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12 COGNOTES ALAANNUAL.ORG/MOBILE–APP|#ALAAC19 Building an Organizational Culture By Chris Heckman, Student to ALA The Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA) hosted a panel of leaders from a wide array of libraries who spoke about issues of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) on June 22. Specifically, the panel members discussed how to build an organizational culture where inclusion is emphasized and valued, as well as how to address EDIrelated conflicts when they arise. Throughout the discussion, the panel members emphasized that culture cannot be built from the top down – all employees must be engaged. Collaborative culture-building emerged as the dominant theme for the discussion. As the panelists explained, EDI is a complex area and there is not a quick fix. The panel was introduced by Jon E. Cawthorne, PhD, dean of Wayne State University’s Library System and School of Information Sciences. Cawthorne discussed his experience as a leader, allowing employees from throughout the library system to develop innovative ideas and bring them to fruition. Nicole A. Cooke, PhD, associate professor and program director for the MLIS program of the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, said library science programs are working to instill the values of EDI in a new generation of librarians. Skye Patrick, director of the Los Angeles County Library, brought the focus of the discussion to proactive culturebuilding rather than reactionary crisis management. Derrick Jefferson, associate librarian at American University of Washington DC, made it clear from his experience that someone without a formal leadership position can be a leader and a force for positive change in an organization. Jason Kucsma, acting director and fiscal officer at Toledo Lucas County Library, emphasized the value of an effective and proactive HR team to the construction of an inclusive library culture. Other speakers included Deb Sica, deputy county librarian at Alameda County Public Library, Cyndee Landrum, a PhD candidate at Simmons University and former CEO/director of Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library; and moderator Don Crankshaw, equity and well-being officer at the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library. Matt de la Peña on Life and the Importance of Literacy By Marley Kalt, University of Michigan Award-winning author Matt de la Peña headlined the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) President’s Program on June 22. de la Peña shared personal stories about growing up in a working-class community in San Diego, his journey from struggling in school to being the first in his family to attend college, and how his experiences influenced his writing. Though de la Peña struggled in school early on, he found both passion and success in playing basketball. He knew his family could not afford college, but found sports to be a potential pathway to higher education. “Having a goal can change everything for a kid,” said de la Peña, explaining how his goal of attending college helped him focus on basketball, improved his grades, and stopped him from becoming “sidetracked.” While in college, he also fell in love with literature, calling books his “secret place to feel.” He wrote poems about what it was like to be mixed race, and his experience of being poor in comparison to his peers in San Diego – while at the same time seen as rich by his family in Mexico. de la Peña also spoke about his father and his uncle, sharing the examples they set for him about masculinity and what it “Having a goal can change everything for a kid,” said de la Peña, explaining how his goal of attending college helped him focus on basketball, improved his grades, and stopped him from becoming “sidetracked.” means to be a man. Over time, his father helped him understand the importance of literacy. de la Peña shared his father’s story, from dropping out of school when de la Peña was born, to reading all of the same books de la Peña read in graduate school, and ultimately completing a college degree and becoming a teacher. At the end of the program, de la Peña read from his picture book, Love, which depicts the journey to understanding love, starting with the love given to a child and showing how one must find and define love for oneself in times of adversity. He wrote the book to be “as inclusive as possible” – racially, ideologically, and emotionally. “When you give someone a book, you’re not just giving them a book, [but] a new way to navigate the world,” de la Peña said. HIGHLIGHTS Social Workers in Public Libraries: Lessons Learned By Sara Zettervall, Hennepin County Library San Francisco Public Library hired Leah Esguerra to be the first-ever library social worker 10 years ago. On June 23, she offered lessons learned from her unique journey as part of a PLA-sponsored panel. She was joined by her co-chairs from the new PLA Social Work Task Force, Jean Badalamenti, DC Public Library; Elissa Hardy, Denver Public Library; and Nick Higgins, Brooklyn Public Library. The panelists chose to focus on conversation and forego a formal presentation. They began by taking turns to outline what each of them considered important lessons learned in their cumulative 23 years of experience. They then encouraged the audience to bring forward their own questions about this rapidly-expanding, but still young and sometimes unfamiliar trend in public library services. Esguerra’s top recommendation for libraries with new social workers was good communication, which her colleagues reinforced throughout the discussion. Her situation, which has served as a model for many other programs, began with twice-monthly meetings between her and her supervisors. That level of communication was crucial because her work crossed from the library into the city’s department of public health. She also attended all the library staff meetings she could in order to be visible as a resource. She counseled patience, noting that SFPL began discussions to create her position six years before she was hired, but she also encouraged librarians to see this as an opportunity for them and their social workers to learn together. She said collaborators should be open to possibilities and expect great things, saying, “You’re going to see lives being transformed and changed.” Agreeing, Badalamenti said, “There are many opportunities and ways social workers can serve your system.” She noted that while she was brought on board to work with patrons experiencing homelessness, she quickly took on other roles, a development that her fellow panelists echoed. She described the evolution of her role over time to encompass the establishment of a library in a local correctional facility, work as a liaison to the district’s department of disability services, and supervision of a growing staff. As a result, she said libraries that bring social workers to staff should “think broadly about what some of the possibilities might be,” such as her own hopes for a future where public health services like HIV testing and childhood vaccines can be offered in a library setting. Badalamenti pointed out that “one social worker cannot do the job alone.” Higgins said that his experience with one social worker and two part-time peer navigators backed up this assertion. “The risk is they’re going to shoulder all sorts of responsibilities,” he said, and “burnout is a real thing.” These lessons have informed recent contract renegotiations, which included adding more peer navigators, a case manager, and a policymaking-level supervisor. He also agreed with Esguerra’s recommendation of patience, saying he worked for several years before getting approval for his initial contract, and “it’s still an unusual concept to merge two professions, especially in a public library.” Higgins also introduced the idea that libraries need to engage in a cultural shift. He emphasized, “We always like to tell ourselves we’re one of the last remaining democratic spaces, but we need to be a little more courageous in backing that up.” He recommended working alongside community members to dismantle unjust systems of power, which he recognized challenges the traditional notion of a “neutral” library. This is something Hardy wholeheartedly supports as well, and she began by pointing out that the presence of social workers in libraries reflects the policy failure of our country as a whole. She pointed out that social workers can’t solve the problems library patrons experience daily, but “what we can do is come in and talk about inclusiveness and how we make everyone feel welcome.” She, too, was hired to work with patrons experiencing homelessness, but she sees library social workers taking on a much larger role. One recommendation Hardy added was to work with grant writers if possible. She was able to expand from her lone position into supervising three other social workers and six peer navigators by bringing in grant funding, then using outcomes to demonstrate the need for permanent positions. She also recommended that library managers take a lesson from social workers and incorporate “supervision” for all staff. Librarians may not be familiar with “supervision” in this context, which for social workers is time for reflection with a colleague in which they discuss, dissect, and release challenging workplace experiences. At the very least, Hardy said, libraries should be prepared to build in time for this type of supervision with a partner for any social services staff members. All of the panelists emphasized the importance of their relationships with partnering organizations. Some use those partners as employers for social workers embedded in the library, while others use them for support and referrals. Esguerra described the importance of a “warm hand-off,” where a librarian uses their personal relationship to connect her with patrons. Hardy reinforced this by pointing out the library is a place of safety, and the warm hand-off helps extend that safety to organizations that might otherwise feel intimidating to the patron. Badalamenti added that social workers have access to systems library staff do not, so they can learn more about a patron’s situation once that warm hand-off takes place. The hand-off also serves as an important boundary between library and social worker responsibilities. Although the panel didn’t have time to delve into the work libraries without social workers on staff can do, they did offer examples of their own community relationships as models librarians can follow. Also, the new Social Work Interest Group sponsored by PLA is open to any ALA member to join.