Advocacy, Outreach and Collaboration

Poster Session

Framing Our Work: Towards Understanding Social Justice in Librarianship

Panel Organizer(s)

• DM

  Diana Moronta

  Instruction and Technology librarian
  New York institute of Technology

Panel Presenter(s)

• AB

  Alyssa Brissett

  Social Work Librarian
  University of Southern California

With the ever-growing number of murders at the hands of police/killings/etc, librarians have tapped into their expertise by creating guides and syllabi centered around these events. Most significantly, there has been a rise in the creation and promotion of the “anti-oppression” or “social justice” libguide that in general, aims to provide information and a starting point to learn about key social issues and provide resources to the communities they serve. Moreover, these “social justice” libguides send a clear message of protest to the current political climate and its impact on the communities they serve. Is this how librarians protest? Are we doing enough? How are these libguides impacting the intended audiences?

This poster presents our initial findings and research for our paper, Framing Our Work: Towards Understanding Social Justice in Librarianship. It identifies and analyzes the common reasons librarians who create and promote social justice-themed libguides take on these tasks. Through data collected by survey and a literature review, we will identify useful ways librarians take action at their institutions and articulate how they use various tools to frame their work and support social justice issues.

 

Learning Objectives:

• Identify ways in which colleagues have addressed social justice issues at their institutions and in professional organizations.
• Articulate what is social justice in library spaces, and why it is important to bring social justice tools and resources into library work.