"DoLled up and Ready to Learn: NYU Libraries’ IDBEA Days of Learning"

Carol Kassel, New York University Libraries

It started with #ShutDownAcademia in June 2020. There was a movement afoot to jolt higher ed institutions out of their complacency and inspire people to take action to eradicate anti-Black racism. At NYU Libraries, we were already looking for opportunities to advance IDBEA in our community, and we seized the moment as an opportunity for our organization to take the time to learn. This effort started our Days of Learning (affectionately known as the Division of Libraries Days of Learning, or DoL DoL), now a semi-annual event, in which we bring together members of the Division of Libraries around an IDBEA-related topic. The DoL DoL provides time and space for each of us to engage more deeply with inclusion, diversity, belonging, equity, and accessibility in our lives and in our work. Past topics have included anti-racism, book banning, critical librarianship, invisible labor, and others. We will make our materials available so that others can start a similar initiative at their own institutions.

"Nurturing our future: How an academic library developed a community of leaders through its Finders’ Keepers program"

Maggie Mahoney, University of Washington Foster Business Library    
Denise Wetzel, Pennsylvania State University Libraries

Penn State University Libraries developed a program to sustainably nurture individual leadership skills growth and build community for historically underrepresented employees. The program served as a method to retain employees and hopefully lessen turnover. It featured two components, a speaker series and small reading group. In the speaker series, library leaders from within the institutional library community and beyond shared their leadership stories, with an emphasis on developing their own leadership style. For the small reading group discussions, employees participated in intimate conversations around developing their own skills. Discussions featured a reading chosen by the speaker. These honest conversations encouraged leadership growth amongst participants. To develop the program, coordinators received a grant to advance the University’s strategic plan around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Employees developed the outline of a program to also support the Libraries DEIA Commitment Statement. This program also used the SDG goal 8 as a driver in the development of program components around decent work. This presentation will discuss program growth, with a focus on the need to develop soft skills. Attendees will begin to relate their own library retention and leadership development needs to this program. Advocating for marginalized library workers and helping to build leadership skills is a path towards sustainable growth and retention for all libraries.