Lowrider Librarian

Several things have occurred this year which have me thinking about leadership/governing structures and the need for a change in the current infrastructures of our organizations. Hierarchies often create situations where the lower valued (see above chart) people are alienated from their work because of a real lack of say or decision making. This then leads to: lack of initiative lack of innovation lack of interest lack of input from necessary input channels I am fully convinced that these new structures will come from outside of western culture.  Western culture has a white-supremacist patriarchy firmly established and seems to be bolstered by both the liberal and conservative factions of the us political system.  For this reason, I believe we must look outside of these systems and the traditions they are founded upon.  

I attended the NW Great Teaching Seminar this week and it was life changing. This seminar is part of the National Great Teachers Seminar Series . It lasted five days and was held at the amazingly serene and picturesque Menucha retreat in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge.  There were over 30 other seminar participants! Scenic views were readily available All attendees teach at community colleges, but come from various disciplines. Based on the premise that the real experts on teaching are those who teach, the seminar was led by five amazing individuals: Linda Gerber, Phil Corliss, April Fong, Doug Dickson and Jan Woodcock. Following a "flexibly rigid" format, meals were held at 8 am, 12 and 6 pm daily; the rest of the schedule revolved around these times. Jan Woodcock Humor, experience, practical knowledge, active engagement, integrated learning and game-centered teaching made this seminar a life-changing experience for me. Mingling of ideas The for...

We need a #NewReconstructionNow

An introduction to Library Technical Services slideshow that went with a job interview teaching session I had to give. It was for a basic introduction to library services class.   The scenario was that we had already covered circulation. The presentation was very short--like 20 mins.  Here is a link to the notes for this session: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9_AI2rqzHHAMl9mTTA0M0JUWUdRWTRYaWdIbzBjdw/view?usp=sharing

It isn't just getting people the MLS, or MLIS.  I've had mine since 2009 and it hasn't done me much good.  Libraries, the ALA and Education is not really interested in equity, inclusion or diversity,  If they were, then they would put their money where there mouths are and make it a priority.  I have been working in libraries since 1987 and personally have not seen a change in representation.  I also have numbers that prove the field has become less diverse.   I think working together is the way to go, but I also think acknowledging "whiteness" and the privileges that go with it is an important step toward working together.  I'm not even White and I benefit from these privileges because of my lighter skin. I know I have more opportunities (generally) than my darker brothers and sisters. And god forbid they have an accent.  It isn't that hard to acknowledge the privilege--yet people constantly fight this acknowledgement.   We...

Study Finds Illegal Immigrants Pay $11.8B in Taxes BY   ERIC PIANIN ,  The Fiscal Times April 16, 2015 A new nationwide study on the fiscal implications of illegal immigration concludes that millions of undocumented immigrants are paying billions of dollar in taxes into state and local coffers, and that substantially more would be generated if President Obama prevails in imposing a new executive order protecting many of those workers from deportation. The 50-state analysis by the  Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy  released on Thursday found that roughly  8.1 million of 11.4 million undocumented immigrants  who work paid more than $11.8 billion in state and local taxes in 2012, even while they were living illegally in the country. The group’s analysis estimated that illegal immigrants’ combined nationwide state and local tax contributions would increase by $845 million under full implementation of Obama’s 20...

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...