Sessions Focused on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) - Workshops and Trainings

ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services (ODLOS) curated this list for conference attendees who may be interested in sessions targeting equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). The sessions are grouped by session type with definitions to guide attendees through the selections. Please note that this information was curated by ODLOS specifically, there may be some flexibility in each session’s categorization and/or level of understanding. 

Workshops/Trainings provide an interactive session, typically longer than an hour, in which participants are learning new skills to take back to their workplace. 

Definitions of Levels of Understanding

Introductory Level - These sessions are geared toward attendees who have no prior or little experience with equity, diversity, or inclusion topics. Attendees who have limited knowledge of equity, diversity, and inclusion are encouraged to attend these sessions.  

Intermediate Level - These sessions are appropriate for attendees who have attended a few webinars or workshops surrounding equity, diversity, and inclusion and would like to learn more. These sessions start analyzing how the library profession can decenter power. 

Advanced Level - These sessions are appropriate for those who are experienced with nuanced concepts of social justice, power and privilege, identity, equity, and inclusion. Attendees who are facilitators and leaders in areas of equity, diversity, and inclusion and those looking to deepen their knowledge are encouraged to attend. 

Workshops/Trainings

Beyond the Racial Stalemate
Type: Pre-Conference/Workshop
Level of Understanding: Introductory
June 21, 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. OR 1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
In his 2008 speech on race, titled "A More Perfect Union," then-candidate Barack Obama described a "racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years." He suggested that, if we don't do something different, "nothing will change." A decade later, we're still stuck. How do we move forward? Using an approach known as "racial healing," facilitators will lead participants through a process that invites story-telling, vulnerability, and deep listening. The goal is to provide leaders with a tool currently used by hundreds of organizations to help uproot the flawed belief in a racial hierarchy. A publication from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation entitled "Restoring to Wholeness (hyperlink: https://www.wkkf.org/resource-directory/resource/2018/02/restoring-to-wholeness--racial-healing-for-ourselves-our-relationships-and-our-communities) " can help you understand more about what racial healing is and what racial healing circles can help you achieve. 

AvramCamp
Type: Pre-Conference; Workshop
Level of Understanding: Intermediate
June 21, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Women in technology face numerous challenges in their daily work. If you would like to join others in the field to discuss those challenges, AvramCamp is for you. This one-day LITA preconference will allow female-identifying individuals employed in various technological industries an opportunity to network with others in the field and to collectively examine common barriers faced.

This day will follow the unconference model allowing attendees the power to choose topics most relevant to them. The day will start with looking at imposter syndrome, the feeling that you aren't actually qualified for the work you are doing and will be discovered as a fraud. Participants will then have the opportunity to propose lightning rounds and session proposals on a variety of topics such as salary negotiation, creating inclusive job postings, and becoming leaders in the technology field.

Media Literacy at Your Library Training 
Type: Pre-Conference/Workshop
Level of Understanding: Intermediate
June 21, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Can your patrons spot fake news? Can you? Learn how your library can play a vital role helping adults in your community become eagle-eyed news consumers.

In this intensive one-day preconference, you will:
Be trained in the media literacy curriculum developed by Stony Brook University’s Center for News Literacy
Learn how you can empower patrons to recognize fake news
Work with other libraries to brainstorm and develop program ideas
Develop a media literacy program plan for your library using Human-Centered Design methods
Receive a certificate of completion

This preconference is suited for any library employee who with adult patrons.

Diversity and Inclusion Unconference 
Type: Pre-Conference; Workshop
Level of Understanding: Introductory
June 21, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Would you like the opportunity to discuss diversity and inclusion in libraries? Would you also like to learn how to use a flexible, conversational training format for idea generation and training? If so, the Diversity and Inclusion Unconference is for you! Experienced facilitator Sam Eddington will provide instruction on the unconference structure, which is designed to encourage the sharing and development of innovative and effective ideas. Then, using a participant-generated agenda, we'll dive into diversity and inclusion, exploring successes and challenges, and looking at the issues in new ways.

Reducing Implicit Bias in Reference Interviews and Literature Searching (Train the Trainer)
Type: Workshop
Level of Understanding: Intermediate
June 22, 9 a.m. - 10 a.m.
Unconscious, or implicit, bias in medical research and care is well documented—black patients on average receive less pain medication; heart attacks are underdiagnosed in women; and non-white, non-male populations are underrepresented in clinical trials. This bias has important consequences, like differences in the quality of care that patients receive and in the efficacy of drugs across populations.

Our experience as medical librarians led us to develop a workshop that addresses what we can do as librarians to mitigate the effects of bias in literature searches. While we begin by talking about health information from both a consumer health and clinical care viewpoint, we invite librarians from all subject specialties to join this workshop. We offer our experiences and research as a starting point for an interactive workshop, which explores tools that librarians can use to recognize and address unconscious bias ourselves, in scholarly research, and in the library systems we use to retrieve information.

This workshop includes blended lecture and group discussion, as well as hands on activities. During this workshop, participants will a) define implicit bias and identify bias in academic health sciences research b) develop techniques to address implicit bias in reference interviews including how to craft research questions and search queries, and c) explore techniques for running workshops for librarians on objectives a and b. 

Introduction to Implicit Bias and Microaggressions
Type: Pre-Conference; Training
Level of Understanding: Introductory
June 22 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. | June 22; 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. | June 23, 2 p.m. - 3
The American Library Association commits to ameliorating marginalization and underrepresentation within the Association and the communities served by libraries through increased understanding of the effects of historical exclusion. This introductory training will explore implicit bias and microaggressions. Participants will be able to identify how these concepts create barriers and begin to explore ways to disrupt our biases and respond to microaggressions. This training will be presented three times throughout Annual Conference and is open to all conference attendees.

Talking with Kids about Race: A 'How to' Workshop
Type: Program/Workshop
Level of Understanding: Intermediate
June 22, 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m
Move from the “what” to the “how” of talking with kids about race in this dynamic workshop. A panel of facilitators, with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, workplaces, and experiences, will lead an examination of how to talk about and address race and racism with young people. Presenters will cover individual and systemic racism, intersectionality, and white fragility, as well as participant-guided topics to give attendees concrete tools and the confidence to address these issues with young people in the communities they serve. Hands-on, interactive activities and smaller group discussions will give the participants experience and first-hand knowledge to bring back to their institutions and implement immediately. Participants will be able to apply the knowledge they gain from this program in many contexts including through formal programming, in one-on-one interactions with the youth that they serve, as well as with the community at large, colleagues, and the leadership of their institutions. This work will contribute to the equity and inclusion of libraries, schools, and, ultimately, the communities that we serve and will create welcoming spaces for all youth, including those young people from marginalized and underserved communities.