How does a library respond to a community in deep crisis around race and social justice? That’s the question that Richland Library in Columbia, S.C., grappled with in 2015. Recognizing that there was no single answer, they launched initiatives on multiple internal and external fronts. Starting with a Social Awareness Taskforce, geared toward community engagement and courageous conversations, they explored topics surrounding social and criminal justice, women’s rights and race. By using innovative approaches like Circles of Dialogue and mobile empathy labs, nearly 1,500 people have participated in the library’s race, equity and inclusion programming. To further their efforts, they have also focused internally, empowering staff to lead the charge to understand their biases, macroaggressions, and cultural competence through Let’s Talk gatherings, Check Your Bubble worksheets, and other effective tools. Hearing how Richland Library moved the needle on honest dialogue, empathy, and equity with their staff and community, you will be inspired to dig in and do the work at your own library.

Presented by: Richland Library (SC) staff, including Tamara King, Community Relations Director and 2019 Library Journal Mover & Shaker; Ci Ci Holloway, Human Resources Director; and Dee Robinson, Director of Library Experience, Branches.

This webinar is part of collaboration with Library Journal, highlighting the work of recent LJ Movers & Shakers.

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Access Recording

• View Webinar Recording (You will be prompted to log in to our free Course Catalog.)

Webinar Attachments

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• View chat (xls)
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• Learner Guide (doc) Use alone or with others to extend your learning.

Related Resources and Links

• Richland Library
  • NEW in 2023: Let's Talk Race Curriculum
    
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Access Magazine, issue focused on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion)
    
  • Check Your Bubble handout (pdf) and discussion questions (doc)
    
  • Circle of Dialogue guidelines (doc)
  • Passport to DEI: Richland Library's Suite of Training Offerings (ppt)
  • My Life Experience Mobile Empathy Lab Software & Equipment (doc)
  • Race Matters Booklist, featuring titles related to race, equity and inclusion
  • Diverse Books for Families Booklist (doc)
    
• Diversity Discussion Starters, Penn State University (pdf)
  
• Just Mercy discussion guide
  
• Race to the Table SC information
  
• Race Equity and Inclusion Action Guide, by the Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Richland Library Social Awareness Taskforce, 2017 Urban Libraries Council Innovations, honorable mention
• Virtual Reality, Simulation Tools Help Midlands Exercise Empathy Muscle, South Carolina Public Radio, December 4, 2018
  
• Tamara King, 2019 Library Journal Mover & Shaker
• On WebJunction
  • Racial Equity in the Library, Part One: Where to Start?
  • Racial Equity in the Library, Part Two: Diverse Collections, Programming, Resources
  • Webinars in the free Course Catalog, from WebJunction and other providers, on Access & Equity
• Figuring Out Where to Start, and How: One Library’s DEI Strategies, OLA Quarterly, with Sherwood Public Library (OR) staff. See also Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility, on their website.
• Shared in chat:
  
  • Race Forward and Facing Race, national conference
  • Undoing Racism: The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond
    
  • WebJunction collection of tips for using virtual reality in libraries
    
  • Tides Foundation (who helped fund the library's Empathy Lab)
    
  • Luna Jiménez Institute for Social Transformation (LJIST). See their 3-day Transformational Communications workshop (pdf)
  • MicroTriggers, including the MicroTriggers Book