Publishing, Whiteness, and Inequities: #LibParlor #critlib mashup #2

In January the LibParlor Editorial team proposed two different #critlib chats. The first one covered “Research through a Critical Lens” and happened on January 9th, 2018. For a quick recap, take a look at our previous recap post. The second chat was on February 6, 2018 on the topic of publishing, whiteness, and inequalities and was moderated by Chelsea Heinbach, Charissa Powell, and Charlotte Rock. We are so appreciative to Charlotte for lending her expertise and co-hosting this talk with us!

As a note, there were a bunch of great threads in some of the tweets below, so make sure to check out threads further on Twitter!

Next week’s #critlib chat will be on 2/6 at 6pm PST/9pm EST. We’ll be discussing publishing, whiteness, & inequities. I’ll be co-hosting with @CharlotteRock & @chelseaheinbach. Please join us! Here’s the link to resources and discussion questions: https://t.co/4vfGHi9bQd

— Charissa Explains It All (@CharissaAPowell) February 2, 2018

I think anything goes! My expertise is scholarly but there’s great evidence in children’s lit. #critlib https://t.co/fOnJyX5eps

— Charlotte Rock (@CharlotteRock) February 7, 2018

Q1. What are some historical and current inequities in publishing? #critlib

And even after Black Americans were permitted to learn how to read and write, educational settings/opportunities provided to them weren’t equal to their white counterparts. #critlib

— Aman (@akaur0) February 7, 2018

A1. Most jobs in publishing require a college degree & most US college grads are white. The root of the problem extends beyond the publishing industry. #critlib

— Samantha Bise-Schultz (@IamLibrarianSam) February 7, 2018

A1. Like many fields, publishing has been dominated by white cishet men. Their opinions and others like them are seen as the norm, making it intimidating and sometimes straight up hostile to find your way in if you are…not that. #critlib

— liz chenevey (@gnomadlibrarian) February 7, 2018

Q2. How have you seen these inequities play out in your work in libraries? #critlib

A2 – For the collection that I select for, it is difficult to find materials that are culturally responsible. This is especially important in the context of education because while items of research value are important, students want the most current things #critlib

— Desmond (@desmondcwong) February 7, 2018

A2 This is what we’re often asked to teach in our libraries, “legitimate” or “authoritative.” #critlib https://t.co/RyyDtooQlf

— Charlotte Rock (@CharlotteRock) February 7, 2018

A2. Students writing their thesis on underrepresented countries/communities in the literature/publications are forced to change to a US focus/perspective. #critlib

— Samantha Bise-Schultz (@IamLibrarianSam) February 7, 2018

A2. Tried to curate a list of texts for prof. to consult when mediating religious diversity discussions in their classrooms but found nothing outside of Christian perspective in our catalog. Searched WorldCat & had hard time finding anything. Perspectives are left out #critlib

— Symphony Bruce (@curlsinthelib) February 7, 2018

Q3. How can library workers strive to make publishing more equitable in our role as purchasers, authors, and influencers? #critlib

A3. Seek out non-white male voices to cite! And cite them a lot! #critlib https://t.co/2JfAnBIBr7

— Teresa Schultz (@tschultz0) February 7, 2018

A3. Great question! I think libraries can reward collection development work that considers diversity when making purchases that reflect the identities of the students we serve.

— Bronwen K. Maxson (@soccerbrarian) February 7, 2018

A3 Recently I’ve been doing a lot of pop up libraries with some of our leisure reading collection. I think a lot about what books are selected and what image that creates to students stopping by #critlib

— Hailley Fargo (@hailthefargoats) February 7, 2018

A3 I have really mixed feelings about “diversity” displays in libraries. Can we call them “reality” displays instead? #critlib

— Zoe Fisher (@zoefisher_) February 7, 2018

Q4. How can library workers strive to make publishing more equitable as researchers themselves? #critlib

A4: Publish in OA journals. If you’re on the tenure-track and your RTP guidelines require other avenues, do what you have to do, get tenure, then rewrite your RTP guidelines. We can do this. In fact, it’s basic shared governance, so we’re the only ones who can. #critlib

— Kevin Seeber (@kevinseeber) February 7, 2018

A4. Cite authors of color. If you can’t think of any, expand your network. Freire doesn’t count.

If you’re writing about disability or LGBTQ topics, boost the voices of people who have those identities. #critlib https://t.co/mDhfIJdkBB

— Jessica Schomberg (@schomj) February 7, 2018

A4. Don’t collect your data from volunteer sample populations on your campus because it’s easy and accessible. Seek out the unrepresented voices in your community. #critlib

— Samantha Bise-Schultz (@IamLibrarianSam) February 7, 2018

Hell, make ’em your co-authors. #critlib https://t.co/z6WCNDb2Sp

— Charlotte Rock (@CharlotteRock) February 7, 2018

Q5. How will you actively work against these inequities using what you learned in this chat today? #critlib

A5 Pass the mic. Literally, metaphorically, spiritually, citation-ally, etc. #critlib

— Zoe Fisher (@zoefisher_) February 7, 2018

A5 For one, I think I’m going to shift my focus to #oa tools in instruction with subscription databases as the afterthought #critlib

— Bronwen K. Maxson (@soccerbrarian) February 7, 2018

I’m also going to ask reps if they work with disabilities scholars and disabled authors. A5 #critlib https://t.co/I2BmbdvCeG

— Charlotte Rock (@CharlotteRock) February 7, 2018

True fact: I have a little apology in several of my LibGuides for the lack of intersectionality in the subject terms I recommend & an explanation that they’re chosen by the LoC #critlib https://t.co/WolSI1KWX5

— Nancy Foasberg (@nfoasberg) February 7, 2018

There were some awesome threads and some really great questions posed during the chat. Make sure you click on three threads below to view their FULL content in over in Twitter.

Helloooo #critlib, my name is Desmond and I am a selector for a collection focused on Indigenous Education. Excited to share my experiences and also learn from all of you!

— Desmond (@desmondcwong) February 7, 2018

I would love to know if a researcher was presented with papers, one from an “elite” school vs an HBCU on the same topic, which is more likely to be read, cited, etc? #critlib

— Symphony Bruce (@curlsinthelib) February 7, 2018

This also affects an author’s citation counts, as other scholars may not cite works that contain imperfect grammar as well as libraries not purchasing these works. #critlib

— Aman (@akaur0) February 7, 2018

Our hour went by fast and to wrap up we asked folks for some #critpitches:

Of course, my #critlib pitch is to invite you all to write for @LibParlor and help us demystify the research process for everyone 🙂 https://t.co/qDWTvZkTOg

— Chelsea Heinbach (@chelseaheinbach) February 7, 2018

Here’s my #critlib pitch: Come work with me! We have two open positions at Queens College now: a data librarian position and an archivist position, and two more to be posted very soon: outreach and digital scholarship. Details here: https://t.co/kqEy30SGXX

— Nancy Foasberg (@nfoasberg) February 7, 2018

A5 My pitch for #critlib is that you should wake up super early on Monday, February 12 and watch the Youth Media Awards at 8AM Mountain! (I will be there yelling & cheering!) https://t.co/zRlDcRkDh7 #alamw18

— Zoe Fisher (@zoefisher_) February 7, 2018

Gosh, like what? I can make a shameless plug about an article 2 coauthors and I got accepted in portal: “Information literacy practices of Spanish-speaking graduate students at the University of Kansas.” We used focus groups to make student voices central to our research #critlib

— Bronwen K. Maxson (@soccerbrarian) February 7, 2018

My #critlib pitch is to either buy a copy of @safiyanoble‘s book or put it on hold at your library so they purchase a second/third/twelfth copy. This book is an important one, and a lot of bozos are attempting to dismiss it (as bozos are wont to do). https://t.co/34dovF9wUN

— Kevin Seeber (@kevinseeber) February 7, 2018

My pitch is nothing to do with #critlib look at the ground carefully, the bulbs are sprouting and spring is coming. I saw these in tree pits yesterday #spring pic.twitter.com/0b2TFh1fMD

— Dr.EB (@LNBel) February 7, 2018

Thank you to everyone who participated in our second LibParlor #critlib mash up! The discussion was great and we learned a lot from everyone. If you have an idea for a #critlib chat, propose it here! You can always put some of their upcoming chats on your calendar. If you’d like to write for LibParlor, find out more here.