#InnovationIsAboutMoreThanTechnology

in·no·va·tion

ˌinəˈvāSH(ə)n/

noun

1. the action or process of innovating.

   synonyms:

   change, alteration, revolution, upheaval, transformation, metamorphosis, breakthrough;More

2. _______________________________________________________________________

When thinking about innovation, make sure you include infusing innovative thinking in your staff.

Wirtz Labor Library Staff
Recipients of the John Sessions Memorial Award
Presented by the Reference and User Service Association of the American Library Association
2009

Staff should be able to:

• Feel free to experiment, feel free to fail, feel free to succeed.
• Analyze failures and celebrate what is learned from them.  
• Always include those who live in poverty in your "innovative thinking."
• Outreach to innovative leaders in the communities you are trying to reach. 
• Work with these community leaders to gain insights to user information needs. 
• Make sure innovative thinking is taking place in multiple languages.
• Infuse Civics instruction in your innovative thinking. 
• Infuse Social Justice via programming based on community needs.
• Use technology when appropriate, but focus on people when innovating. 
• Focus on more than just the needs of patrons who come into the library.
• Base innovation on  community need. _________________________________________________________________________

Community

• What do they want?
• Do we know what the community needs and wants?
• How do they want it?
• What formats do they need this information packaged in?
• Where do they want it?
• Will they come into the library for this information or will we deliver it somewhere?

We need to empower our communities by providing them the information they need in the places they want it and deliver it via the methods they prefer.   While this may seem outrageous to some, it is important to outreach to those who pay taxes for the library, but who don't think the library is relevant to their lives because the library is not providing the information they need.  This is not just the job of the outreach department of your library--it is the library's job!

• How do we know what people need?
• Ask them via the leaders of their communities.  
• They can answer questions about community needs and survey their communities.
• Do you know the leaders of the communities? 
• These leaders can disseminate information to their communities for the library.
• They are trusted already within their communities.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Mt. Angel Public Library

I once went into the Mt. Angel public library in Mt. Angel, Oregon.  I asked them about their Spanish collection.  They showed me a single shelf of books.  I asked them why there were so few and they replied, "Because Spanish speakers don't come into the library much."  I replied, "Well, maybe there is a reason!"

Woodburn Public Library

On the other hand, I went into the Woodburn, Oregon public library recently and they had a decent Spanish collection that was being heavily used by patrons.  Woodburn PL also have staff who are bilingual. 

Both Woodburn and Mt. Angel have large populations of Spanish speakers...

So empower your staff to innovate, but be strategic about who these innovations include and why your library is making them. 

Communicate these innovations to the community via several channels.

Does the community have a radio station in their language?

Can the library send someone to be interviewed on the radio in that language?

My Heroes Call Out

My heroes call out to me from across time

Some call out from hundreds of years ago

I can hear some from just yesterday

My heroes call out to me and make my heart strong

They are our alternative narrative

Calling out our history

Calling out our enemies

Calling out our allies

Calling out our resistance

My heroes call out to me and I listen

They are part of what makes our culture great

They are the true Americans

Calling out hatred makes us stronger

My heroes call out that shit

What if Huey P. Newton hadn't called out?

What if Rosa Parks hadn't called out?

What if John Trudell hadn't not called out?

What if Malcolm X hadn't called out?

What if Audre Lorde hadn't called out?

What if Larry Itliong hadn't called out?

What if we don't call out?

My heroes call out to me


 

Select CBD Review...

Select CBD Promotion Materials

I suffer from PTSD and from arthritic pain.  My state, Oregon allows me to get a medical cannabis card for these conditions and it helps me greatly.  My main experience has been with THC though.  Select Cannabis Oil makes my favorite high THC vaporizer cartridges in Oregon.  I've been trying to get some for review on this blog.  They told me they can't give away THC cartridges, but that they would send me some CBD products to test and review.  They sent me some vape pens and some tinctures to test out and review for you all.  CBD is non-psychoactive and does not get people high.

I had the good fortune to receive a box of CBD products from Select oil last month.

 I am excited because I have not had the opportunity to try CBD in any real quantity for a period of time.  CBD is something I had not had a chance to try--it is expensive and I have not seen scientific studies that confirm results for pain and anxiety.  However, I have heard so many anecdotal reports of   CBD mitigating anxiety and pain that I am super curious about it.

Select CBD Disposable Vape Pens

The vape pens are disposable and also taste really good.  I received:  Grapefruit (revive), Lavender (relax), Peppermint (focus), cinnamon (relax), and Lemon (revive).  These vapes are broken up into 4 groups: relax, revive, focus and revive.  They all taste great and like Select's THC cartridges, they produce a large amount of vapor when a person draws from them.

Select CBD Tinctures

Their tinctures taste great!  I began to take two ML of tincture a day and I vaped about 6 times a day on February 18th, 2018.  The tinctures taste really good and I received a variety of flavors:  Spearmint, Lavender, Unflavored and Lemon Ginger. I have had tinctures before and usually they taste horrible.  ALL these select tinctures taste great--even the unflavored.  You can drop the tincture into coffee, or water, or some other liquid, or you can take it sublingual with the dropper--which has precise measurements.   

They come in 100 ML dropper bottles.  

The bottles and packaging are top notch.  The droppers have exact measurements and make it easy to use in exact amounts.  

Variety of flavors

Dosages: Are confusing.  I would recommend Select sends included material about dosages for pain, anxiety, etc...It was hard to figure out.  I had to do a web search to find information and am still not sure I am taking the proper dosage.

Impact on health

After one month of daily dosing with Select CBD tinctures and vape pens, I have not noticed any sort of changes.  I have been experiencing arthritic pain and stiffness for the last two months and it has not changed one bit.  I did fall and hurt my kneed recently and seemed to recover more quickly the usual.  This is all anecdotal of course.  I am probably about 1/2 way through my supply and will update this post in a couple of weeks.  So, if you are interested in trying CBD products, or already know they work for you--Select CBD makes a good product.  I recommend it.  However, like I said--I have not really experienced any noticeable improvements with my anxiety or my pain.

The (.5 gram) vape pens retail 45 dollars and the tinctures (30 ML) retail 65 dollars.

Here is the blurb from Select:

Select CBD Blends

• Relax: Take it easy with either Cinnamon or Lavender

• Revive: Restore and uplift your body and mind with Lemon or Grapefruit

• Focus: Increase mental clarity with Spearmint or Peppermint

Explore the benefits of CBD like never before with our all-in-one disposable CBD vaporizer pen that combines therapeutic essential oils with smooth CBD isolate. These products are hemp-derived and contain zero THC, with no psychoactive buzz effect that you would expect from most cannabis. Our sleek pen design provides hassle free portability and ease of use, with a built in battery and the same core technology as our proprietary design.
●      DISCREET & PORTABLE - No fragrance, easy to fit in your pocket, purse or bag ready-to-go
●      OPPORTUNITY TO MICRODOSE CBD - Each puff provides you with 1-2 mg of CBD●      ORGANIC JAPANESE COTTON WICK - Many other vaporizer companies that use silica wicks, which give users a plastic taste, and can be dangerous when heated●      ALL-IN-ONE - The product is self-contained and ready-to-go, with a battery life that lasts just as long as the oil does -- about 150 puffs! 
Select CBD Drops

• Peppermint: Infused with ashwagandha, rhodiola and peppermint, which are known to bring energy and focus

• Lavender: Infused with lavender, chamomile and passionflower, which are known for relaxation and calmness

• Lemon-Ginger: Infused with ginger, turmeric and lemon, which are known to be naturally energizing, revitalizing and uplifting

• Flavorless: Contains no added herbs or essential oils

Experience the relief of fast acting CBD in the form of our convenient & discreet tinctures. Select Drops provides a fast-acting solution of benefiting from the restorative effects of cannabinoids without vaping or smoking. Drops contain a specially formulated balance of cannabidiol and herb-infused refined coconut oil, known as MCT oil for fast acting absorption into the bloodstream. Find the bliss of convenient herbal relief anytime, anywhere with our proprietary cannabidiol tincture.
●      TASTES GREAT - Unlike many tinctures, Select CBD Drops have a great taste -- making them easy to add to your favorite foods and drinks, or just to take directly from the dropper●      CHOOSE-YOUR-DOSAGE - Start with .5 to 1 mL per day, and work your way up - everyone has a different sweet spot for CBD●      INFUSED WITH HERBAL BLENDS - We steep dry herbs into our oil for 48 hours, allowing the healing power of these herbs to really shine 

Here is a link to the Select CBD site: https://selectcbd.com

Special for Library Journal...Cannabis Literacy

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

Cognitive Dissonance

"If we deregulate everything--people and corporations will do the right thing!" 


"I need to carry my gun with me at all times because people are basically evil and out to get me." 


Are mutually exclusive beliefs! These idiots hold both!  


#Illogical#Impossible #CantHaveITBothWays #Liars

Hello. I'm a Turd.

[I was just informed this 'review' was taken down by Amazon because of racism.]

A recent Amazon.com reviewer of the book I co-edited--Librarians With Spines--took the opportunity to degrade me in public and to even try to humiliate be because I don't speak Spanish.

I'm publishing this hear because this is a perfect example of of librarians of color are harassed by anonymous flamers.

By stellabooon October 19, 2017

This is an unnecessary book. I am a MLS librarian with years of experience. I cry for my profession when new librarians trip over themselves trying to out-radicalize each other. Trust me: ALL librarians believe in intellectual freedom and collection development policies that promote alternative views. That is as old as libraries.

Max Macias, the editor, is considered a kind of joke we tolerate in Oregon. A POC quien no habla Espanol. I welcome new library minds that push our profession forward. Unless you are truly radicalized and want to destroy libraries for all people, this book has zero value.

Listen Stella--I'm fine with criticism of our book, but don't try to criticize my culture and who I am.  

I am not your 'mexican.' 

I am no joke.

I am a Chicano.  

Y-que.  

Thanks for showing how close-minded and racist librarians can really be.  You gave me the perfect example!  Who died and made Stella the grand-poo-bah of libraries, or the definer of ethnicity in Oregon?  This is the kind of environment I exist within.  People don't realize they can't define my ethnicity and also don't define who I am and my worth.  This is a good example of how someone with an MLS can be a close-minded turd.  There are many great librarians her in the PNW.  This just happens to NOT be one of them.

Link to review 

Love, 

Max

Cultural Appropriation is Inappropriate!

There is currently a discussion on the librarian Facebook group ALATT concerning cultural appropriation.

You should hear some of the rationalizations!

Everything from the insulting: "Let me tell you a secret: All Culture is appropriated!"

Then people go on to say, "Yes--like agriculture, rock n roll..." and other absurd comparisons.

This seemingly funny statement, is passive aggressive to the extreme.

These statements belittle people's feelings about their heritage and culture.  This is especially true then aspects of their culture are used in inappropriate manners such as when White people run 'Native American' sweat lodges that allow anyone who pays to come sweat and pray--that is fucking absurd and spits in the face of indigenous tradition!

You may be asking yourself, "Why is Max getting all bent out of shape about this?"

Please watch this video for a better understanding:

I hope more librarians become more empathetic and will listen to people when they say to stop doing things that hurt them, or are offensive or insulting.

Free Speech Programming for Library Ideas and...

I humbly submit some programming ideas for my friends who work in libraries.

Do something different!

• Constitutional rights workshops
• Civics workshops
• How to avoid ICE
• DACA rights workshops
• Cannabis Consumer Workshops (In states where it is legal)
• Medical Cannabis patient workshops
• How to decolonize Education
• Activism Workshops
• Anti-Doxxing Workshops
• FreeSpeech versus HateSpeech Community Discussions
• Black History Programming
• How to monitor the police
• Patron electronic privacy workshops
• Marginalized people in Children's literature
• How to share electronic information anonymously 
• Ethnic Studies Workshops for local communities
• Archiving local neighborhood history
• How to build community
• How to get involved with local  public cable broadcasting
• How to publish a book
• How to blog
• How to be a neighborhood reporter
• How to start a news program
• How to write news articles
• How to be a public speaker
• How to listen
• How to argue
• How to self-reflect
• How to be a DJ
• How to break dance
• How to skateboard
• What is Punk Rock?
• What is Body Modification?
• Truths versus myths about recreational drugs
• What is empathy?
• What is Whiteness?
• What is BLM?
• Marginalized groups in comics
• What is Philosophy?
• What is Hip-hop?
• Where to get Mental Health assistance

The Mottoes of our Libraries Should be #LoveNOTHate #ListenWithYourHeartAndFeel

One of the symptoms of being unconsciously inculcated by #Whiteness is the inability to see the experiences of POC as they are lived by POC.

When I was teaching my children to be empathetic, I always told them that,

When someone asks you to stop something--particularly when they say you are hurting them--you stop what you are doing immediately.  You don't come up with excuses (reasons) why you should be able to continue to hurt them.  You don't continue hurting them.

The inability to see other's pain and to listen to them when they tell you about this pain--particularly if you are causing it--indicates a fundamental loss of humanity.  It also indicates a deeply narcissistic quality that seems to border on sociopathy.

This is an indication of unsound mental health.

A large part of our culture is sick like this.

Our nation is unhealthy in this aspect.

We should not repress this.

We should talk about it, and begin to heal this.

Libraries can help with this.

We can help with empathy programming.

Holding reconciliation talks.

Hold listening sessions for all sides.

But when someone begins to spout racist, threatening language--they NEED to leave the library.

Librarians hold information sacred, and we should continue to do so.  If racists, threatening people want to have a library--they should be able to have one--their own--private libraries.

We can talk about how they want to murder and 'get rid' of us all they want.  OUR public dollars should NEVER go toward supporting organizations that threaten other AMERICANS and other PEOPLE in general.  


#Love, the love of education, the love of knowledge, the love of teaching, the love of collecting and sharing great concepts and ideas is at the heart of what we do.  We can't let hate destroy that!

The mottoes of our libraries should be #LoveNOTHate #ListenWithYourHeartAndFeel

We can work together to help our nation get healthy.

Lets not, as librarians and people, enable our nation to be of unsound mental health.

We need to talk about this kind of stuff in relation to the library bill of rights, the ethics of librarianship and the mission of libraries.

The mottoes of our libraries should be #LoveNOTHate #ListenWithYourHeartAndFeel.

When Someone Claims The Right to Terrorize their Fellow Citizens

There is a split in libraries.  The split is on the question if Nazis and other racists  can use their rights to terrorize their fellow citizens and still be welcome in our libraries.

Racist 'free speech' is a tradition that has been used to create an atmosphere of hate a violence against POC in the US.

Of course this is not how this discussion is framed, nor how it is approached in the library community--which is immersed in a culture of Whiteness.

It is described as a matter of "Free Speech."  I would agree, but I would clarify this by stating it is a matter of White people's right to terrorize their fellow citizens by using speech which creates an environment of terror for POC in the US.

"Jews will NOT replace us!"  is terrifying enough for me to hear, but then I think of the utter terror and alarm it must be raising in my Jewish friends--I share their terror.

"All lives matter!" Yelled at my Black friends who are holding a sign that says, "Black Lives Matter!"

HKCL Central Library

These might just be words, but given the context--they are not just words of expression.  They are expressing something--the desire to intimidate a segment of our citizenry (The Jew statement), and the desire to mitigate the murder of black people almost daily, by stating "All lives matter!"  in response to the plea for help to end this violence against Black people.

POC encounter micro and macro-aggressions daily.  I often wonder if it is a battle worth fighting.  Daily, I begin to ponder the virtues of separatism.  My kind of separatism would be the kind where people of all walks of life could live together in good human relations.  The other 'people' could live somewhere else--those other people would be the racists.  I know this is an overly simplified idea, but I can't see how it isn't more valid than what POC have today.

POC in the US today:

• Are imprisoned a greater rates than White people.
• Are murdered by law enforcement and vigilantes.
• Have to worry about sending their kids out of the house because of racist violence.
• Will be persecuted as criminal in preschools.
• Will be put into a pipeline to prison program by virtue of their skin color.
• Live under a state of siege.

EVERY time I go to the store, or go to work, or anyplace for that matter-- I worry about if I will get pulled over and what will happen.

This is NOT simply a matter of "Free-Speech!"

This is about how POC are allowed to live under such terror daily.

Who allows it?

You, me, anyone who is not fighting against this terrorism.... If you are neutral--then you are supporting this terrorism.  It is NOT something one can be neutral about.

I get it--the US is a society that is built upon unrepentant genocide, land-theft and slavery.  It is something we all grew up knowing.

And WE cannot continue to be okay with that.

This is part of the history that some people want covered up.

We can't cover this up.  We can't repress this.

Just like a drug addict, or someone who is mentally ill and in denial--repression will create pathologies.  Maybe like people shooting one another for no real reason on a regular basis...

Librarians have a place in this fight.

We have a place because we work in an industry that is a purveyor of Whiteness--Whiteness is the notion that White people and White Culture are more important than ANYTHING or ANYONE else--AND we can do something about it.

We can balance out our collections so that don't just have books by rapists  who are forefathers of freedom, but from people who are genuinely concerned with freedom and liberty.  Not just the liberty to kill and steal from those who are weaker than us, but the true liberty of good human relations without violence.

Maybe you don't see this discussion from my point of view, or maybe you can't.

Maybe I'm too crude a writer to get the message across--so I will try to put it simply.

Please empathize with POC in the US.  Empathize with our pain, with the terror we are forced to live within daily, with the fear of incarceration and becoming a political prisoner or a prisoner/worker slave or of getting murdered by the police.  Empathize with the fear we have when we have send our kids out into a world that fundamentally rejects them.

Please try to understand we don't want to hurt you or kick you out of our lands.

But we do want you to leave if you are a racists.

Librarians can offer antifa programming, cultural awareness, truth and reconciliation talks (after proper development), anti-Whiteness programming and other such events.  Our collections can be enhanced with Anti-Racist and Anti-Whiteness purchases.  Our hiring can be more diverse and inclusive of different pathways to librarianship.

Please don't let people come into our library space--sometimes one of the only sanctuaries from this terror--and ruin it by making racist statements, having hate meetings and requesting the library purchase material that espouses a philosophy that I be 'gotten rid or....'

Some Racist Librarian Bullshit...

This is in response to David Lee King's blog post on:

http://www.davidleeking.com/ugly-beliefs-free-speech-and-libraries/  

What kind of drivel is this?

And look at the photo--a photo of a white dude with duct tape on his mouth!!!!

Poor White Dude who can't spout his hate!

Fuck David Lee King! " We stand for the principle that government and public information shouldn’t depend on the whims of the moment.” Quote from Joseph Jane's article that D quoted. It isn't a fucking 'whim' you asshole--maybe to SOME White people Genocide is a whim, the desire for genocide is a whim, or maybe it is that the potential victims are stating a whim that they don't like to be threatened. It isn't neutral if you are backing the ONE side--the white side. Fuck your founding fathers and their rapist bullshit. Fuck Nazi 'free speech.' It sure would be nice if people like mr. King would fight for POC's rights just as much as he is fighting for Nazi rights.

#UnconsciousRacism

#FuckYouAndYourSocialMediaSavvyAsshole

Shoutout to the sore losers!

#EthnicStudies + LIS education = Change

We need critical information studies now!

EthnicStudies Readings + LIS education = some good shit. 

Are there any Ethnic-studies based LIS classes in the US? 

I draw much of my inspiration and my thinking is different than most of my colleagues because of my exposure to writers like #Acuña #Fanon#Newton #Baldwin #Peltier #Churchill #RobertFWilliams #MalcolmX#SubcomandanteMarcos #bellhooks and others...

We need something like this to help create change in LIS.

Librarians with Spines Author Meet, Greet and Book sell @ ALA Chicago 2017

LIbrarians with Spines T-shirts Available Now!

 

To order a t-shirt, tote or sticker--follow this link:https://goo.gl/lZsjAS 

Librarians With Spines is Available here!

Librarians with Spines can be a useful classroom teaching tool for LIS.

It is unique and has a broad range of topics from a diverse group of authors!


Yago, Autumn and I would like to thank the authors and the gofundme contributors for making this project possible!

LWS TOC

LWS TOC

How Do the Seven Major Themes about the Algorithm Era Impact LIS?

 How do these themes impact LIS?

How can librarians and other information professionals work to mitigate themes four and five?

How can librarians and others work to increase algorithmic literacy?

Link to Pew's article Code Dependent:Pros and Cons of Algorithm Age: http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/02/08/code-dependent-pros-and-cons-of-the-algorithm-age/

To ALA or Not?

Someone on a list I'm on recently posted that they were hesitant to renew their ALA membership because of the recent ALA press release scandal.  You can read about it on Librarian in Black here: http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/alastatements/. The person who posted asked the group what they thought about renewing their memberships.  Below is my response.

I'm not a member of the ALA, but I work with them on issues concerning Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.  I'm on the ALA EDI implementation Work Group and I try to represent marginalized people who can't afford membership or conference participation (among other things).  

I would say that ALA has been made progress due in large part to work by people like Melissa Cardenas-Dow, Trevor Dawes, Martin Garner and many others who are strongly committed to EDI in ALA and in libraries in general. 

I would also say that the constituency should scrutinize candidate's actual work on EDI.

In my blog post on the 2015 ALA election I explicitly state that there was only one real candidate who seemed to address EDI.   

https://lowriderlibrarian.blogspot.com/2015/03/ala-election-candidate-analysis-from.html

That candidate was JP Porcaro...

It seems that, up until recently, the ALA has not really taken this issue seriously. They have focused on programs that teach marginalized people how to operate in oppressive systems without creating any real change. Instead, there should be a focus on changing the structural barriers and structural racism that exist within the organization. This kind of structural racism has caused the ALA to make little to no progress in the area of ethnic representation in the library field.  Look here for some information on this:  https://lowriderlibrarian.blogspot.com/2014/09/little-to-no-progress-in-ethnic.html .

ALA is too expensive, is too financially restrictive and is too exclusive for many librarians to participate in a genuine and engaged manner. ALA is making slow progress in this area, but it is making progress. I would say that ALA is listening and things are changing slowly.  

Some things that would help ALA create change:

• Strong leadership who emphasize the importance of, and the dedication to ED,I as an organization
• Putting more money toward EDI and making it a real priority in the organization
• A more diverse (in all areas) membership to increase new ideas and development of the organization
• Structural change that makes the organization more accessible to people who can't go to conferences and who can't pay full membership dues 
• More discussion before making press statements that seem to support fascism
• A more meaningful relationship with membership. 
• It should be something more than just getting a copy of American Libraries in the mail every so often
• Less of a European hierarchical infrastructure and more of a participatory flat infrastructure 

ALA  and libraries in general seem to be a very classist organizations with the majority of librarians who are 2nd generation of deeper middle class. This impacts work in areas such as community engagement, programming and staff relations. This also impacts areas like LIS research--where there is nary a study on White-supremacy and Information in the US; where the area of Culture and Information Literacy has been hardly touched.  

I am hopeful ALA is changing in the areas mentioned above. 

I'm tired, but there is still a long way to go!

Respectfully, 

Max Macias 

MLK Day, 2017 #InnovationNOTRepetition

One of the greatest tragedies of the civil rights era was the inability, or unwillingness, of people who achieved positions via affirmative action to create real change for other POC.
  #BougieFucks #TapedMouths #RunAwayFromUS #Vendidos #JoinedTheOtherSide Then those same assholes have the audacity to tell me to act White. They use code-words like Professional and Educated--but what they really mean is try to be White. The best they could do was try to give us tips on how to act White and get money for ourselves. #MLKDay2017 #IDontWantTOBeLIkeYou

 We need change, we don't need to be told how to watch ourselves, how to 'behave' and how to survive in a world dominated by White people.  We need to learn how to change the world into a world that is friendly toward Black and Brown faces...

This is a criticism of the recipients of Affirmative Action. People who are given power,  but are too scared to use it. They have their hands tied because they don't want to lose what they have been allowed to gain. I understand self-preservation, but I don't understand turning one's back on their own people. The New Jim Crow was allowed to happen as a result of their inaction, capitulation and buying into the American Myth that if only you" work so hard--you can do anything--even if you are Black or Brown." Even our Black president turned his back on us. He believed in trickle down benefits to POC...That is a joke! Once people get so entrenched in the Colonial system, they begin to believe in it--in the lies, and are  complicit in the deceit of their own people. We need to create new systems, not teach people how to be successful in a system that won't really ever accept them--apart from tokenization and fetishizing the 'exotic.'

Let us honor the memory of Dr. King and create a new world--a world where "acting White"  and telling lies to our kids and family are unnecessary.  Where working together instead of against one another are the standards by which we live.