Speaker: Gina Schlesselman-Tarango, Information Professional and Librarian

Date: May 25, 2023, 2:00pm-3:00pm

Online Presentation: Recording with Embedded Captions (57:40), Recording (57:39), and Slides

Description: Too often, dynamics in libraries and library work are accepted as “just the way things are.” A critical interrogation can expose that what happens in libraries is often reflective and in service of larger racial, gendered, and political projects. In this talk, Gina Schlesselman-Tarango will put her research in conversation, exploring what Lady Bountiful – past, present, and future – can tell us about the operations of power in libraries.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will gain a greater understanding of how the categories of whiteness and womanhood have historically overlapped and operated in libraries.
•  Participants will identify examples of how oppressive legacies continue to surface in libraries and library work today.
• Participants will leave with an appreciation for the complexities and necessity of intersectional analysis in libraries and library work.

Speaker Bio: Gina Schlesselman-Tarango (she/her) is an information professional and librarian with more than a decade of experience in academic libraries, where her primary focus is information literacy, peer learning, and program leadership. Her research interests include gender and race in librarianship, critical library pedagogy, and information labor as it relates to reproductive health. She is currently co-editing Information, Power, and Reproductive Health (Library Juice Press). Gina lives in Iowa with her partner, child, cats, and chickens.

Speaker: Dawn Smith, Associate Director for Technical Services at Lillian Goldman Law Library, Yale Law School

Date: April 27, 2023, 11:00am-12:30pm

Description: This discussion will help you understand how to define anti-racism and what it does or does not mean in our libraries. We will also discuss how we should think about anti-racist practices we want to develop or improve upon. Dawn will provide a framework for incorporating anti-racist policies into practice in all service areas of your library; from the circulation desk to the technical services department and from your patrons to the newest staff member. The discussion will cover a wide range of topics, from policies and best practices that govern the daily operations of libraries including collection development and acquisitions, to evaluating our policies and best practices for recruitment and retention of people of different racial backgrounds.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will gain a greater understanding of what anti-racism means in libraries.
• Participants will be able to apply anti-racist policies and best practices in library service areas.
• Participants will be able to apply anti-racist policies and best practices when collaborating with colleagues and supporting patrons.

Speaker Bio: Dawn Smith is the Associate Director for Technical Services at the Lillian Goldman Law Library at Yale Law School, prior to which she served as the Head of Acquisitions for the law library. In this role, she oversees the acquisition and management of law library resources in print and electronic formats.

Before coming to Yale in 2018 she served for over a decade in both public and technical service librarian roles at Loyola Law School – Los Angeles. She is an active member of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) and has served on several committees, caucuses, and special interest sections of that organization including five years on the executive board of the Black Caucus of AALL. During her tenure as Chair of the Caucus, it changed its status from a Caucus to a Special Interest Section of which she served as the inaugural Immediate Past Chair of the Black Law Librarians Special Interest Section of AALL (BLL-SIS). Dawn also serves on several Yale-specific committees and is the current co-chair of the Yale University Library Advisory Committee on Library Staff Diversity and Inclusion.

Dawn holds a BS in Political Science from Texas A&M University-Commerce and her MLIS from the University of North Texas – College of Information. A Texas girl born and raised, Dawn is still trying to adjust to life as a New Englander, the cold winters make her wish for warmer days but the warm people she has found in Connecticut make her proud to call the region home.

Trainer: Erin Jones, Education and Systems Consultant

Date: Session 1 = April 11, 2023, 10:00am-11:30am
          Session 2 = May 2, 2023, 1:00pm-2:30pm
          Session 3 = May 30, 2023, 1:00pm-2:30pm

Description: Equity is making sure we meet people where they are. Building connections with each other starts with understanding our personal identities and the roles we play in our organizations and communities, as well as understanding the communities we serve. Systems impact our ability to connect with each other, sometimes with barriers and other times with bridges. Understanding organizational and structural systems help us develop practices to continue equity work.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will gain a greater understanding of critical terminology used for racial equity.
• Participants will be able to identify their personal identities and their organizational and community roles.
• Participants will be able to identify connections with communities they serve.
• Participants will be able to identify the systems at play in their organizations, as well as how those systems intersect.

Trainer Bio: Erin Jones has worked in and around schools in different capacities for over 30 years. She has worked and done consultation for non-profits, government agencies and businesses. She has worked and lived in 5 states, from the East Coast to the Midwest to the West Coast, in communities that were predominantly White communities to communities that were predominantly Black communities to those that boasted dozens of languages and cultures. She has been recognized locally and nationally for her work in education and equity. She has also received recognition as an athlete and was invited to try out for two WNBA teams. After 20 years of playing soccer and 35 years of playing basketball, Erin now runs long-distances and is devoted to regular OrangeTheory workouts. Erin and her husband, James, have been married for almost 30 years and have three adult children – two who work in education and one who designs video games.
Erin’s TEDx Talks: Bridges to Heal Us | Passion for Change | Bridges