Date
Wednesday, July 17, 2024
Session Type
Poster
Name
Who is this LibGuide for? How an inclusive approach to audience shaped the reimagining of the canon
Description

"Black Built Environment: race and architecture in America” is an ALA-grant-funded LibGuide launched in Spring 2023 that demonstrates a range of approaches to the built environment that celebrate the leadership and contributions of Black Americans and acknowledges the many forces that coalesce to impact Black communities across the country. It is informed by my experience in architectural education and as a Communications Director at various design firms, and takes an inclusive approach to its audience. Through careful consideration of who I can reach, how I might reach them, and what might be new to them, I continue to capture audiences that are invited to engage in a dialogue; this has already led to a round of updates based on patron feedback. In both its structure and content, the Guide attempts to provide resources for those seeking to improve upon an existing curriculum as well as propose entirely new frameworks and unconventional materials to reimagine the value systems that have historically and systematically oppressed and omitted these histories from the design and policy canons. This poster and LibGuide embody an agenda for change on many scales–from incremental to revolutionary–and invites all of its potential audiences to explore its resources which take all manner of format (books, podcasts, lectures, films, oral histories, indices, grassroots organizations, archives, et.al.) and to engage in a dialogue to further develop a new kind of canon.

Track
Poster