As part of the work I am doing on revamping my EDI training, shifting my discussions on the topic from why we should be anti-racist to how [I talked about this revision at length in this post about Cancel Culture and "Classics" on Monday], I also undertook at serious revision on my own person EDI Missions statement.
As a reminder, here is the post where I first explained why I think everyone needs an EDI mission statement and why I was creating one from January 2019.
And here is the statement I created:
RA for All’s programs are crafted and delivered to encourage all library staff to use leisure reading as a way to connect with the community, with a particular focus on reaching the underserved, and promoting marginalized authors. Throughout all of my training sessions we will explore ways in which library staff can provide services, collections, and programming that puts EDI concerns at the forefront. Examples include but are not limited to, delivering the same information in different formats, advice on how to diversify your displays, and ways to include more staff voices in basic RA service [more voices leads to more equitable, diverse, and inclusive offerings]. Libraries that hire RA for All must be interested in allowing all staff [not just professional and/or public service staff] to participate in serving all populations, not just the ones most represented by staff or as identified in a local census.
That EDI mission statement has stood largely unchanged for the last 2 years. It lived here on the blog and was included in every contract I send out. But as part of the change in my focus from trying to convince library workers why they need to care about equity, diversity and inclusion and instead teach them how to be anti-racist, I need to give the mission statement a facelift:
RA for All’s programs are crafted and delivered with the understanding that increasing the collection, discovery, and circulation of titles written by marginalized voices in all public libraries is not a trend. It is a requirement. By contracting with RA for All, library organizations must take the position that libraries are not neutral, and understand that the goal is to become an anti-racist library, an organization that does the work to begin actively breaking down the walls of the systemic oppression of marginalized view points, walls which have been built over centuries but cannot be allowed to stand any longer. This work is not easy and will be uncomfortable at times, but getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is part of this process. RA for All is committed to helping you craft an actionable plan to begin this important journey.
This change of focus from passive to extremely active is not only reflected in the words I chose but also in how much stronger I made the language. When I first made an EDI Mission Statement for my company in January of 2019, I was one of the first. I was putting myself out on a limb, and reading it now, in March of 2021, I can really see how tentative those first steps were.
There is no mistaking I mean business here.
Going forward this statement has replaced the old one. It lives here and will appear on every single contract I send out from now on. I am wondering if some libraries will think twice about engaging in a training contract with me if I am making them sign on to abandoning the idea of libraries as neutral? Or will they just not read it, sign it, and get mad after? Time will tell.
Now on to revising the actual programs I will offer. Look for an announcement in early April about the types of programming I will be offering, program descriptions, and details about my partner in this endeavor. We are already booked for April, May and July but we also know there is much to be done.
Back Monday with the April LibraryReads list.
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