Practicing Social Justice in Libraries provides practical strategies, tools, and resources to library and information workers and students who wish to drive change in their classrooms, institutions, and communities and incorporate social justice into their everyday practice. With contributions from a diverse group of librarians, who have experience working in different types of institutions and roles, the book showcases the actions information professionals, largely from historically marginalized groups, are taking to create a more socially responsible environment for themselves and their communities. The chapters reflect on personal experiences, best practices for programming, professional development, effective collaboration, building inclusive community partnerships, anti-racist practices in the classroom, and organizational culture. Exploring how and why library workers are incorporating anti-racist and anti-oppressive work within their everyday roles, the book demonstrates that library workers are increasingly sending messages of protest and advocating for equity, justice, and social change. Highlighting their experiences of marginalization and exclusion, contributors also reflect upon the impact social justice work has on their mental health, careers, and personal lives. Practicing Social Justice in Libraries is essential reading for library and information workers and students who are searching for practical ways to implement more inclusive practices into their work

Although they may not have always been explicitly stated, library work has always had normative goals. Until recently, such goals have largely been abstract; they are things like knowledge creation, education, forwarding science, preserving history, supporting democracy, and safeguarding civilization. The modern spirit of social and cultural critique, however, has focused our attention on the concrete, material relationships that determine human potentiality and opportunity, and library workers are increasingly seeing the institution of the library, as well as library work, as embedded in a web of relations that extends beyond the library's traditional sphere of influence. In light of this critical consciousness, more and more library and information science professionals are coming to see themselves as change agents and front-line advocates of social justice issues. This book will serve as a guide for those library workers and related information professionals that disregard traditional ideas of "library neutrality" and static, idealized conceptions of Western culture. The book will work as an entry point for those just forming a consciousness oriented towards social justice work and will be also be of value to more experienced "transformative library workers" as an up-to-date supplement to their praxis. - Justifies the use of a variety of theoretical and practical resources for effecting positive change - Explores the role of the librarian as change agents

Addressing both veterans of justice work and novices seeking points of entry, the essays in this volume showcase practical approaches to diversity, equity, and inclusion: ways to build community, earn trust, tell unheard stories, and develop solutions to problems. Emphasizing values such as empathy, self-reflection, and integrity, the volume is rooted in humanities work but also features contributions from fields as diverse as the performing arts, architecture, and evolutionary biology and represents settings beyond the college campus, such as schools, libraries, museums, and prisons. While bringing insights from higher education, it critiques the system as well, exploring the ways that institutions reinforce power structures and exclude marginalized voices. Interspersed with the essays, brief reflections by activists and artists offer testimony and inspiration.

In recent years, there has been an increased urgency and appeal to examine the impacts of systemic racism in all parts of society, and the field of library and information science is no exception. To actively combat enabling and perpetuating structural racism and white supremacy, libraries across the globe are addressing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) by investing resources, creating initiatives, and engaging in reflection and deep questioning. Perspectives on Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Libraries examines how JEDI initiatives and actions have been incorporated into all aspects of librarianship and various types of libraries. The book serves as a collection of exemplary cases across all settings of librarianship to showcase how this work is being implemented and to provide commentary on implications and future opportunities for growth. Covering key topics such as community, ethics, and inclusive spaces, this premier reference source is ideal for administrators, policymakers, academicians, researchers, scholars, practitioners, librarians, instructors, and students.

Social Justice Design and Implementation in Library and Information Science presents a range of case studies that have successfully implemented social justice as a designed strategy to generate community-wide changes and social impact. Each chapter in the collection presents innovative practices that are strategized as intentional, deliberate, systematic, outcome-based, and impact-driven. They demonstrate effective examples of social justice design and implementation in LIS to generate meaningful outcomes across local, regional, national, and international settings. Including reflections on challenges and opportunities in academic, public, school, and special libraries, museums, archives, and other information-related settings, the contributions present forward-looking strategies that transcend historical and outdated notions of neutral stance and passive bystanders. Showcasing the intersections of LIS concepts and interdisciplinary theories with traditional and non-traditional methods of research and practice, the volume demonstrates how to further the social justice principles of fairness, justice, equity/equality, and empowerment of all people, including those on the margins of society. Social Justice Design and Implementation in Library and Information Science will be of great interest to LIS educators, scholars, students, information professionals, library practitioners, and all those interested in integrating social justice and inclusion advocacy into their information-related efforts to develop impact-driven, externally focused, and community-relevant outcomes.

This book offers a timely mix of thought-provoking chapters bringing together national and global studies on critical librarianship, and conveying the kind of research which current library managers and researchers need, mixing theory with a good dose of pragmatism.

In a rapidly changing world with myriad conflicting voices, the library's role as a place of safety and inclusion and as a repository of knowledge cannot be overstated. Librarians must serve as community leaders with a mission to educate and inform, ready to model the principles they support. The question for many is: how? Experienced librarians offer ideas and guidance in seeking new creative paths, working to support change in library organizations and reexamining principles that may be taken for granted. Theoretical foundations are discussed, along with practical ideas such as the creation a book groups for the intellectually disabled and partnership with social workers or advocates for employees with disabilities.

This important book is a call to action for the library community to address the literacy and life outcome gaps impacting African American youth. It provides strategies that enable school and public librarians to transform their services, programs, and collections to be more responsive to the literacy strengths, experiences, and needs of African American youth. According to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NEAP), only 18 percent of African American fourth graders and 17 percent of African American eighth graders performed at or above proficiency in reading in 2013. This book draws on research from various academic fields to explore the issues surrounding African American literacy and to aid in developing culturally responsive school and library programs with the goal of helping to close the achievement gap and improve the quality of life for African American youth. The book merges the work of its three authors along with the findings of other researchers and practitioners, highlighting exemplary programs, such as the award-winning Pearl Bailey Library Program, the Maker Jawn initiative at the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the Blue Ribbon Mentor Advocate writing institute in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, among others. Readers will understand how these culturally responsive programs put theory and research-based best practices into local action and see how to adapt them to meet the needs of their communities.

Edited by Ursula Gorham, Natalie Greene Taylor, and Paul T. Jaeger, Perspectives on Libraries as Institutions of Human Rights and Social Justice is an edited volume from the Advances in Librarianship book series devoted to the ideals, activities, and programs in libraries that protect human rights and promote social justice.

Humanizing LIS Education and Practice: Diversity by Design demonstrates that diversity concerns are relevant to all and need to be approached in a systematic way. Developing the Diversity by Design concept articulated by Dali and Caidi in 2017, the book promotes the notion of the diversity mindset. Grouped into three parts, the chapters within this volume have been written by an international team of seasoned academics and practitioners who make diversity integral to their professional and scholarly activities. Building on the Diversity by Design approach, the book presents case studies with practice models for two primary audiences: LIS educators and LIS practitioners. Chapters cover a range of issues, including, but not limited to, academic promotion and tenure; the decolonization of LIS education; engaging Indigenous and multicultural communities; librarians’ professional development in diversity and social justice; and the decolonization of library access practices and policies. As a collection, the book illustrates a systems-thinking approach to fostering diversity and inclusion in LIS, integrating it by design into the LIS curriculum and professional practice. Calling on individuals, organizations, policymakers, and LIS educators to make diversity integral to their daily activities and curriculum, Humanizing LIS Education and Practice: Diversity by Design will be of interest to anyone engaged in research and professional practice in Library and Information Science.