Bridge Building, Intersectionality and Inclusion
Workshop
Marisa Méndez-Brady, MSIS
Librarian for English and History
UCLA Library
Sofia Leung
Teaching & Learning Program Manager, Liaison Librarian
MIT
Jennifer Ferretti
Digital Initiatives Librarian
Maryland Institute College of Art
Jennifer Brown
Emerging Technologies Coordinator
Columbia University Libraries
This workshop is intended to be a counterspace for library workers of color to build community through the act of co-creation. We will model an intentional space to deconstruct the ways in which we are forced to suppress our own identities. Our approach will be to foster discussion of our experiences as we explore strategies that allow us to employ an intersectional lens through creative activities. We will engage in radical self care as we build a community counternarrative in a low stakes environment. This space will be a place for relieving stress and working through the many issues we face in our careers.
The facilitators of this workshop are part of the online community “We Here,” which occupies closed and open space on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Slack, and Google Groups. We here was designed as a supportive online space for librarians and archivists of color in a field dominated by Whiteness. This workshop is a continuation of this space. We hope to manifest the digital space as a physical space where POC in libraries can come together to facilitate constructive dialogue around the oppression we feel within this profession. We seek to create a space where POC in libraries and archives might find each other and make connections for collaborations beyond this workshop.
Workshop attendees will co-create a design project in small groups. Potential creations could include zines, postcards, self-care calendars, digital spaces, letters of encouragement, poetry. Some key issues we hope to encourage attendees to design around are impostor syndrome, lack of opportunities for career growth, “professionalism”, the problem with diversity committees, the fallacy of neutrality, the power of mentorship, white fragility, being an “only”, hiring processes, LIS curriculum and education, and other issues unique to their identit(ies). Limited supplies will be provided and participants are encouraged to bring their digital devices and their own ideas for creative exploration. We hope to showcase any collaborative creations in the “We Here” online spaces to continue building upon the corpus of POC experiences in LIS.