Equity & Social Justice Advisory Group Resources: Organizational Change
Introduction
"An organization’s success depends on its structure and how it is run (Vela 2018). While the downfalls of hierarchical organizational structures continue to be espoused through studies and literature, many businesses fail to restructure, and even some that are new still choose initially to implement this faltered format based in part on the commonality of bureaucratic organizations historically. Despite the plethora of knowledge within, libraries are not immune to this structural issue either since many are still organized hierarchically...Another critical aspect of more horizontal structures in libraries created by management as leadership stems from the identification of the staff. Staff that identify with the organization in which they work occurs through staff holding aligning beliefs and values and trusting in the organization’s mission. The strength of staff identification with the organization often correlates with staff satisfaction levels (Martin 2020). Following the restructuring of libraries and information centers is the necessity of building a diverse organizational culture through management engaging in leadership techniques that promote diversity and inclusion."
“MLA : Blogs : Leadership in Libraries: Promoting Diverse, Equitable & Inclusive Environments,” n.d., https://www.mlanet.org/blog/leadership-in-libraries-promoting-diverse,-equitable,-&-inclusive-environments-3539.
Further Reading
- 8 Ways People of Color are Tokenized in Nonprofits"There’s a type of racism in the workplace many of us have personally witnessed, perpetrated or experienced: tokenism. Nowhere have I seen this play out more than in the nonprofit space."
- Academia Isn’t a Safe Haven for Conversations About Race and RacismWe are having hard conversations about racial justice in corporate America and academia right now. Will they yield anything? The research and personal stories of these authors — both scholars of color — along with experiences of many others don’t offer much cause for optimism. Why? When people of color give voice to the discrimination they experience, they are often silenced by their white colleagues, many of whom purport to be liberal progressives. And although there is a perception that academia is a safe haven for these kinds of honest conversations, it is often the opposite. While the reasons for this are myriad, the authors identify common themes including the invisible labor and “inclusion tax” people of color are subjected to; the use of racism-evasive rhetoric; attempts to limit and define who gets to be an ally to Black academics; and the tendency toward normalize white experiences and exclude other racial groups.
- Antiracism Toolkit for OrganizationsBuilding equity and promoting antiracism at organizations are not the jobs of specific individuals but are collective responsibilities. This toolkit, written by a multiracial group of industry professionals, is intended to help individuals at all levels within scholarly publishing organizations implement inclusive policies, procedures, and norms.
- AWAKE to WOKE to WORK: Building a Race Equity Culture"Achieving race equity — the condition where one’s racial identity has no influence on how one fares in society — is a fundamental element of social change across every issue area in the social sector. Yet the structural racism that endures in U.S. society, deeply rooted in our nation’s history and perpetuated through racist policies, practices, attitudes, and cultural messages, prevents us from attaining it. The impact of structural racism is evident not only in societal outcomes, but in the very institutions that seek to positively impact them."
- White Supremacy Culture in Organizations"This is a list of characteristics of white supremacy culture that show up in our organizations. Organizational culture is powerful precisely because it is so pervasive, impacting every part of our work; at the same time, it is very difficult to name or identify."
Hopeful Visions, Practical Actions by ISBN: 0838938302Publication Date: 2023-04-28Cultural humility offers a renewing and transformative framework for navigating interpersonal interactions in libraries, whether between patrons and staff or staff members with one another. It foregrounds a practice of critical self-reflection and commitment to recognizing and redressing structural inequities and problematic power imbalances. This collection, the first book-length treatment of this approach in libraries, gathers contributors from across the field to demonstrate how cultural humility can change the way we work and make lasting impacts on diversity, equity, and inclusion in libraries. This book's chapters explore such topics as how Indigenous adages can be tools for reflection and guidance in developing cultural humility; the experiences of two Black librarians who are using cultural humility to change the profession; new perspectives on core concepts of customer service; rethinking policies and practices in libraries both large and small; using cultural humility in approaching collection development and creating resource guides; what cultural humility can look like for a tribal librarian working in a tribal college library; and reflecting on cultural humility itself and where it is going.
Kostelecky, S. R., Townsend, L., & Hurley, D. A. (2023). Hopeful Visions, Practical Actions : Cultural Humility in Library Work. (1st ed.). American Library Association.
Implementing Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by ISBN: 9780838939109Publication Date: 2022-04-01"[T]he diversity of perspectives presented within this publication will build on the reader's existing knowledge to bring nuances and alternative approaches to these enduring, seemingly intractable challenges within the LIS profession and within society." --from the Foreword by Mark A. Puente Academic library workers often make use of systemic, bureaucratic, political, collegial, and symbolic dimensions of organizational behavior to achieve their diversity, equity, and inclusion goals, but many are also doing the crucial work of pushing back at the structures surrounding them in ways small and large. Implementing Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion captures emerging practices that academic libraries and librarians can use to create more equitable and representative institutions. 19 chapters are divided into 6 sections: Recruitment, Retention and Promotion Professional Development Leveraging Collegial Networks Reinforcing the Message Organizational Change Assessment Chapters cover topics including active diversity recruitment strategies; inclusive hiring; gendered ageism; librarians with disabilities; diversity and inclusion with student workers; residencies and retention; creating and implementing a diversity strategic plan; cultural competency training; libraries' responses to Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action; and accountability and assessment. Authors provide practical guiding principles, effective practices, and sample programs and training. Implementing Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion explores how academic libraries have leveraged and deployed their institutions' resources to effect DEI improvements while working toward implementing systemic solutions. It provides means and inspiration for continuing to try to hire, retain, and promote the change we want to see in the world regardless of existing structures and systems, and ways to improve those structures and systems for the future.
Lee, C., Lym, B., Bryant, T., Cain, J., & Schlesinger, K. (Eds.). (2022). Implementing excellence in diversity, equity, and inclusion : a handbook for academic libraries. Association of College & Research Libraries.
Tools
- Prosper Portland Equity Framework"Driven by the challenge of widening wealth disparity across Portland neighborhoods and between people of color and white Portlanders, as well as by the needs of the city and our desire to do better, we have embarked on an agency-wide journey to become a multicultural, anti-racist organization."
- S-JEDI Learning Group ResourceThis resource provides a curriculum for a 6 week learning group centered on examining social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, specifically geared to organizational leaders in open education.
- Dismantling Racism Works Web Workbook"This web-based workbook was originally designed to support the Dismantling Racism Works 2-day basic workshop. The workbook is now offered as a resource to the community."
Statements
- Statement Against White Appropriation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color’s LaborSeptember 3, 2021
"WOC + LIB, co-founded by librarians Lorin Jackson and LaQuanda Onyemeh, is a website created to nurture and encourage open dialog about our experiences in the field. While colleagues have posted significant content about/connected to WOC in librarianship, a core, community digital resource that centers this viewpoint and its various intersectional implications did not previously exist, until now." - An Open Letter from Concerned Black Workers at the Free Library of PhiladelphiaJune 25, 2020
"After meeting with several Black employees of the Library to share our experiences and concerns, we have determined that racial discrimination and disregard for Black safety, success, prosperity, and life at the Free Library will no longer be tolerated."
