Building Better Libraries Through Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Program

9:00 – 9:20am Registration, Coffee & Carbs 
9:20 – 9:30am Opening Remarks 
9:30 – 10:30am Keynote with Professor Nadia Caidi.
Diversity by Design: Libraries as Sites of Disruption? 
10:30 – 10:45am Break
10:45 – 12:00pm Lightning Talks I
12:00 – 1:15pm Lunch (provided) 
1:15 – 2:45pm Workshop with Sandra Carnegie-Douglas, Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Officer, University of Toronto
2:45 – 3pm Coffee / Tea Break
3:00 – 3:30pm Lightning Talks II
3:30 – 4:30pm Uncomfortable Questions (Round Tables)
Closing Remarks
Post-Conference Social


Keynote Speaker: Professor Nadia Caidi 
Diversity by Design: Libraries as Sites of Disruption?
Professor Caidi will introduce and expand on the concept of ‘Diversity by Design’ that she and Professor Dali first wrote about in the Library Quarterly Journal(Caidi & Dali, 2017). By promoting the idea of diversity as “integral and structural,” rather than a “mere add-on” (p. 89), Caidi & Dali’s approach encourages the LIS field to look underneath the surface and start an (at times) uncomfortable  conversation within our circles, our conferences, and in our boardrooms about the personal, social, familial, historical, and community-wide causes of diversity tensions. In so doing, it is surmised that libraries, archives, and museums could well become sites of potential disruption; a worthwhile aspiration if we are serious about being truly inclusive, and about making space for other ways of knowing, learning and being in our practices, processes, values and payrolls.

Speaker Bio
Nadia Caidi is a Professor at the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on human information behaviour, societal implications of information and communication technologies, and information policy. Her current research is situated in the context of global migration and the role that information resources, institutions, and technologies play in the everyday lives of displaced and marginalized people. She focuses on three key areas: 1) Information for Social and Economic Inclusion (i.e., interactions and rituals that support migrants’ settlement, inclusion and contributions to Canadian society) ; 2) Digital diaspora (i.e., dynamic processes of identity construction and transnational community building supported by digital/social media); and 3) Diversity by Design (i.e., how institutions’ values, tools, practices and payrolls are (or ought to be) altered in light of changing demographic realities).

Dr. Caidi was the 2016 President of the International Association for Information Science & Technology, and the 2011 President of the Canadian Association for Information Science. She consulted extensively on information/media practices for a range of governmental agencies and foundations.
​

Sandra Carnegie-Douglas
Workshop Facilitator
This year’s Spring Conference will include an afternoon workshop, facilitated by Sandra Carnegie-Douglas, Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Officer at the University of Toronto. Prior to assuming her role as the Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Officer with the University, Sandra held positions as Diversity Manager with the Toronto Public Library and as Director, Programming & Special Projects with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.

Sandra has considerable experience working in the areas of human rights, antiracism, and social justice, in both public sector and community-based organizations. Her interest and work have primarily focused on organizational and social change.

Sandra holds a Masters of Education (MEd) from York University and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) from the University of Toronto.

Workshop Description
Practicing Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion within Academic Libraries: Creating more inclusive and equitable libraries

This interactive session will provide a space for participants to critically reflect on their understanding of anti-racism, equity and inclusion.  Participants will learn key terminologies to have conversations about these issues, and discuss the manifestation of racism and other inequities within the academic library context – at the direct, systemic and institutional levels.  For the second half of the session, working in small groups, participants will have an opportunity to work on case scenarios highlighting these issues.