Dewhitening Librarianship: A Policy Proposal for Libraries

Espinal, Isabel; Hathcock, April; Rios, Maria

doi:10.7551/mitpress/11969.003.0017

Cited by 3 publications

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“…Another experience of unwelcome felt particularly by BIPOC library staff is a lack of support for upward career mobility. Staff of color who wish to move into managerial or administrative positions within a library encounter a “white ceiling,” which, as Espinal et al. (2021, p. 229) note, adds a class dimension to intersect with race such that staff is held at bay in lower-paying positions.…”

Section: Institutional Practices Upholding White Privilege and White ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward belonging and mutual hospitality: decentering whiteness in the “new normal”

Hands

2021

RSR

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PurposeThe postquarantine reopening of public libraries presents an opportunity for resetting the way libraries welcome patrons. Unfortunately, vestiges of inhospitable, white supremacist practices experienced in public libraries may accompany the “return to normal.” In addition to emphasizing policies and practices that are unwelcoming to patrons and staff from historically marginalized backgrounds, this article presents actions to be employed in an effort to transition the library to a place of belonging and hospitality for marginalized staff and community members.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on a synthesis of the literature on hospitality in libraries and antiracism as well as the author's experience from professional practice to critique the host-and-guest concept of hospitality, which results in us versus them actions that uphold racism, white supremacy and white privilege.FindingsBarriers and institutional practices that negatively impact patrons and library workers are illuminated. Recommendations for creating an antiracist “new normal” in public libraries are proposed.Originality/valueIn addition to contributing to the literature on hospitality in libraries, this paper expands the capacity and knowledge base of library staff to call attention to and dismantle barriers and uninviting practices in their own libraries. The paper further advances mutual hospitality as a supplement to antiracism principles as libraries work to eradicate white supremacy.

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Section: Institutional Practices Upholding White Privilege and White ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward belonging and mutual hospitality: decentering whiteness in the “new normal”

Hands

2021

RSR

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Diversifying, decentering and decolonising academic libraries: a literature review

Crilly

2023

New Review of Academic Librarianship

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Counterspace Support for BIPOC Employees Within a Holistic JEDI Library Framework

Espinal

Graham

Rios

et al. 2023

Advances in Library and Information Science

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This chapter presents a case study of how an academic library supports Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) employees with funding so these workers can find counterspaces (spaces where they can feel safe in community with other BIPOC who are navigating similar struggles while working in a predominantly white institution). Through its Inclusion, Diversity, Anti-Racism and Equity (IDARE) Committee, the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst Libraries worked to establish a fund for meeting some of the cultural and racial equity needs of library employees who are BIPOC. With a new Woman of Color Dean, the fund transformed into a funding priority and criterion that puts the needs of BIPOC employees at the center, while asking everyone in the library to undertake JEDI work and view all of their work through a JEDI lens. This chapter discusses the “Why” and the “How” of this JEDI initiative, placing it in the context of a larger holistic vision for inclusive librarianship outlined by current and former BIPOC employees and the JEDI vision of the Dean and her leadership team.

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Dewhitening Librarianship: A Policy Proposal for Libraries

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Toward belonging and mutual hospitality: decentering whiteness in the “new normal”

Toward belonging and mutual hospitality: decentering whiteness in the “new normal”

Diversifying, decentering and decolonising academic libraries: a literature review

Counterspace Support for BIPOC Employees Within a Holistic JEDI Library Framework

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