[aisle] Hit: Diversity Audits for books and materials (so far...😃)

Wed May 19 18:11:20 CDT 2021

I would like to join a Zoom session as well.

Rose Janusz, MLIS
Library Media Center Director
DuPage High School District 88
GSA Sponsor, WBHS
(630) 628-2611

On Wed, May 12, 2021 at 11:31 AM Linda Sawyer via AISLE <
aisle at list.railslibraries.info> wrote:

> I would love to be part of a zoom on this topic.
>
> Linda
>
> Linda Zeilstra Sawyer
> School Librarian/Information Specialist
> St. Francis Xavier School
> 808 Linden Ave, Wilmette, IL 60091
> (847) 256-0644
>
>
>
> On Wed, May 12, 2021 at 10:57 AM Karen Doyle via AISLE <
> aisle at list.railslibraries.info> wrote:
>
>> I hadn't replied earlier, but am interested in being in the discussion.
>> I answered the poll.  Thanks for setting this up!
>>
>>
>>
>> Karen Doyle
>> Library Media Specialist
>>
>> Komarek School
>> 8940 W. 24th St
>> North Riverside, IL 60546
>> 708-447-8030 x 143
>> kdoyle at komarek94.org
>> www.komarekschool.org
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, May 11, 2021 at 3:43 PM Neha Thakkar via AISLE <
>> aisle at list.railslibraries.info> wrote:
>>
>>> Here are the responses I received. Thank you all for your input! Also,
>>> multiple people requested to start a Zoom or other discussion. If you are
>>> interested, can you share your best time for June
>>> <https://doodle.com/poll/5387mnedu5k6nir4?utm_source=poll&utm_medium=link> (CST
>>> time)? I'll review and send out a date, time, links once we have a
>>> consensus in the poll.
>>>
>>> My original query:
>>> We are continuing our work around DEI and I'd like to start some
>>> conversations and provide resources around a diversity audit. Any great
>>> checklists, articles, podcasts, videos, etc? I know it was presented a
>>> couple years ago at a ISACS conference/meeting, and I'd love updated
>>> materials. Thank you!
>>> ---
>>> ---
>>> I led one of those groups for LMAIS and I've learned so much since then.
>>> School Library Journal has offered a series of classes: I learned so
>>> much during the 15 hour class entitled, "Equity in Actions: Building
>>> Diverse Collections," and it was extremely helpful. I had done one last
>>> year on how to conduct a diversity audit. By the way, I didn't do the whole
>>> diversity audit because I didn't feel it would be the best use of my time
>>> with 3 days a week and no parents entering the building, even library
>>> volunteers. I've developed what I feel is a really good collection of
>>> diverse books by following School LIbrary Journals and articles, along with
>>> author websites, but I'm sure you're all doing that, too. There have been
>>> some especially good ones.
>>> This site is amazing:
>>> https://diversebooks.org/resources-old/where-to-find-diverse-books/
>>> This site includes links to many other sites, and that is
>>> an understatement.
>>>
>>> I get emails from Colors of Us and Brighty, but I don't recommend them.
>>> I look at them, but they'll have amazing books interspersed with Berenstein
>>> Bears and The Muppets and Little Golden Books. They aren't librarians, but
>>> you can find interesting titles and find reviews in SLJ.
>>>
>>> We did have people answer in a survey, "What languages other than
>>> English are spoken in your home by adults or children?" ...  We now have at
>>> least one book that represents each of 60 languages. Cataloging something I
>>> couldn't read and trying to find Dewey numbers were challenging, but I'm
>>> very pleased. Up until the pandemic, I had parents who spoke a particular
>>> language, but, well, then there's the pandemic. I'll have them help as soon
>>> as I can to add and clean up the records, but that means I am sitting with
>>> them. In trying to find some of the languages, I've made some library
>>> friends, too, like my Assyrian-speaking friend who sent me books for my
>>> Assyrian speakers.
>>>
>>> I am working with an 8th grade boy whom I've loved since he was a first
>>> grader. He was chosen to receive a merit scholarship from the school which
>>> required him to do a service project for the school. He chose to add more
>>> banned books to the library and to update our classics section with new
>>> copies. I should add that because we did a play called "The Enchanted
>>> Bookshop" with a dozen literary characters, interest soared over Tom
>>> Sawyer, Alice in Wonderland, etc, and this boy played Tom Sawyer. We're
>>> trying to be culturally sensitive in the choices.
>>> ---
>>> We have started planning to do a diversity audit and this blog has been
>>> helpful to give some ideas on how to plan, where to start and what things
>>> to keep in mind as you are auditing.
>>>
>>> https://dontyoushushme.com/2020/06/15/diversity-audit-a-practical-guide/
>>> ---
>>>
>>> If you have Destiny, and it's by no means perfect, you can use their DEI
>>> and SEL audit.  It needs to be turned on with your rep.  We found it's a
>>> good starting point.
>>> ---
>>> https://diversebookfinder.org/
>>>
>>> We used the above link as a starting point.
>>> ---
>>> You can now run a diversity audit in Collection Analysis in Titlewave.
>>> It’s not perfect – double counts books that are in multiple categories, but
>>> it is a start.
>>> ---
>>> I'd love to know what libraries are using as targets. How do you define
>>> a diverse library? It is it in alignment to what is published? What your
>>> school population is?
>>>
>>> And would love to set up a Zoom to talk about the process (very
>>> informally), and see if anyone has any tips or tricks.
>>> ---
>>> I am really interested in this! I have set goals for both Elementary and
>>> Middle/High School libraries to display and provide more diverse books. I
>>> feel my goals are arbitrary sometimes. I am seeking a master's in
>>> Diversity and Equity in Education and would love to be a part of this
>>> meeting/ conversation!
>>> ---
>>> Our goal was to have fiction books where the main character(s) were
>>> traditionally underrepresented groups. We just wanted books that reflect
>>> our society as a whole rather than just the makeup of an individual school.
>>> ---
>>> I know that Mackin is providing materials for diversity audits.
>>> ---
>>> Multiple requests for a hit =)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Neha Thakkar
>>> M.Ed, MLIS, Pronouns: she/her/hers
>>> 630-452-5317
>>> | nehathakkar114 at gmail.com
>>> Socials: @mrsthakkar <https://maps.google.com/?q=Socials:+@mrsthakkar>
>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/neha-thakkar-43a841b/>
>>> <http://instagram.com/mrsthakkar> <http://facebook.com/mrsthakkar>
>>> <http://twitter.com/mrsthakkar> <http://thakkarsthinkers.blogspot.com/>
>>> <http://youtube.com/mrsthakkar> <http://pinterest.com/mrsthakkar>
>>> MAILMAN_MIMEDEFANG
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