On November 14th, Rachel Crookes, Associate Director of Sage Campus, will moderate a lively discussion titled Charting Turbulent Skies: Can Libraries Sustain Anti-Racist Efforts in Our Politicized Climate? at The Charleston Conference. This annual meeting brings together academic librarians, publishers, and information professionals, to discuss issues important to academic libraries and scholarly publishing.
Why now?
Our campuses are increasingly politicized, and state-level restrictions on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives pose challenges for libraries and librarians. While some take a lead role in promoting antiracism within their communities, others face limitations. This dynamic panel of experts will share practical tips and strategies for advancing anti-racism through library instruction and services, even within the constraints of state-level restrictions (such as Florida’s SB 266).
At Sage, we believe in free expression in all its forms and take seriously our responsibility to publish, amplify and make space for important conversations. We’re hosting this lively discussion as part of our continued work to amplify the work and voices of anti-racist scholars, librarians and educators and are excited to hear from both the panelists and our audience about their struggles and their successes.
Our Panelists
The panelists bring a range of perspectives and expertise from the worlds of library instruction, services, management and scholarship. Our panelists are:
Anita Coleman: An independent scholar, founder of the Antiracism Digital Library, and adjunct lecturer at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Information Sciences.
Hannah Park: Education Librarian and Diversity Alliance Residency Coordinator at American University.
Shane Roopnarine: Subject Librarian and Assistant Librarian at the University of Central Florida Libraries.
Rachel Crookes: Associate Director of Sage Campus and currently leading on the development of new online courses that support all scholars to do equitable, inclusive research and minoritized scholars to navigate institutional racism.
Key Points
The lively discussion format at Charleston allows us to hear from the panelists and take questions from the audience, sharing real examples from a wide range of library settings and specialisms. Together we’ll tackle the different aspects of anti-racist librarianship and ask the following questions:
Promoting Anti-Racist Pedagogies: How can libraries effectively integrate anti-racist principles into instruction and services?
Navigating Local Restrictions: What challenges or opportunities arise when complying with state-level restrictions and how do they impact our daily practice? How can state library associations help?
DEI Lens for Library Management: How can libraries incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles into their management practices in an impactful way?
Supporting Minoritized Librarians and Staff: What strategies should we implement so we can create an environment that is genuinely inclusive?
Whether you’re attending The Charleston Conference or not, stay tuned for our summary of the panel discussion!
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