42nd chat, September 22 2015: library security and implications for libraries
6pm Pacific / 7pm Mountain / 8pm Central / 9pm Eastern

Moderated by @BNTdynomite
Storify (pdf, html) by @oksveta

Topic: With issues of open and concealed carry being played recently in state legislatures and in the courts, the issue of security in public spaces, including schools, public libraries, and college campuses. Public libraries, such as in Michigan and Virginia (see: http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2014/01/14/taking-aim-at-the-reality-of-guns-in-libraries/ and http://www.aallnet.org/mm/Publications/spectrum/Archives/Vol-19/No-4/open-carry.pdf) have been targets for public protests for the Open Carry movement. Texas legistlature recently passed a bill to allow for colleges and universities to have open carry campuses. In light of these recent events, library security has a lot to unpack in terms of balancing creating safe spaces accessible to all and respecting indiviudual rights to free speech, privacy, and other state and federal rights. This topic can look at different types of security measures libraries use (guards, gates, cameras, signing in physically or electronically, etc.) and whether these are reactive tactics or if they are hindrances to creating an inviting and inclusive space for the communities they serve.

Suggested readings:

• The Case Against More Guns on Campus by Andrew Morse and Linsday Hammond, Chronicle of Higher Education:  http://chronicle.com/article/The-Case-Against-More-Guns-on/232093/
• AL Live: Library Security by Mariam Peram, American Libraries:  http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/al-live-library-security/

Discussion questions:

• Q1. What type of safety/security measures does your library employ? Does your library have a code of conduct/set of rules posted?
• Q2. How effective are these measures/policies in providing a “safe” library space/workplace?
• Q3. In what ways have these measure/policies infringed on personal privacy/rights or used to discriminate specific users (homeless/teens)?
• Q4. What local/state/federal laws or outside groups does your library deal with that may interfere with providing a safe and inclusive space?
• Q5. How do we balance safety/security or dealing with “problematic” users without infringment on individual rights and dignity?

Additional reading:

• Facts on Campus Carry in Texas provided by UT Austin: http://campuscarry.utexas.edu/
• To Use That Library Computer, Please Identify Yourself by Scott Carlson, Chronicle of Higher Education:  http://chronicle.com/article/To-Use-That-Library-Computer/19950/ 

41st chat, September 8 2015: information and migrant populations

Moderated by @bembrarian
Storify (pdf, html) by @violetbfox

Topic: As a librarian with professional experience in Philadelphia and Seattle, I have encountered and worked with many migrant and immigrant populations from all over the world. I recently have been working as a librarian and information management specialist in Cambodia, where the idea of migratory patterns and movements between rural areas and cities is an ever-growing trend. Today we will talk about the role of the library in a place/community, and its impact on migrant populations. While we explore these ideas, keep an open mind about what “migration” means. This topic is not solely regarding migrant workers. From children of military to refugees to rural migrant workers to city transplants, individuals who encounter physical movement from one place to another will also encounter disruptions in their ability to retrieve information and solve everyday problems. What lessons might we learn from each other regarding the texture of the population where we serve? How does the ubiquity of the Internet and the assumption of the ubiquity of the Internet impact our assumptions about populations where we serve?

Suggested readings:

• Wikipedia page on “Human Migration” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_migration): For general definitions, an overview of human migration theory, and some great reasons why people move from one place to another, read this page. I particularly like Lee’s laws, which include push and pull factors (Everett S. Lee (1966). “A Theory of Migration”).
• Southeast Asian Globe: “Power to the People?” (http://sea-globe.com/cambodia-working-class-david-hutt-southeast-asia-globe/): For perspective on the country I am currently living and working in, check out this article. Many individuals have been moving to the Phnom Penh from rural/provincial agriculture positions over the past decade and that drastically affects class structure.

Discussion questions:

• Q1. What migrant populations do you serve at your library? Does your library observe migration and how?
• Q2. What are key components that define “place” and “community,” and how can libraries/librarians embody those core qualities?
• Q3. How can the library provide culture support to migrant populations during crises in information seeking?
• Q4. How can libraries become more welcoming in general to new individuals and populations in the community?
• Q5. For groups and individuals who will leave the community for elsewhere, what support can the library provide?

Additional reading:

• Another very telling article on Phnom Penh’s developments and urban migrations: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/capitals-rapid-urban-migration
• Seattle Public Library: “Literacy, ESL and Citizenship” (http://www.spl.org/audiences/literacy-esl-and-citizenship/esl-online-resources): Here is one example of a public library’s initiatives to support new members to a community. As you review, note the tension between broad support and a degree of intimacy with the community.
• UN: “Migration Should Be ‘a Journey of Hope, Not a Perilous Gamble’, Secretary-General Tells Stockholm Forum, Urging Fresh Ideas, Innovative Partnerships” (http://www.un.org/press/en/2014/sgsm15842.doc.htm): A rather inspiring document questioning policy and institutional best practices regarding migrant populations. Additional UN migration documents can be found here: http://www.unric.org/html/english/library/backgrounders/migration_eng.pdf

Resources from chat participants:

• “How the United States Immigration System Works: A Fact Sheet” http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/how-united-states-immigration-system-works-fact-sheet
• “U.S. Weighs Offering More Help As Migrants Arrive In Europe” http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/09/08/438512031/u-s-weighs-offering-more-help-as-migrants-arrive-in-europe
• “Reaching Immigrant Populations: Serving the Culturally & Linguistically Diverse, the Queens Library Model” http://bid.ub.edu/21/gitne2.htm
• “Columbus Community College, Public Library Partner” http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2014/08/academic-libraries/columbus-community-college-public-library-partner
• “College Assistance Migrant Program” http://oregonstate.edu/dept/camp/
• “Resisting the Hegemony of Development: The Struggle of Nellie’s Cave Community” – http://www.jstor.org/stable/41445623?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
• “Mi Familia Weekend” https://www.facebook.com/MiFamiliaWeekend
• “MCPL Checkout Information” http://mcpl.info/checkout/checkout-information&quicktabs_checkout=1
• “The Revolution will Not be in English” http://amc2015.alliedmedia.org/event/933305a3eb25bc09851a775edfa4e545#.Ve-MtfQbjAA
• “Librarians on the Frontlines” http://amc2015.alliedmedia.org/event/ae9be8d2eea46350c8b906769b14a5e4#.Ve-PkfQbjAB

40th chat, August 25 2015: tenure track and social justice work

Moderated by @lalaleefull and @AprilHathcock

Storify (pdf, html) by @jvinopal

Suggested readings:

• Koritha Mitchell. “I’m a professor. My colleagues who let their students dictate what they teach are cowards.” Vox. June 10, 2015.
• Emily Drabinski. Keeping our own time. Academic Library Instruction Burnout. June 16, 2015.

Topic: “The struggle to transform our institutional practices fundamentally also involves the grounding of the analysis of exploitation and oppression in accurate history and theory, seeing ourselves as activists in the academy, drawing links between movements for social justice and our pedagogical and scholarly endeavors and expecting and demanding action from ourselves, our colleagues, and our students at numerous levels.”
~Chandra Mohanty, Feminism without borders: Decolonizing theory, practicing solidarity (2003)

This chat is not meant to exclude public librarians, special librarians, school librarians, or academic librarians who are adjuncting or in non-tenured professional lines. Job security and academic freedom are the overarching concerns that we can address as librarians writ large. Though some of the discussion questions may “read” academic, all viewpoints are welcome. Essentially, how can we balance agitating for change and working for social justice within the parameters set for our specific positions?

Discussion questions:

TT = tenure track NTT= not tenure track

Lead in: Tenure/guaranteed contract/security comes with caveats and expectations.

• Q1. Is tenure/guaranteed contract necessary for effective critical/social justice work? Why or why not?
• Q1.2. Does TT lend itself to creating certain types of change and NTT to others?
• Q2. If you actively sought/seek a TT job, what attracted you to the position? If you avoid applying for these jobs, why?
• Q3. How does being considered for tenure/guaranteed contract help/hinder you in terms of critical and social justice work in your library or institution?
• Q3.1. How does it impact your scholarly or other output? Do you feel pressure to publish in certain venues/on certain themes as opposed to others?

39th chat, August 11 2015: working from within the system to create change

Moderated by @fiiidget
Storify (pdf, html) by @poorcharlotte

Readings:

• What’s Next: The Radical, Unrealized Potential of Digital Humanities by Miriam Posner: http://miriamposner.com/blog/whats-next-the-radical-unrealized-potential-of-digital-humanities  While this talk addresses DH specifically, it frames well the struggle between some of the inherent biases of the systems that we work with and within, and the potential and urgency of learning how to subvert and transform those systems into something that is more equitable across the board.
• Now Hiring Smiling Faces (And Who Cares About Your Insides) by Maria Accardi – Academic Librarian Instruction Burnout: https://libraryinstructionburnout.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/now-hiring-smiling-faces-and-who-cares-about-your-insides/  And on the flipside, this blog post (and the entire excellent blog!) addresses well the difficulty of trying to do good work in places that don’t always support you.

Discussion questions:

• Q1: By working in places such as academia, govt or public libraries, do we implicitly endorse their oppressive systems and histories?
• Q2: How do you separate yourself from policies and structures that you disagree with? How do you indicate that to others?
• Q3: How do you balance desire for personal enrichment (and a paying job) with the harmful structures of the institutions we engage with?
• Q4: In what ways can we stop the cycle of wanting to create change and then falling away as the pressures of the system get us down?
• Pitch: Know of any resources, lists, blogs, zines, communities that deal with these questions? Want to start one?

38th chat, July 28 2015: critical with love

moderated by @barnlib
Storify (pdf, html) by @poorcharlotte

Reading: Trần, Ngọc Loan. “Calling IN: A Less Disposable Way of Holding Each Other Accountable.” Black Girl Dangerous. December 18, 2013. Accessed July 15, 2015. http://www.blackgirldangerous.org/2013/12/calling-less-disposable-way-holding-accountable.

Discussion questions:

• Intros: Who are you, where to you work/school/whatever, and what is your #1 #critlib distraction?
• Q1. Read the reading if you haven’t already. http://www.blackgirldangerous.org/2013/12/calling-less-disposable-way-holding-accountable #critlib If you have, look at pandas for a minute. [panda gif]
• Q2. Is “calling in” or general kindness a priority tactic in a critical library? Why or why not? #critlib
• Q3. What might “calling in” look like in a critical classroom, service point, or staff interaction? #critlib
• Q4. How should a person with white (e.g.) privilege respond to a call out or call in from a POC, vs. another white person (e.g.)? #critlib
• Q5. Are there times when calling out is necessary? When? Why? #critlib
• Q6. What are the implications of calling in/out if the person has authority over you or you over them? #critlib

Pitch from @barnlib: complete alternate chat time survey

37th chat, July 14 2015: environmental and labor implications of library technology

moderated by @ibeilin and @cat_lager
Storify (pdf, html) by @oksveta 

Readings:

• You’re No Fun Anymore: The Ethics of Acquiring Electronic Devices in Light of E-Waste, Sweatshops, and Globalization by Jennifer Poggiali: http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/confsandpreconfs/2015/Poggiali.pdf
• “Beyond Swag” by Dave Hudson. Mostly readable from the google books link, ping @ibeilin or @cat_lager for pre-pub PDF. https://books.google.ca/books?id=GTUPWhh0j9AC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA193#v=onepage&q&f=false

Discussion questions:

• Q1 What are the problems with the idea of ‘ethical consumerism’ in general and for libraries in particular?
• Q2 Does a consumerist model of library service encourage a consumerist model of environmental responsibility in libraries?
• Q2.5 Does this tendency undermine the ‘core values’ of librarianship?
• Q3 How can libraries not only be more environmentally responsible but also consume and produce less?
• Q4 How can libraries/librarians take collective approaches, rather than consumerist-individualist ones, to environmental problems?
• Q5 What are some ‘ethical quandaries’ that could become learning experiences for students, as Jennifer Poggiali suggests?

36th chat, June 30 2015: critiquing #critlib

moderated by @jacobsberg
Storify (pdf, html) by @foureyedsoul

Suggested resources:

• Timothy Mitchell’s “Rule of Experts,” excerpt or review forthcoming http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520232624,
• Queer Theory and the Politics of Correction by Emily Drabinski: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/669547 (poke @edrabinski for a copy!)
• Libraries and postmodernity: a review Radical Cataloging by Jacob Berg http://beerbrarian.blogspot.com/2012/06/libraries-and-postmodernity-review-of.html

Discussion questions:

• Q1. Is the terminology used by #critlib a barrier to entry to it?
• Q2. As a product of the academy, to what extent is #critlib using “the master’s tools” to dismantle it?
• Q3. If the goal of #critlib is to be emancipatory do practitioners have a duty to evangelize?
• Q4. Critical approaches to librarianship often depend on the interpretation of participants to make meaning. Does this make #critlib too personal? That is, are we too close to our methods?

35th chat, June 16 2015: critical perspectives on data, surveillance, and the privatization of higher ed

moderated by @sarahcrissinger
Storify (pdf, html) by @sarahcrissinger

Relevant readings:

• Neoliberalism, Corporate Culture, and the Promise of Higher Education: The University as a Democratic Public Sphere, Giroux (section entitled “Incorporating Higher Education” is the most useful for this discussion)
• Thinking Out Loud About Patron Privacy and Libraries #nisoprivacy, Bobbi Newman http://librarianbyday.net/2015/06/08/thinking-out-loud-about-patron-privacy-and-libraries-nisoprivacy/
• Educational Technology readings:
  • Grooming Students for a Lifetime of Surveillance, Irwin https://modelviewculture.com/pieces/grooming-students-for-a-lifetime-of-surveillance
  • Maggie’s Digital Content Farm, Watters http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/journal/maggies-digital-content-farm/
• Research examples pertaining to open data, surveillance, and inequality:
  • “Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks”http://www.pnas.org/content/111/24/8788.full (An academic article published with Facebook data- read the comments for more information about IRB issues, how depending on corporate entities creates a black box for data, and how no real form of consent was used)
  • Apple ResearchKit https://www.apple.com/researchkit/ & “Apple’s new ResearchKit: ‘Ethics quagmire’ or medical research aid” http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/10/8177683/apple-research-kit-app-ethics-medical-research

Discussion questions:

• Q1. What kinds of data collection fit into the larger movement of neoliberalism in/ privatization of the academy? #critlib
• Q2. What are some critical practices we can employ to learn about our community’s needs without invading their privacy? #critlib
• Q3. What role do librarians play as #infolit educators? How can we teach students to be skeptical of unethical data practices? #critlib
• Q4. How might librarians push back on exploitative practices like surveillance and the selling of data to corp, esp in ed tech? #critlib
• Q5. As libr do outreach for DMPs, how can we help faculty use transparent data practices while remaining aware of privacy & equity? #critlib