Lowrider Librarian

I read Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates in one sitting.  It was a decent book. Get this book for your library! So many people have already praised it for its great writing and incredible erudition.  I felt really let down after reading his book because I was expecting so much more. Mr. Coates is a good writer, but he is not a great writer.  His prose flows and I believe he has found his own voice.  However, the writing is not beautiful, nor is it creative or innovative in any manner. In my opinion the most important aspects of this book are his insights on the black body.   African Americans, after all, were considered products to be exploited for their value as slaves.  Their (and latino) bodies are still used in such a way in the prison industry as explicated so brilliantly in Michelle Alexander's seminal work, The New Jim Crow. He COMPLETELY neglects the fact that other ethnicities (besides black people) have race issues in the U...

The number one issue I encounter when dealing with racism on an organizational/institutional level is the lack of ability to put the organization's resources toward ending racism and the lack of diversity in the institution. Many US Organizations state they value "diversity."  What does that mean? Diversity, inclusion and equity aren't seen as an issue of sustainability for our organizations and institutions.   These issues are looked at like pinstriping on a sports car.  It seems they are not as important to our organizations as the engine, or even the tires of the car... Our nation will not survive if we do not deal with the issues of race that exist in our culture. Unconscious bias is built into most education, entertainment and other forms of information. We need teams of analysts to investigate these biases, analyze them, describe them for laypeople, and prescribe fixes for them.  We need these teams within our organizations and in general society. ...

Ever since the #Blacklivesmatter Bernie Sanders takeover in Seattle I have felt uncomfortable with my White liberal friends. In large part

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