Course Overview:

For libraries to effectively meet their mission of serving the educational, informational, and entertainment needs of their communities, their collections must be diverse and inclusive, offering windows into and mirrors of the vast array of perspectives and stories that make up our world.

Library selectors and readers’ advisors must have a keen understanding of the basic frameworks for building and maintaining collections through an equitable lens, including the ability to recognize harmful stereotypes and apply that knowledge to a collection audit.

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In this course, learn from leading equity, diversity, and inclusion  experts as they explore key concepts essential to cultivating and promoting inclusive and equitable collections. You’ll conduct a diversity audit of your collections, and learn how to include diverse books, wider perspectives, #ownvoices, and how to be both more responsive to the community you serve and more reflective of the diversity of our world. 

The course will cover a range of topics, showing you  how to evaluate books and media through an inclusive lens that includes the experiences of LGBTQIA people, people of color, and ethnic, cultural, religious minorities, and more.

Over 3+ weeks, you’ll complete work to ensure that your collections are diverse, equitable, and inclusive—with personal coaching from experts from libraries and beyond.

In addition, you’ll have immediate access to our Diverse Collections Self-Guided Curriculum—a series of webinars from Library Journal and School Library Journal contributors along with rich, supporting materials in the form of readings, activities, and videos—to explore at your own pace. 

Live Interactive Sessions: Tuesdays: April 27, May 4, and May 11 from 2-4 PM ET. 

Course Sessions Available On-Demand! 

Can’t make a live session? All sessions will be available to you “on-demand” following the initial broadcast.

Certificate of Completion Provided
15 PD credits available
 

By registering for this event you confirm that you have read and agree to our Code of Conduct.

Course Curriculum Advisor

Recognized as a leader in the management and coordination of library collections, Robin Bradford has extensive experience managing library collections, budgets, vendors, contracts, and services. She is a highly regarded speaker on the subject of library collection development and has been an integral part of Library Journal courses for the past several years.
 

Speakers

Part 1: Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 2-4 pm ET

Session 1 | 2:00-3:00 pm ET

Collection Management and Readers’ Advisory Strategies to Enact Change at Your Library

Speakers:

Session 2 | 3:15-4:00 pm ET

Conducting a Diversity Audit of Your Collections

Speakers:

Part 2: Tuesday, May 4, 2021, 2–4:15 pm ET

Session 1 | 2:00-2:30 pm ET

Stereotypes, Tropes, and Cultural Appropriation: A Collection Development Deep Dive

Speakers:

Session 2 | 3:15-4:00 pm ET

Speakers:

Session 3 | 3:15-3:45 pm ET

Speakers:

Session 4 | 3:45-4:15 pm ET

Speakers:

Part 3: Tuesday, May 11, 2021, 2-4 pm ET

Session 1 | 2:00-2:45 pm ET

Librarianship During a Racial Reckoning
How do our personal identities impact the culture of our libraries? A truly inclusive library culture begins, first, with ourselves and considering how our blindspots can impact what our library spaces become. Creating libraries that reflect, and are safe for, BIPOC children and youth, is an active, ongoing practice requiring intent and unflagging effort. In this closing keynote, Dr. Kim Parker will help you think through how you can create an environment that is liberatory and reflective of diverse populations.

Speakers:

Intermission | 2:45-3:00 pm ET

Session 2

Community Responsive Collection Development
When working towards building a more diverse and inclusive collection at your library, it is vital to engage your community and create opportunities for connection and feedback. In this session, you'll hear from an expert in community engagement on how listening to your community can make for a stronger and more diverse collection and increase both representation and circulation.

Speakers:

Session 3 | 3:30-4:00 pm ET

Workshop Your Diversity Audit
In this closing session of our speaker program, you’ll have an opportunity to ask your most pressing questions about your collections audit to an expert, ensuring that you are ready to enact change at your library or school right away. You’ll come away with concrete ideas to apply to your library.

Speakers:

When you attend this interactive online course, you’ll come away with: 

• The ability to assess current library collections, book promotions, and displays through a diverse lens in order to assess gaps in collections and service areas.

• An understanding of key diversity and cultural literacy concepts such as white privilege, unconscious bias, cultural appropriation, and intersectionality.

• The ability to recognize common problematic stereotypes, tropes, and microaggressions in media.

• The ability to assess the diversity and inclusiveness of current collection development and RA practices.

• Guidance on planning and executing a diversity audit.

• Tools, tips, and advice on how to better diversify collections and displays.

• A plan of action to better diversify your library collections and address gap areas that will transform your understanding of your library users and the services you provide.

Inspiring Live Guest Speakers + Project-Based Learning
 

Online course features:

• Instructor-led online course features personalized interaction over 3+ weeks

• Real-time guest speakers, Q&A, and conversation via live webcast (with recordings available afterward)

• Assignments to help you make progress on your goals

• Individualized attention from course facilitators who work with you in a workshop environment to help sort out challenges

• Ongoing group conversation via discussion forums

• Articles, videos, and other resources

• Access all course content for 6 months after the course ends

• Bonus: Register early and get immediate access to Self-Guided Curriculum with archival video recordings from related courses, a curated list of resources from our editors, and other bonus materials!

Discounted group rates are available 

Have a team attend and increase your impact!

Please contact us at libraryjournal@edmaker.co to learn more about our discounted rates.

By registering for this event you confirm that you have read and agree to our Code of Conduct

Part 1: Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 2-4 pm ET

Session 1 | 2:00-3:00 pm ET
Collection Management and Readers’ Advisory Strategies to Enact Change at Your Library
Being aware of a lack of diversity in your library collections and having the intention to make a change is important, but having a plan of action to address these problems is where the magic happens. In this conversation between Robin Bradford and Becky Spratford, you’ll learn concrete strategies for making lasting change in your approach to collection development and readers’ advisory, ensuring your library’s collections and suggestions are diverse and inclusive.
Speakers:
Robin Bradford, Collection Development Librarian, Pierce County Library System (WA)
Becky Spratford, Readers’ Advisory Specialist
 

Intermission | 3:00-3:15 pm ET
 

Session 2 | 3:15-4:00 pm ET
Conducting a Diversity Audit of Your Collections
In this session, we’ll discuss both the process of conducting a diversity audit and what comes next after you’ve successfully audited your collection. You’ll learn how to plan a diversity audit, which salient data points should be included, how to gather the requisite information, how to set goals to address gaps, and how to make diversity and inclusion natural parts of collection management and promotion. You’ll also come away with an understanding of what to do with your data once you have it, how to create a plan of implementation, and where to go next.
Speakers:
Betsy Bird, Collection Development Manager, Evanston Public Library (IL)
Dontaná McPherson-Joseph, Collection Management Librarian, Oak Park Public Library (IL)
 

Part 2: Tuesday, May 4, 2021, 2–4:15 pm ET

Stereotypes, Tropes, and Cultural Appropriation: A Collection Development Deep Dive
Some common stereotypes in books and media are easy to spot—others require a more fine-tuned understanding of culture and history. In this series of enlightening sessions, you will learn how to spot problematic stereotypes and tropes and how to avoid unintentionally perpetuating such depictions. You will hear from several experts in the field about the ways that specific marginalized cultures—Native American, Asian American, African American, and LGBTQIA+—are portrayed in mainstream media, their cultural traditions misunderstood or misrepresented, and their stories appropriated by cultural outsiders. You’ll walk away with the knowledge you need to build a more representative, inclusive collection at your library or institution.

Session 1 | 2:00-2:30 pm ET
Speaker: Jennifer Baker, Writer, Editor, Advocate, and Founder, Minorities in Publishing podcast

Session 2 | 2:30-3:00 pm ET
Speaker: Mahasin Abuwi Aleem, Childrens Collection Management Librarian, Oakland Public Library (CA), Co-Founder, Hijabi Librarians
 

Intermission | 3:00-3:15 pm ET
 

Session 3 | 3:15-3:45 pm ET
Speaker: Carson Williams, Adult Services Librarian, Benson Memorial Library (NM)

Session 4 | 3:45-4:15 pm ET
Speaker: Kara Stewart, Author, Teacher, Literacy Specialist
 

Part 3: Tuesday, May 11, 2021, 2-4 pm ET

Session 1 | 2:00-2:45 pm ET
Librarianship During a Racial Reckoning
How do our personal identities impact the culture of our libraries? A truly inclusive library culture begins, first, with ourselves and considering how our blindspots can impact what our library spaces become. Creating libraries that reflect, and are safe for, BIPOC children and youth, is an active, ongoing practice requiring intent and unflagging effort. In this closing keynote, Dr. Kim Parker will help you think through how you can create an environment that is liberatory and reflective of diverse populations.
Speaker: Dr. Kimberly N. Parker, Assistant Director, Teacher Training Center, Shady Hill School, Cambridge (MA)
 

Intermission | 2:45-3:00- pm ET
 

Session 2
Community Responsive Collection Development
When working towards building a more diverse and inclusive collection at your library, it is vital to engage your community and create opportunities for connection and feedback. In this session, you'll hear from an expert in community engagement on how listening to your community can make for a stronger and more diverse collection and increase both representation and circulation.
Speaker: Klem-Marí Cajigas, Family Literacy Coordinator, Nashville Public Library Foundation (TN)
 

Session 3 | 3:30-4:00 pm ET
Workshop Your Diversity Audit
In this closing session of our speaker program, you’ll have an opportunity to ask your most pressing questions about your collections audit to an expert, ensuring that you are ready to enact change at your library or school right away. You’ll come away with concrete ideas to apply to your library. Speaker: Dontaná McPherson-Joseph, Collection Management Librarian, Oak Park Public Library (IL)