Moderated by @AcornElectric
Storify (pdf, html) by @ArchivistAriel

This chat will help us define visual literacy within our contexts and look at the ways critical librarianship can address the unique way visual information can impact and influence critical perspectives on the culture we live in. From signage in the library to image use and creation in academia visual information wields significant power in our spaces. We’ll discuss how we teach ourselves how to identify critical issues in visual culture, how we raise awareness of these issues, and how we teach visual literacy alongside information literacy.

If you’re unfamiliar with visual literacy feel free to check out the ACRL visual literacy standards and the Hattwig et al. article below about the standards.

Suggested readings:

• Henrich, K. (2014, May 27). Visual Literacy for Librarians: Learning Skills and Promoting Best Practices.
• “ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education”, American Library Association, October 27, 2011.
• Hattwig, D., Bussert, K., Medaille, A., & Burgess, J. (2013). Visual Literacy Standards in Higher Education: New Opportunities for Libraries and Student Learning. Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 13(1), 61–89.

Discussion questions:

• Q1. How do you define visual literacy and how does visual lit impact and influence our library spaces, intellectually/physically? #critlib
• Q2. What are some critical issues related to visual info and how can #critlib raise awareness of these issues? #critlib
• Q3. How have you learned of critical issues w/in visual culture/how do you share visual lit-related skills/concepts with colleagues? #critlib
• Q4. How do you teach or address specific visual literacy concepts/issues within your community and library? #critlib (For example, critiquing persuasive or manipulative strategies in image production, meaning, message, cultural and historical factors relevant to production of image.)

For further exploration:

• How Do You Look: Promoting Visual Literacy at Duke University and Beyond. From the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University in cooperation with Duke Libraries.
• The Visual Literacy Toobox: Learning to Read Images.  From the College of Arts & Humanities, University of Maryland College Park.
• Visual Literacy LibGuide. From the Boston University Libraries.

57th chat, Monday May 2nd 2016: emotional labor

Moderated by @lettersfromvani
Storify (pdf, html) by @PoorCharlotte

Suggested readings:

• Wingfield, Adia Harvey. “How ‘Service With a Smile’ Takes a Toll on Women.” The Atlantic 26 Jan. 2016. theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/01/gender-emotional-labor/427083/ (Trigger warning: specific descriptions of workplace racism and misogyny)
• Accardi, Maria. “Emotional Labor and Library Instruction.” Librarian Burnout. April 23, 2015. https://librarianburnout.com/2015/04/23/emotional-labor-and-library-instruction/

Discussion questions:

• Q1. What does emotional labor look like (and feel like)?
• Q2. Is emotional labor part of your work, and if so, how? Is it part of your colleagues/coworkers’ work?
• Q3. What are implicit and explicit expectations around the kinds of emotional labor library/archival/info workers do (and how do these relate to intersections of power and privilege)?
• Q4.  How could naming emotional labor inform and transform critical approaches to librarianship? Beyond naming it, what else can we do?

56th chat, Tuesday April 19 2016: lead up to #gsisc16

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

#gsisc16 is the Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies Colloquium, happening this weekend (April 23) in Vancouver, British Columbia. We’d like to use Tuesday’s chat as a chance for presenters to share what they’ll be talking about, and for those who aren’t able to attend to share their experiences and thoughts on gender & sexuality issues in libraries and related fields. Please join us!

Discussion questions:

• Q1. What are critical topics to address when we discuss gender & sexuality in information studies?
• Q2. How do we see gender & sexuality issues play out every day at work?
• Q3. How do we intervene when we see sexism at work in your library?
• Q4. What should #gsisc16 attendees be sure to address with each other on Saturday?
• Q5. Gender & sexuality in information studies #critpitch! [Share your ideas, upcoming projects/presentations, interesting resources, etc.!]

55th chat, Monday April 4 2016: intro to #critlib (part 2)

Moderated by @courtums
Storify (pdf, html) by @AlicePrael

A repeat of the March 22 chat. For those new to twitter chats, we’ve got a quick outline of the mechanics–just search for “#critlib” in Twitter to follow along!

Discussion questions:

• Q1. What does #critlib look like in practice? How do you define it for yourself?
• Q2. What does change look like in #critlib? Have you seen progress using a #critlib approach in your work?
• Q3. Where do newcomers belong in #critlib? How can we make #critlib more inclusive, especially to people who are new to crit. theory?
• Q4. What was your intro to #critlib and what tips do you have for newcomers?
• Q5. What’s a good reading or primer for an intro to crit theory? #critlib

54th chat, Tuesday March 22 2016: intro to #critlib

Moderated by @catladylib & @courtums
Storify (pdf, html) by @violetbfox

Discussion questions:

• Q1. What does #critlib look like in practice? How do you define it for yourself?
• Q2. What does change look like in #critlib? Have you seen progress using a #critlib approach in your work?
• Q3. Where do newcomers belong in #critlib? How can we make #critlib more inclusive, especially to people who are new to crit. theory?
• Q4. What was your intro to #critlib and what tips do you have for newcomers?
• Q5. What’s a good reading or primer for an intro to crit theory? #critlib

53rd chat, Monday March 7 2016: you don’t have to wear white gloves: critical approaches to rare books

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

Suggested readings:

• The “Women in Print” project through the Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois Press, a project that “explores the impact of the imprint in its original form and offers fresh insights into the reception history of books written by women”: http://womeninprint.press.illinois.edu/
• “The Archival Object: A Memoir of Disintegration” by Lisa Darms, Archivaria, 2009: http://journals.sfu.ca/archivar/index.php/archivaria/article/download/13212/14492_1 (pdf)

Discussion questions:

• Q1. Tell everyone about your experience with rare books, if any. Were you allowed/encouraged to handle the materials? #critlib
• Q2. What can rare book librarians do to break down barriers between repositories and the communities they serve? #critlib
• Q3. What do we need to collect to ensure that rare books is more than old white texts? #critlib
• Q4. Can rare books be critical or radical? Can they be separated from capitalistic value? #critlib

52nd chat, Tuesday February 16 2016: serving homeless library users

Moderated by @GinaMurrell1
Storify (pdf, html) by @oksveta

Suggested readings:

• “A home to the homeless” by Ellyn Ruhlmann, from American Libraries (2014)
• “What do I do now? Handling challenging situations with mentally ill and homeless library users, part 2” from Infopeople (2013) (direct link to 50-minute webinar)
• “Not just a place to sleep: homeless perspectives on libraries in central Michigan” by Angie Kelleher, from Library Review (2013)

Discussion questions:

• Q1. Does your library offer support services/outreach to homeless patrons?
• Q2. Does your library have policies that prohibit behaviors often associated with homelessness?
• Q3. What kind of staff training, if any, does the library provide in serving homeless patrons?
• Q4. What role should the library have in providing support services to homeless patrons?
• Q5. What can libraries do to better serve homeless patrons?

51st chat, February 1 2016: patience/impatience

Moderated by @lisalibrarian, @skeskali, & @AprilHathcock
Storify (pdf, html) by @violetbfox

This week’s chat is a chance for everyone to talk about the struggles we face in wanting to do important social justice work and to see change immediately when reality is often much different. There is no reading for this chat; we just ask that you come ready to share and listen. It can be difficult working against age-old oppression and striving for right-now change – how do you manage?

Discussion questions:

• Q1. Do you ever get impatient with the social justice work done by you or others? Why or why not?
• Q2. When does patience reinforce the status quo?
• Q3. Is talk without immediate action justifiable?
• Q4. Is there a difference between being impatient with circumstances vs with individual people?
• Q5. How can we reconcile our sense of urgency with self-care and not burning out?