Social Responsibilities

Presentation by: Kristyn Caragher, Hannah Esselman, & Sam Pernicka

Social Responsibilities: Topics

• Homelessness & Poverty• Patrons with disabilities• Digital Divide• Race & Multiculturalism• Community Informatics• Gender & Sexual Orientation• Socioeconomic Status• Religious Communities

Rethinking Our Role in LISWhat is a social responsibility? In the context of a library?

What do you see as YOUR social responsibilities? As aGSLIS student? As a future library professional?

Radical Reference

“Radical Reference is one in a long line of socially responsible projects in librarianship…” (Morrone and Friedman 376).

• heightening awareness of social responsibilities in the field in the 1960s and 70s

• growing emphasis on outreach in library work• library services do not necessary fall within a traditional brick and mortar setting• librarians and the alternative press• significance of connections to outside organizations

Radical ReferenceWhat is Radical Reference?

Who is it primarily serving and why?

Online reference services

Fig. 1. Jenna. “Rad Ref at Occupy Wall Street” Radical Reference. N.p. 8 Oct. 2011. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. http://radicalreference.info/content/rad-ref-occupy-wall-street-one-report-back

Unpacking the Knapsack“I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I

can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was "meant" to remain oblivious” (McIntosh 31).

“Librarians should ask themselves whether a list of Berry’s statements are true, including the following: ‘I can if I wish, arrange to be in the professional company of people of my race most of the time’ and ‘If I should need to change jobs, I can be pretty sure of working in my library position in a library professionally staffed, primarily, if not exclusively, with people of my race.’ A ‘yes’ answer to most of these questions indicates possession of white privilege, says Berry” (Pawley 150).

What are some other statements that indicate white privilege in a library setting?

Race vs. Multiculturalism in LIS“A search for ‘race’ in the titles indexed in the online database Library Literature and Information Science confirms the suspicion that the LIS community avoids overt discussion of race, while embracing talk of multiculturalism and diversity” (Pawley 151).

“In a 1995 article, LIS educator Lorna Peterson (2003-4 chair of ALA’s Committee on Education) pointed to ways in whichmulticulturalism and diversity can trivialize issues of equality” (Pawley 152). In what ways can multiculturalism and diversity trivialize issuesof equality? Name a specific example you have encounteredIn your life.

Fig. 1. “Library Receives $5,000 Grant for Children’s Programs” Finkelstein Memorial Library. N.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. http://www.finkelsteinlibrary.org/LibraryServices/grant-dollar-store.aspx

Race in the Four Curricular Models

Science/Technology and Business/Management• Subject headings used to refer to nonwhite patrons as “those patrons” (Pawley 160).• Marginalization of women and “underrepresented minorities” in the normally white male world of science, technology and engineering (Pawley 160). •Business model ignores structural factors that have combined to keep groups of minorities and women at an economic disadvantage (Pawley 161).

Mission/Service and Society/Culture • LIS language that signifies patrons in need, particularly minority patrons, of help by (usually white) librarians (Pawley, 159)• Acceptance of white, anglophone collections and professional practices (Pawley 159).

Libraries as Race-Neutral Spaces

“I suggest that as a first step we should work on decentering whiteness in theLIS imagination by conceiving of libraries as ‘nonwhite’ or ‘race-neutral’ spaces” (Pawley 162).

“Neutrality can obfuscate injustices and the possibilities for active contributions. Often, neutrality is not a defense of the controversial, but ratheran avoidance of it…” (as cited in Morrone and Friedman 374).

“What it means to decenter whiteness and how we go about this in practical terms are matters we need to take up as an urgent priority” (Pawley 163).

What actions can we take to work towards decentering whiteness in a library setting? In the LIS curriculum?

Homelessness - Legal Issues & Policies

• ALA’s Library Services for Poor People (approved in 1990) (Berman, np)

• San Luis Obispo, California law banning “offensive body odor” and sleeping in the city-county library (Berman, np)

• Kramer vs. Bureau of Police for Town of Morristown (1992) (Mars, 32-33)

• Armstrong vs. District of Columbia Public Library (2001) (Mars, 33)

Services to Homeless Patrons: Considering their Best Interests

Issues to consider when providing service to the homeless population: - engage them in surveys, interviews, or focus groups- do not treat them as a homogenous group: find out about the specific

information needs of sub-groups- think about possible barriers: costs, transportation, lack of permanent

residence, staff attitudes

Services to Homeless Patrons: Putting Ideas into Action

Services suggested by Sanford Berman:1. Create of a curriculum and toolkit to aid in humanizing and extending poor people’s services2. Support antipoverty legislation like Bring America Home Act, living wage laws, national health insurance, and welfare payments sufficient to sustain persons and families in dire need3. Adopt and implement ALA’s Poor People’s Policy4. Collaborate with shelter providers, food shelf operators, affordable

housing groups, welfare rights organizations, and interfaith justice networks5. Recommend authentic books, magazines, and videos for the library collection to provide poor people with a voice6. Examine internal policies to determine if they are excluding or stigmatizing poor people

Creating Policies and Services: What would you do?

• 5 groups of 4 people• Read about a Homeless Library Patron• What policies or services would you implement to help this patron (and

other patrons)?

Ophelia

“Ophelia sits by the fireplace and mumbles softly, smiling and gesturing at no one in particular. She gazes out the large window through the two pairs of glasses she wears, one windshield-sized pair over a smaller set perched precariously on her small nose. Perhaps four lenses help her see the invisible other she is addressing. When her ‘nobody there’ conversation disturbs the reader seated beside her, Ophelia turns, chuckles at the woman's discomfort, and explains, ‘Don't mind me, I'm dead. It's okay. I've been dead for some time now.’ She pauses, then adds reassuringly, ‘It's not so bad. You get used to it.’ Not at all reassured, the woman gathers her belongings and moves quickly away. Ophelia shrugs. Verbal communication is tricky. She prefers telepathy, but that's hard to do since the rest of us, she informs me, ‘don't know the rules.’” (Ward, np)

Margi

“Margi is not so mellow. The ‘f***ing Jews’ have been at it again she tells a staff member who asks her for the umpteenth time to settle down and stop talking that way. ‘Communist!’ she hisses and storms off, muttering that she will ‘sue the boss.’ Margi is at least 70 and her behavior shows obvious signs of dementia. The staff's efforts to find out her background are met with angry diatribes and insults. She clutches a book on German grammar and another on submarines that she reads upside down to ‘make things right.’” (Ward, np)

Mick and Bob

“Mick is having a bad day, too. He hasn't misbehaved but sits and stares, glassy-eyed. This is usually the prelude to a seizure. His seizures are easier to deal with than Bob's, for instance, because he usually has them while seated and so rarely hits his head and bleeds, nor does he ever soil his pants. Bob tends to pace restlessly all day and is often on the move when, without warning, his seizures strike. The last time he went down, he cut his head. The staff has learned to turn him over quickly after he hits the floor, so that his urine does not stain the carpet.” (Ward, np)

John

“John is trying hard not to be noticed. He has been in trouble lately for the scabs and raw, wet spots that are spreading across his hands and face. Staff members have wondered aloud if he is contagious and asked him to get himself checked-out, but he refuses treatment. He knows he is still being tracked, thanks to the implants the nurse slipped under his skin the last time he surrendered to the clinic and its prescriptions. There are frequencies we don't hear -- but he does. Thin whistles and a subtle beeping indicate he is being followed, his eye movements tracked and recorded. He claims he falls asleep in his chair by the stairway because ‘the little ones’ poke him in the legs with sharp objects that inject sleep-inducing potions.” (Ward, np)

Franklin

“Franklin sits quietly by the fireplace and reads a magazine about celebrities. He is fastidiously dressed and might be mistaken for a businessman or a professional. His demeanor is confident and normal. If you watch him closely, though, you will see him slowly slip his hand into the pocket of his sports jacket and furtively pull out a long, shiny carpenter's nail. With it, he carefully pokes out the eyes of the celebs in any photo. Then the nail is returned to his pocket, a faint smirk crossing his face as he turns the page to pursue his next photo victim.” (Ward, np)

Social Responsibilities - Community Service: Topics

• Homelessness & Poverty• Patrons with disabilities• Digital Divide• Race & Multiculturalism• Community Informatics• Gender & Sexual Orientation• Socioeconomic Status• Religion

Works CitedBerman, Sanford. “Classism in the Stacks: Libraries and Poor People.” Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture. 2005. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. <http://www.ala.org/offices/olos/olosprograms/jeanecoleman/05berman>.

"Extending Our Reach: Reducing Homelessness Through Library Engagement", American Library Association, October 8, 2012. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. <http://www.ala.org/offices/extending-our-reach-reducing-homelessness-through-library-engagement-7>.

Mars, Amy. "Library Service To The Homeless." Public Libraries 51.2 (2012): 32-35. Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

McIntosh, Peggy. “White Privileges: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” Independent School. (1990): 31. Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson) Web. 10 Mar. 2014 Morrone, Melissa and Lia Friedman. "Radical Reference: Socially Responsible Librarianship Collaborating With Community", The Reference Librarian, 50:(4), (2009). 371-396. DOI:10.1080/02763870903267952 <http://www.library.illinois.edu/proxy/go.php?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02763870903267952>.

Pawley, Christine, 'Unequal Legacies: Race and Multiculturalism in the LIS Curriculum" Library Quarterly. Vol. 76, no. 2, (2006). 149-168. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/506955>.

More ResourcesDigital Divide:"Digital Divide", American Library Association, January 10, 2012. Web. 2 March 2014.<http://www.ala.org/advocacy/access/equityofaccess/digitaldivide>.

"Recommended Sources on The Digital Divide", American Library Association, October 2, 2012.Web. 2 March 2014. <http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/officers/past/kranich/sources>.

Services for Patrons with Disabilities:"Resources", American Library Association, December 4, 2006. Web. 2 March 2014.<http://www.ala.org/ascla/asclaissues/issues>.

"Standards and Guidelines", American Library Association, December 4, 2006. Web. 2 March 2014. <http://www.ala.org/ascla/asclaprotools/asclastandards/standardsguidelines>.

Homelessness:Yi Ling Wong. (2009). Homelessness in Public Libraries. Journal of Access Services, 6(3), 396-410. Library of Information Science Source, Ebscohost (accessed March 10 2014).

<http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lls&AN=43187943&site=ehost-live>.