Lowrider Librarian

“It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.” Assata Shakur American Hero and Revolutionary Innovation is so much more than technology!  True innovation will only come when we break the incestuous cycle of white supremacist knowledge production.  We need new voices and those voices are standing right here.  Real innovation will come when people who created Hip-Hop, Jazz, Rock and Roll--when the people who created flavor in American cuisine and who pretty much generate American culture throughout the continent are involved in information production and knowledge creation.  Indigenous, Black, Brown, and other people of color will create a groundswell like never before once they are allowed to fully function within the academy.  We will change education's structures, its techniques, its goals, its meaning.  We are the harbingers of change and we are here...

  [Please share widely!] Hi Everyone,  I hope you and yours are safe and healthy. It is with great excitement and honor that the Oregon Library Association's Committee on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Antiracism present the OLA EDI Antiracism Toolkit! You can download a copy at the Oregon Library Association Web Site , or the State Library of Oregon website . A paper copy of this toolkit will be distributed to every library in Oregon.  They will also receive a digital copy to print and share with staff.  We tried to make this toolkit as practical as possible!  A  antiracism readiness checklist survey is part of the toolkit.  We are asking library staff  in Oregon to fill out the survey/checklist so that we may get some informaiton on Oregon libraries  (see pre-conference information below).   We are asking that the survey be filled out by   Friday, March 19, 11:59pm to give us time to prep for our pre-conference session...

Image source: Millenial Grind [Please note--this is not an extensive, comprehensive definition--it is my working definition.] I'm sure you have probably heard the term antiracist recently.  It is a current trend for organizations and businesses to use the term antiracist in their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion documentation and activities.   But what does the term Antiracist really mean? Not being racist is NOT antiracism.  In fact, nobody in the americas can escape being racist in some way.   Being antiracist is actively working toward creating a society that does not view individuals as representations of their entire people.   Being antiracist is being actively engaged in bringing about this change in your organization. We must root out the idea that certain groups of people are superior, by their nature, and force structural change in our workplaces, organizations and society. A way of thinking. Here is what Ibram X. Kendi says about it in his boo...

Come hear and interact with two Librarians with Spines: Grace Yamada Interviews kYmberly Keeton about the Black Covid 19 Project, about Hip-Hop and Information Science  (kYmberly's chapter was on this) .  The conversation will be sure to include aspects of digital citizenship (Grace's chapter was on this topic), books, libraries and more. More about the Black Covid-19 Project:  Keeton--Austin History Center's African American Community Archivist and Librarian was instrumental in organizing and launching Growing Your Roots, the four-day statewide African American genealogy conference earlier this year. But in this case, Keeton is all about the present – specifically about African Americans living through this same pandemic that's sending the AAABF to Zoom this year. She believes  their  stories matter, and she's collecting them for the  Black COVID-19 Index , an independent project she initiated to gather stories, images, audio, and video created by Africa...

Please join us for a conversation with Ann Matsushima Chiu and Cathy Camper on 6/27/2020 from 1-2 pm on Zoom! Both Ann and Cathy Camper were chapter authors in Librarians with Spines Vol. 1. Interviewers: Autumn Anglin, Yago Cura, Max Macias.  This event is free. Add caption Please fill out the form below to register for this exciting event.  We are requiring registration to avoid unwanted visitors and other forms of Zoombombing.  Once you are registered, we will send you the login information.   Loading…

You can read it here:  http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2018/02/opinion/backtalk/cannabis-literacy-backtalk/

Hundreds of people gathered in Loring Park in the Twin Cities. The recent Orlando shootings and the now, standardized reactions slapped me in the face. Muslim Attacks Verbal praise for killing LGBT community members Pro-gun rhetoric Fearmongering on all sides Etc... Most of the solution to this issue seems to be centered around banning assault weapons.  While I believe we need stronger gun legislation, I don't believe that banning assault weapons is the solution.  First, it could drive a wedge between americans in the US. Secondly, while it is true that guns are killing people, it is really the idea that violence can solve our problems that is at the root of the issue. F16 Falcon Please let me explain.  We, the US, in unison, use force daily against people in other countries.  We have assassination programs.  Our collective motto could be, "Assasination works!"  We have murdered US citizens without proper trial, and then we murdered t...

Librarians and Self-censorship Free speech for librarians comes with unspoken conditions I encounter many (often young) librarians in real life and online.  One of the most frequent things people tell me is, "How come you are so free with your speech?  I could never talk about those things--I would get fired." or more often, "...I would never land a job!"   It is striking that librarians consider themselves defenders of free speech and intellectual freedom, but that the above sentiment is held by so many librarians.   Why are librarians scared to speak about important issues? I understand about library constituencies, but I'm not talking about library directors here--I'm speaking about regular librarians, or librarians searching for a job. Last month, I had a session at the Oregon Library Association Conference.  My session was on cannabis resources for librarians.  The session consisted of a panel.  I had invited another kn...