		+	* Understaffing restricts services and increases reliance on cops
		+	* Limited alternatives to shitty vendors and service providers
		+	* Right-wing extremist attacks
		+	* Making ilbrarians personally liable for items in the collection
		+	* They keep giving our money to cops and we don't have organized support
		+	* "Children don't have rights"
		+	* Public libraries have a hard time claiming their power - leveraging/changing policy, saying no
		+	* Taxes - "taxpayers" and "parents"
		+	* Accessibility - we can be hard to get to
		+	* Not enough people in public libraries seeking leadership priorities
		+	* Post-COVID habits lost
		+	* Budget cuts
		+	* Lack of a living wage, especially in largely rural states
		+	* Leadership with inaccurate ideas of who we're here to serve
		+	* Staff retention and burnout
		+	* Compassion fatigue
		+	* Conflict aversion
		+	* Staff like marketing security without library ethics training - even circ staff
		+	* Nonexistent onboarding and high staff turnover
		+	* Having a policy isn't enough
		+	* Finding revenue sources is difficult
		+	* Funding
		+	* State legislation (DEAI) funding
		+	* Budget constraints to fight attacks
		+	* Some places have lack of community buy-in
		+	* Complete lack of public awareness outside of libraryland
		+	* Misconceptions about libraries
		+	* Both-sidesism as a form of "neutrality"
		+	* Willful ignorance of targeted opposition
		+	* Information literacy
		+	* Neutrality versus serving public interest in a progressive way
		+	* Very white field, especially in living-wage, decision-making positions
		+	* (Useless) LIS degree dominance reinforces white middle classness
		+	* Job creep, burnout, saviorism and white supremacy characteristics
		+	* Tax/government/publicly funded
		+	* Local staff can be isolated and limited in resources
		+	* Obsession with neutrality while misunderstanding its legal meaning
		+	* Money, time, and energy are spread too thin
		+	* Old-fashioned values within libraries and coworkers
		+	* Public perception of being obsolete
		+	* All of our software options suck and make us look bad
		+	* The thinking that we need to operate more like businesses
		+	* Obsession with new tech without a critical eye
		+	* Filling social services gaps without becoming radicalized about why these gaps exist
		+	* Limited ability to advocate for ourselves due to perceived community position
		+	* Very white and middle class profession
		+	* Unprofessional profession
		+	* Bystander syndrome
		+	* Lack of clarity on the role and mission of libraries (privacy? access? social services? we are expected to provide all of these)
		+	* Vocational pressure to save democracy
		+	* Administration loves trends (wasteful, pulls staff in too many directions, kills usefulness)
		+	* Spreading ourselves and our limited funding too thin filling in gaps in social services
		+	* Vocational awe

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 Notes from Breakout Session: Community outreach encompassing participatory research and connecting with marginalized communities/populations
-Community outreach (public)
+Community Outreach (Public Libraries)
 * sponsored event tabling
 * bringing books twice a month to seniors
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 * STEM engagement weekly
 * emergency services bookmobile

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:31, 21 September 2023
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	Notes from Breakout Session: Community outreach encompassing participatory research and connecting with marginalized communities/populations		Notes from Breakout Session: Community outreach encompassing participatory research and connecting with marginalized communities/populations

−	Community outreach sponsored event tabling bringing books twice a month to seniors *storytime weekly	+	Community outreach
		+	- sponsored event tabling bringing books twice a month to seniors storytime weekly

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:30, 21 September 2023
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	Notes from Breakout Session: Community outreach encompassing participatory research and connecting with marginalized communities/populations		Notes from Breakout Session: Community outreach encompassing participatory research and connecting with marginalized communities/populations
−	- Community outreach	+
		+	Community outreach