RE: PLA Task Force on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

PLA Board of Directors Annual Conference 2017 2017.75

TO: PLA Board of Directors RE: PLA Task Force on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion DATE: June 5, 2017

ACTION REQUESTED/INFORMATION/REPORT: Report REPORT PROVIDED BY: Richard Kong and Amita Lonial, Co-chairs Scott Allen, Deputy Director DRAFT OF MOTION: N/A

After approval by the PLA Board of Directors in January 2017, the PLA Task Force on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) was formed. The charge of the Task Force is: To develop a strategic and coordinated approach for PLA related to issues of equity, diversity and inclusion. The task force will explore methods and consider resources to be developed that will allow PLA to take a multifaceted approach. This may include recommending how EDI content is integrated into PLA programs; elevating successful libraries as models to generate and share best practices; identifying ways PLA might influence equity and inclusion within public libraries; and helping libraries serve diverse communities and staff.

Sixteen members were appointed for roughly two-year terms to end June 30, 2019. All members accepted the appointment with enthusiasm, and the composition reflects diversity in many important ways (geography, size of library represented, library roles, as well as ethnic and racial diversity). The Task Force membership is listed below.

Richard Kong, Co-Chair, Skokie Public Library Cynthia Marie Landrum, Evansville Public Amita Lonial, Co-Chair, San Diego Public Library Library Jessica Anne Bratt, Grand Rapids Public Library Sarah Lawton, Madison Public Library Katie Dover-Taylor, Detroit Public Library Sheba Marcus-Bey, East Cleveland Public Library Jane Eastwood, St. Paul Public Library Manya Danielle Shorr, DC Public Library Rachel E. Fewell , Denver Public Library Amy Lynn Sonnie, Oakland Public Library Toby Greenwalt, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Lois Langer Thompson, Hennepin County Public Andrew F. Harbison, Seattle Public Library Library Jason P. Kucsma, Toledo Lucas County Public Roosevelt Weeks, Houston Public Library Library

The Task Force met briefly at the 2017 Midwinter Meeting and has held monthly online meetings since then. They set up communications channels using Google Groups, Slack and ALA Connect.

The Task Force established three subcommittees. Their work is briefly described below.  PLA 2018 Preconference: This group submitted a proposal for a full-day preconference at the PLA 2018 Conference in Philadelphia, PA.

1  Communications: This group began outlining how the Task Force/PLA should communicate to members, the field and others. They’ve developed initial thoughts about audiences, outcomes, channels such as social media and a dedicated web site, and frequency.  ALA Annual Conference Strategy Session: This group examined how to best use time at the 2017 ALA Annual Conference, which will be the Task Force’s first official convening. It was determined to devote an entire day (Thursday, June 22, 8am-4:30pm) to a strategy session and to hire an external facilitator (Ms. Mia Henry, Executive Director of Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership) to educate members and ensure a successful session. A conference call was held to plan the event. The agenda, briefly, starts with an overview of the relationship between identity, power, and oppression; an examination of where we see oppression (marginalization, cultural dominance, etc) in the library field and in our work; and then strategizing about areas in the field that need to be addressed and planning for PLA and the Task Force. A follow-up meeting was set up (Sunday, June 25, 1pm-2:30pm) to debrief and plan next steps, in order to take full advantage of Task Force members being assembled in Chicago.

The Task Force was greatly appreciative that PLA supported modest additional costs to enable the Thursday session to occur, including the facilitator’s fee and a small stipend for an additional hotel night for Task Force members. This is similar to support provided when the Performance Measurement Task Force was established.

Additionally, PLA staff has reported internally on activities of the Task Force to ALA leadership and to the ALA Office of Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services, when requested.