91st chat, Tuesday October 3 2017: open educational resources (OER) 
6pm Pacific / 7pm Mountain / 8pm Central / 9pm Eastern

moderated by @zoh_zoh @aliversluis @eriksation @SarahEHare
Storify (pdf, html) by @violetbfox

Suggested resources:

• New Directions in Open Education by Mike Caulfield (October 2016)
• A Critical Take on OER Practices by Sarah Crissinger, In the Library with the Leadpipe (October 2015)

Discussion questions:

• Q1. What critical questions and ideas are missing from current conversations about OER? #critlib
• Q2. How does privilege intersect with making and using OER? #critlib
• Q3. Are there any commonalities between critical information literacy and open pedagogy? #critlib
• Q4. How is it harmful to frame OER as a simple solution to complex issues (educational, economic, etc.)? Have you seen this framing? #critlib
• Q5. How does OER labor get rewarded (or not)? How does this differ across groups (librarians, instructional technologists, faculty)? #critlib

90th chat, Monday September 18 2017: spatial justice: white supremacy in public art and architecture
6pm Pacific / 7pm Mountain / 8pm Central / 9pm Eastern*
*note special evening Monday time

moderated by @a_meeksie & @vin_alyssa
Storify (pdf, html) by @violetbfox

Definitions:

• spatial justice: Spatial justice brings together social justice and space. How space is organized (what and who occupies any given space) is a crucial dimension of human societies, reflecting social realities and (in)justices while also influencing social relations (Henri Lefebrve, 1968, 1972). This concept can be used as a guiding tool to understand and reflect on solutions to social injustices that are embedded in both space and society.
• public art: art in any media that has been planned and executed with the intention of being staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all.

Suggested resources:

• Brook, Freeda, Dave Ellenwood, and Althea Eannace Lazzaro. “In pursuit of antiracist social justice: denaturalizing whiteness in the academic library.” Library Trends 64.2 (2015): 246-284. (especially section on “The racialized space of the academic library” pdf)

Discussion questions:

• Q1. What is the function of public art and architecture where you work/live? #critlib
• Q2. What narratives/whose history is dominant in and around lib*/archives in your community? #critlib
• Q3. If lib* take an antiracist approach to cultivating culturally responsive spaces, what do we need to examine first and why? #critlib
• Q4. How can we can work to counteract & subvert oppressive spatial elements, such as monuments that function as microaggressions? #critlib
• Q5. What barriers might we encounter in trying to do this work in our profession & how can we overcome those barriers? #critlib

Additional resources:

• S.F.’s monuments to male supremacy: the city’s public art by Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle (June 13 2017)
• Confederate Statues Are the Easy Part by Clay Risen, New York Times (August 18 2017)
• Certain campus building names cause controversy by Erin Dose, The Daily Barometer (March 6 2017)
• Things to Think About When Taking Down Statues by Steve Coll, The New Yorker (August 31 2017)
• Oregon State University LibGuide on history of OSU buildings
• All monuments must fall: a syllabus. Crowd-sourced list of resources “relating to Confederate and other racist monuments to white supremacy; the history and theory of these monuments and monuments in general; and monument struggles worldwide” (site is down Sept 18: alternate version available via Antioch College LibGuide)

89th chat, Tuesday September 5 2017: the weight and worth of professionalism
6pm Pacific / 7pm Mountain / 8pm Central / 9pm Eastern

moderated by @TheGnarrator
Storify (pdf, html) by @lisahubbell

Suggested resources:

• You Call It Professionalism: I Call It Oppression in a Three-Piece Suit by Carmen Rios (February 15 2015). Everyday Feminism.
• I’m Leaving the Archival Profession: It’s Better This Way by Jarrett M. Drake (June 26 2017). Medium.
• Librarianship Doesn’t Need Professionals by Madison Sullivan (January 19 2016). ACRLog.
• Professionalism: Value and Ideology [pdf] by Julia Evetts (March 12 2013). Sociopedia.isa. DOI: 10.1177/205684601231

Discussion questions:

• Q1. What is the culture of professionalism in your workplace? In your area of librarianship?
• Q2. How do definitions of professionalism differ from the democratic and social values advocated by librarianship?
• Q3. What are ways that professionalism is oppressive?
• Q4. How can we cultivate acceptance of different attitudes towards professionalism/redefine professionalism to be more inclusive and accommodating of different experiences/identities?
• Q5. How do you represent yourself authentically in the workplace or as a job seeker while navigating organizational expectations?

moderated by @zoh_zoh
Storify (pdf, html) by @violetbfox

Suggested readings:

• ALA Mentoring Programs (more recently updated link here)
• Lunden, I. (2017, August 3). LinkedIn is rolling out a free Tinder-style service to pair users with mentors. TechCrunch.
• Broder-Singer, R. (2011). Why mentoring matters. BusinessMiami.
• Lacy, M., & Copeland, A. J. (2013). The role of mentorship programs in LIS education and in professional development. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 135-146. (pdf)

Definitions:

• mentor: generally an experienced colleague who provides guidance and advice
• mentee: the person being mentored
• library workers: anyone who works in libraries in any capacity, including contingent/adjunct/part-time/classified labor
• formal mentorship programs: mentorship programs organized by an employer, professional association, school/university, non-profit, or other institution
• informal mentorship: mentoring relationships that are not administered by any outside organization

Discussion questions:

• Q1. How do you define success in a mentoring relationship?
• Q2. Have you ever participated in, or do you currently participate in, a formal mentorship program? If so, what is/was it? What was your experience?
• Q3. What are some informal ways you have mentored, or been mentored by, other library workers?
• Q4. What are some examples of strong mentorship programs outside of libraries? What can we adapt/change in library mentorship programs?
• Q5. How can mentorship help surface and transform power structures in library professions?

87th chat, Tuesday August 8 2017: Hip Hop Librarian Consortium
6pm Pacific / 7pm Mountain / 8pm Central / 9pm Eastern

moderated by @KaiAlexisSmith @NicestLibrarian @maxmacias
Storify (pdf, html) by @violetbfox

Hip Hop pedagogy is “an examination of the way hip-hop constructs discourse, the way it produces rhetorical meaning through its complex method of digital sampling, and how such a rhetoric functions within the scope of argumentation.” (Jeff Rice, “The 1963 Hip-Hop Machine: Hip-Hop Pedagogy as Composition”, College Composition and Communication (2003), p. 454. Available at: jstor.org/stable/3594173)

Suggested resources:

• Hip Hop Librarian Consortium. Hip hop librarianship: leaders of the new school : a comprehensive bibliography (2017). Free download available: hiphoplibrarianship.wordpress.com
• WhoSampled.com : exploring the DNA of music. Available at: whosampled.com
• Arthur, Craig and Alyssa Archer. Keep it Wild Style: Hip Hop Pedagogy & Library Instruction [bibliography]. Available at: tinyurl.com/WILUWildStyle
• Macias, Max. Information diffusion and hip hop, Lowrider Librarian blog (2015). Available at: lowriderlibrarian.blogspot.com/2015/03/information-diffusion-and-hip-hop.html
• Hip Hop and Activism LibGuide, California State Polytechnic University Pomona Library (2017). Available at: libguides.library.cpp.edu/hiphopandact
• Piskor, Ed. Hip hop family tree (2013). [Four-volume set.] WorldCat.org record: worldcat.org/title/hip-hop-family-tree/oclc/861324827
• ACRL Hip Hop Librarian Consortium Discussion Group email list. Information at: ala.org/acrl/aboutacrl/directoryofleadership/discussiongroups/acr-dghiphop, direct link: lists.ala.org/sympa/info/acr-hiphop

86th chat, Monday July 24 2017: net neutrality
11am Pacific / noon Mountain / 1pm Central / 2pm Eastern

moderated by @mfgaede @bembrarian
Storify (pdf, html) by @mfgaede

This chat is based around net neutrality, primarily focusing on the context of recent governmental decisions/stances and organizational responses regarding net neutrality laws, with net neutrality literacy and net neutrality education being primary themes/talking points. The goal of this chat is to show what libraries are actively doing and thinking now, and what next steps are needed to follow-up on these issues.

As an extension of December 2015’s “Privacy Education in Libraries” #critlib chat, we will also continue to gauge where libraries stand on privacy education, patron data, and vendor/technology relationships (and their transparency or lack thereof).

Suggested resources:

• Net Neutrality Overview, Vox, May 21 2015
• The FCC’s new net neutrality rules, explained in 172 seconds Vox, February 26, 2015 (3 minute video)
• A Timeline of Net Neutrality
• Join the Fast Lane
• ALA Statement on Net Neutrality

Discussion questions:

• Q1. How does net neutrality relate to equity and how is it a social justice issue? #critlib
• Q2. What is/should be libraries/library workers’ role(s) in the conversation about net neutrality? #critlib
• Q3. What are effective resources for exploring/explaining net neutrality that have you have successfully shared in your library? #critlib
• Q4. How do you balance providing service, using patron data for better service, and protecting users’ privacy? #critlib
• Q5. How is data valued at your library? Do you know what your vendors do with your data? Do these factors affect vendor choice? #critlib

Additional resources:

• Mozilla’s statement on Net Neutrality
• A Brief, Strange History of Net Neutrality. Los Angeles Times, May 3 2017.
• Public Knowledge on Net Neutrality
• The Battle for the Net
• #critlib on Privacy Education in Libraries (December 2015)

85th chat, Tuesday July 11 2017: privilege in the library job search process
6pm Pacific / 7pm Mountain / 8pm Central / 9pm Eastern

Moderated by @kevinseeber @catladylib @ForgetTheMaine @modbrarian @christinemmoe
Storify (pdf, html) by @kevinseeber

Jargon/concepts/shorthand to know ahead of time:

• MPOW = “my place of work”
• FPOW = “former place of work”
• CV = “curriculum vitae”; these are frequently required for academic library positions in place of a resume.
• cover letter = document to accompany to resume/CV that speaks to specific parts of the job listing.
• job talk = also known as a “candidate presentation,” this is a common part of the interview process in which the person interviewing has to give a presentation to a room full of people.

Suggested readings:

• Berlant, Lauren. (2006). “Cruel Optimism.” Differences, 17(3): 20-36. http://differences.dukejournals.org/content/17/3/20.full.pdf
• Galvan, Angela. (2015). “Soliciting Performance, Hiding Bias: Whiteness and Librarianship.” In the Library with the Lead Pipe. http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2015/soliciting-performance-hiding-bias-whiteness-and-librarianship/
• Rios, Carmen. “You Call It Professionalism; I call It Oppression in a Three-Piece Suit.” everyday feminism. http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/02/professionalism-and-oppression/

Discussion questions:

• Q1. How does the library job search process and hiring for “fit” reinforce hegemonic cultural expectations? #critlib
• Q2. What should search committees/hiring authorities be doing differently when recruiting, interviewing, & hiring library workers? #critlib
• Q3. Job searching involves lots of emotions. How can we address them in a healthy way, esp. given pessimism in the larger field? #critlib
• Q4. What can experienced library workers do to help job seekers with less library experience? #critlib
• Q5. If you started a new job in the last year, what advice can you offer job seekers looking for their first position? #critlib

84th chat, Monday June 19 2017: relevance of MLIS to 21st century librarianship
11am Pacific / noon Mountain / 1pm Central / 2pm Eastern

Moderated by @mohamedberray

Note: Using “MLIS” for any information/library master’s degree (MLS, MSIS, etc.) for brevity’s sake.

Suggested readings:

• White, Philip Bradley (2016). Realizable value of the MLIS: insights from a new professional, The Bottom Line, vol. 29 issue: 3, pages 142-150. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/BL-05-2016-0019
• Mayer, Jennifer and Terrill, Lori J. (2005). Academic librarians’ attitudes about advanced-subject degrees. College & Research Libraries, 66.1, pages 59-73. http://repository.uwyo.edu/libraries_facpub/5/
• Gunby, Matthew (2013). Evaluating the MLIS degree. https://hacklibraryschool.com/2013/06/18/evaluating-the-mlis-degree-2/

Discussion questions:

• Q1. What are the most valuable applications of an MLIS degree to librarian practice? #critlib
• Q2. What aspects of librarianship can be performed without the need for an MLIS? #critlib
• Q3. What alternatives to a full two+ year MLIS degree could provide an entry to the profession?  #critlib
• Q4. What changes could be made to MLIS programs to make them more relevant/worthwhile? #critlib
• Q5. How can library workers & library schools work together to ensure the value of MLIS programs? #critlib

83rd chat, Tuesday June 6 2017: queer communities in academic libraries
6pm Pacific / 7pm Mountain / 8pm Central / 9pm Eastern

Moderated by @infinity_dots & @brinepond
Storify (pdf, html) by @infinity_dots

Queer – we’re using the term queer as an umbrella term for anyone who identifies as LGBTQIA+.

Suggested readings:

• Chronicle of Higher Education. ‘Ask Me’: What LGBTQ Students Want Their Professors to Know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnbnF8QAnsY
• Ettarh, Fobazi. Black or Queer? Life at the Intersection. Hack Library School: https://hacklibraryschool.com/2013/11/19/black-or-queer-life-at-the-intersection/
• Stewart, Dafina-Lazarus. Language of Appeasement. Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2017/03/30/colleges-need-language-shift-not-one-you-think-essay

Discussion questions:

• Q1. What do you do (or plan to do) to support queer communities on your campus? #critlib
• Q2. Looking @ Q1 who’s being left out? (due to race, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, non-trad students, +) #critlib
• Q3. What can librarians do to show support for transgender students, fac, staff in particular? #critlib
• Q4. Has anyone surveyed students, fac, staff to determine queer needs on campus?#critlib
• Q5. Moving forward what do you consider to be a primary need for the queer communities on your campuses? #critlib

Moderated by @brandontlocke & @worldcatlady
Storify (pdf, html) by @elotroalex

Endangered Data is data that is at risk of deletion, repression, mishandling, or lost, or data for which broad access is difficult or impossible.

Suggested readings:

• Endangered Data Week website: http://endangereddataweek.org/
• The Federal Government’s Social And Economic Data Is In Danger. The Daily Kos: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/3/17/1644595/-The-Federal-Government-s-Social-And-Economic-Data-Is-In-Danger

Discussion questions:

• Q1. What are some ways in which you are impacted by the collection & use of federal data? #critlib
• Q2. What can we as information professionals do to preserve access to #endangereddata? #critlib
• Q3. How do you define data literacy? #critlib
• Q4. What skills & literacies are required for engagement w/ open data & data-driven news and policies? #critlib
• Q5. Do you teach infolit in a civic/social justice context (civic hackathons, ‘Fake News’)? #critlib