Juanita Leatham e-portfolio

Core Competency C: Articulate the importance of designing programs and services

supportive of diversity, inclusion, and equity for clientele and employees.

Introduction

In elementary school I did not have access to a librarian. I remember one day having a librarian and then the next day she was gone. However, the books remained. We were allowed to have access to the library and to check out books but with no direction and no extra activities. Being a young reader, I was thankfully advanced in reading and spelling. However, without a librarian I was reading books that were above my grade level and sometimes I would pick a book that was below grade level. Growing up, I didn’t have a level playing field or equity, or fairness. I also didn’t have inclusion, or made to feel like I was included in the world of literature. And I most definitely didn’t have diversity, as all the characters in the books I was reading did not reflect who I was or was interested in reading about. In perspective, having a librarian that cares about diversity, inclusion, and equity and who builds their program around a variety of books and media, and who reflects the programs and services around their clientele or library patrons is of utmost importance.

Diversity 

Growing up without a librarian to guide me to books that reflected who I was at the time hindered me. It slowed me down. It dumbed me down. I was busy searching for books that I could read that were my reading level but was misguided. Not having a librarian crippled all of us grade school students. We were left out to sea amongst waves of books that didn’t reflect us. Sure there was “The Babysitter’s Club”, but we were not tweens, we were children. There were no books that I remember that were about latin, black, asian, or other races that I can recall. The shame is that there could have been books about characters that reflected us, we just had no direction to be given to find them. “Diversity should be celebrated and made to feel welcome, especially in the information field. Information isn’t always English speaking and adapting to new voices should also see their differences in written form” (Leatham, 2024).

Inclusion

As an elementary school student, I did not feel included in the education system. I felt left behind. Libraries are a place for students to feel like they belong. Without a school librarian there was no inclusion, no programs, only guesswork. When I visited the public library I could ask the librarian and other employees of books and subjects I was interested in. I imagine working as a public librarian and having employees. For example, “There should also be representation of those with different backgrounds and voices. As Joyce, I am a leader of this library branch and when I’m inclusive my staff will also follow my lead” (Leatham, 2024). I would like to hire a variety of employees and want them to feel safe to suggest a variety of books and other resources to keep at the library. To have inclusion means that we have a variety of books, materials, and reading programs that reflect the patrons we serve and the employees we have that shape our environment. 

Equity

Growing up without a librarian and programs that were reflected in learning was not fair and did not have equity or equal opportunities for us in elementary school. Having friends who went to magnet schools further highlighted the disparity and lack of equity in our experiences with libraries, programs, and librarians. I remember hearing my friends talk about their library experiences and felt jealous. Why did I not have a librarian? Why did I not have fun activities like they did? Why did my friends who spoke Spanish not have someone like them at the library? That lack of equity rang through the rest of my elementary school and middle school experiences. In work that I did, the fulfillment of diverse languages means equity among patrons. “As Joyce, I would bring the issue up to the board and to city hall to get funding for hiring a more diverse staff. I would also in the meantime look for volunteers who speak various languages. That way there’s a free option that will relieve the lack of diversity in the language. I would also ask Tanya what the entire outlook on the Census was. She said that there was a lowering population of Japanese, growing Mexican population, and rising population of Chinese and Middle Eastern. If Joyce had this information and the lack of black representation it could help save Williamson Park Public Library money on research.” (Leatham, 2024)

Evidence

1 – INFO 204: Information Professions: Ch. 18: Communication Case Study – A Failure to Communicate

This is my first supporting evidence for Competency C or diversity: “People visit the library from all walks of life and the library should reflect diversity, even with buying new non-English books.” (Leatham, 2024). This assignment was about pretending to be a library manager and situations about what we were to do. I believe that the libraries near me do a great job of reflecting diversity through the books and materials they have on their shelves. I based my responses according to the diversity I saw at the Carson Library, which is the closest library to me. They had quite a few books on display that were on other libraries’ banned lists. They had a display where you look through a hole and see which books were banned. It was very interesting. They had Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and other diverse voices. They also had books like Maya Angelou’s book but in Spanish that were in the banned book display. If I were a library manager I would definitely add diverse voices to my library and in different languages because library visitors in the area are Spanish, Chinese, and other types of non-English speakers.

2 –  INFO 275: Library Services for Racially and Ethnically Diverse Communities: Final Draft INFO 275: Notes: Assignment 2: Critical Note: Systemic Workplace Barriers for Academic Librarians with Disabilities 

My second piece of evidence to support Competency C or inclusion comes from INFO 275: Library Services for Racially and Ethnically Diverse Communities for academic libraries is with librarians with disabilities. In an interesting statistic, “Librarians with disabilities form a substantial minority within librarianship, with estimates of 3.7 percent in the United States and 5.9 percent in Canada” (Oud, 2019). I was heartened by this statistic, as I have two disorders – Bipolar 2 and Schizoaffective Disorders. As librarians we must be aware that our coworkers and patrons may be silently suffering from a disability. Treating everyone with respect and dignity is at the forefront, even if it is referred to, in this case, inclusion at the academic or public level. Some people might assume that just because one works at a high level of librarianship that they wouldn’t have a disorder, but that is far from the truth and is stereotyping. As in school and academic and public libraries, librarians shouldn’t assume the level of reading and comprehension that patrons may read at. Comprehension at all levels requires testing but in the higher education level what’s required is proven skill-based experience. For all librarians, on perceived age alone, may be stereotyped that they don’t have the experience, let alone the mental bandwidth to be working in a library. Also, just by looking at librarians and patrons alone is wrong. We must have inclusion in our libraries for both librarians and patrons.

3 – INFO 232: Issues in Public Libraries: Equity Challenge in Public Library Services Report 

This is my evidence for Competency C or equity taken from INFO 232: Issues in Public Libraries: “Or rather, what causes the reader to question who is experiencing barriers and consequences. It seems to me, the barriers are based on race and gender. Therefore, we must study and collect data on it so as to not repeat historical wrongs as we once perpetuated in the library field” (Camfield Leatham, 2024). This is a paper I contributed to that discussed DEI or diversity, equity, and inclusion. This was my response to a section which focused on the importance of DEI in classrooms and libraries. As I said above, growing up in an elementary and middle school without a librarian and programming left the scar of having no gender or racial equity in the classroom and library. Having equity, or having a librarian in the school I attended would have helped students like myself and those that weren’t bookworms stay connected to literacy. Having staff at the school library who had selected books and media that focused on racial and gender equity would have made learning to read and connect to writing easier on all of us students.

Conclusion

Diversity, inclusion and equity are important to have in school and in public libraries. Having diversity reflected in the classroom and in the library gives students a variety of opportunities to see themselves in their work and in what they read. Having inclusion helps students see their culture, race, and gender in what they read and write about. Having equity means having a librarian in the library and a variety of books and media where students can stay connected to what they’re reading just like other schools and public libraries have. 

References

Leatham, J. (2024). INFO 204: Ch. 18: Communication case study – A failure to communicate. [Google Doc]. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PQyOf_4si3km_VkOgM5hiFgRserqTZOh-5EudziBF0o/edit?usp=sharing. 

Oud, J. (2019). Systemic workplace barriers for academic librarians with disabilities. College & 

Research Libraries. 80(2), 169-194. https://crl.acrl.org/index.php/crl/article/view/16948/18654.

Sonnie, A. (2018). Advancing racial equity in public libraries: Case studies from the field. Government Alliance on Racial Equity. https://wplc.org/wp-content/uploads/documents/DEI-Library-Report.pdf. 

Leatham, J., Lopez-Gutierrez, X., & Herrera, L. (2024). Equity challenge in public library services report. San Jose State University. [Google Doc.] https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uKc1dlG3KRsDQLE-Zms9pbvU7fQD75bf511yRkJAaR8/edit?usp=sharing.  

Leatham, J. (n.d.). Final Draft INFO 275: Notes: Assignment 2: critical note: Systemic workplace barriers for academic librarians with disabilities [Google Doc]. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jDU3jBPPV6Y4MLD90HDSZeAPFQhGEl6Y99a0yjMiL6s/edit?usp=sharing.