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Advancing Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in Public Libraries
An Infopeople Online Learning Course
| Fee per learner | $175.00 |
Instructor: Ozy Aloziem
We all have a role to play in advancing equity, diversity & inclusion, but in order to do so we have to establish shared understanding. This 3-week course will expose you to foundational terminology, concepts, and frameworks to develop your anti-racist lens.
In addition to providing historical framing of how racism has been systematized in public libraries through laws and policies, this course will provide an overview of how to apply and integrate these competencies in practice. The instructor will demystify equity, diversity and inclusion and explain why we lead with racial equity.
By the end of the course learners will:
- Develop shared understanding and practice common key terms related to equity, diversity & inclusion work
- Explore where they find themselves on the journey toward race equity and how our experiences have been shaped by the social construction of race
- Gain an understanding of their positionality and how their various identities intersect to shape how they make meaning of the world & the communities they interact with
- Understand how racism and social injustice are embedded in our society
- Understand how racism has been systematized through laws and policies
- Develop a framework to understand how racial equity is applicable in our lives and work
- Apply an equity impact analysis to decision making
- Harness learnings to drive change in our organizations
Course Description: This 3-week course will include two 60-minute interactive online sessions:
- February 3 @11:30am Pacific
- February 17 @11:30am Pacific
Please make every effort to ensure that you are able to attend these two meetings before enrolling in the course. If this is not possible, archived recordings will be made available.
In addition to the scheduled sessions, the instructor will: provide you with a foundation for developing an anti-racist practice and introduce you to strategies for applying the concepts learned to your own library and community. Participants will be provided resources, best practices, and useful tips and techniques that can be applied immediately. Critical reflexivity will be encouraged and expected through-out this course through the use of intentional assignments and discussions. Participants will be challenged and encouraged to bring their full selves to this learning experience.
Course Outline: When you log in to the Infopeople online learning site, you will see weekly modules with these topics:
- Week 1: Setting the Stage
- The journey toward race equity and how our experiences have been shaped by the social construction of race
- Positionality and how various identities intersect to shape how we make meaning of the world & the communities we interact with.
- Week 2: Historical Framing
- How racism and social injustice are embedded in our society.
- How racism has been systematized through laws and policies.
- Week 3: EDI skills and tools
- A framework to understand how racial equity is applicable in our lives and work.
- Applying an equity impact analysis to decision making.
- Harnessing learnings to drive change in our organizations
Time Required: To complete this course, you can expect to spend 2 1/2 hours per week, for a total of 7 1/2 course hours. Each week's module contains readings and various options for activities and discussions. You can choose the options most relevant to your work and interests. You can choose the options most relevant to your work and interests. Although you can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night, it is recommended that you complete each week's work within that week to stay in sync with other learners.
Who Should Take This Course: This course is intended for any library staff member who would like to learn foundational language & skills for advancing equity, diversity and inclusion.
Online Learning Details and System Requirements may be found at: infopeople.org/training/online_learning_details.
Are you a member of ARSL? If so, you may be able to sign up for a free seat in this course. Limit is four free seats per course. Make your request here and if a free seat is available you will be notified.