2020-08-07 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 6, Issue 3

Featured Story

Power, Control, Bias, Perspective and Change some BIG ideas

I am spending time at home with my thoughts, social media and listening to a book in my car , “The Power of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World” by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. I’m thinking about the current cultural climate, politics, and my own library. Who has the power and control? Who is feeling oppressed? More people are talking about where the power and control is and where it should be relocated. This is causing conflict and not much joy in the world today.

When there is balance between power/control, people are more stable and happy. When people have power in their own lives and don’t live in fear life becomes more stable. There is less walking away, name-calling, anger, protests, and eruptions. In our library work, it might be good to question power, control, and repression? Volunteers donate their time to the library, they don’t volunteer for very long if they feel they are considered inferior, thought of as unappreciated, or have no input in the game. It holds true for library staff.

There is more to the picture. I prefer a dish of rice to noodles. I prefer alternative music to metal. I prefer a good video game to pulling the weeds in my yard. Bias is a preference for one thing over another. It influences our choices and decisions. We all have biases. Biases are part of being human. In the library setting, our biases might be “noisy, running kids”, “hoovering moms”, “demanding men”, “whiny, snarky teenagers”. Since Libraries must welcome the public, we have to maintain the welcoming atmosphere. It helps if the Library worker understands their own biases. Librarians should reflect deeply on these when we are making decisions on what we do at the library.

Our perspective of the library patrons has a lot to do with how we handle situations and control our own behavior. University of Houston professor, Dr. Brene Brown tells us that everyone looks through a different lens. Each of us hold a camera lens before our eyes and we get different pictures. We believe our picture or “perspective” to be true. So the noisy, running kids might be bothersome to one library worker and it might be a show of enthusiasm to another worker. Our perspective influences how we react and behave toward others.

Heavy stuff! But change happens one person at a time. How do we become more open and change?

If you watched the webinar with me, Teaching Computer Science Students about Algorithm Bias, you wonder how people can change. I learned that companies, governing bodies, individuals and social groups who run social media and search engines have algorithms embedded in their programs to capture people’s biases. They then find evidence that supports the beliefs we already have. Your social media may indicate you have interest in woodworking. Your social media will send future information on woodwork and you won’t see stain glass information. Your values are reinforced the same way when you don’t get a broader perspective. It is hard for people to change if all they see and hear is what they already believe and feel. I am not being cynical, but the only way to get different viewpoints is by sitting down in conversation, listening and making personal decisions. This webinar was useful, I was able to see “power and control” in the technical world. I was able to see how hard it is to change.

Hopefully we can all take a moment and look at these big ideas and do some reflecting to change what is going on in the world. First take a moment to reflect on your own bias and own up to them. Reading books, articles, following someone on social media or blogs by a person of color or someone different than yourself. Broaden your view of the world and not get your news and information from one source. Breath Deep, take a set up back and reflect.

– Eric Hovey, Ada Community Library

Fail Forward

We’ve all been there. You pour your heart into a program, and no one shows up. You try something new, and you fall on your face. Sound familiar? Fail Forward is the place to share your failures, and give you the opportunity to share what you learned from them. Did you promote your program in a different way after no one showed up? Maybe you took a new approach to the new thing you were excited about? Awesome! Share your story via our online form so others can learn, and realize that failure is often part of the process.

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

This perfectly embodies libraries right now. We are swimming in uncharted waters. Everything I do now is scary and new; everyday. Online storytime is frightening. But, remember:

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” – Ken Robinson

All programs are original right now. Our library recently started an Online Indie Film Group. Guess what? No one participated. But that’s okay. Because the graphics were amazing and we might use this again this fall. So keep reaching and keep being original!

– Rasheil Stanger, Valley of the Tetons Library

Crush Corner

Is there a library you follow on social media who is always doing new and exciting things? How about a blog you follow that inspires you? What about a new idea, book, or resource that you want to share? Library Crush Corner is a place for those working in Idaho libraries to share what inspires them, and who or what they’re crushing on… in a professional sense. Share your story via our online form so we can publish it in a future issue!

Teaching Tolerance

As of late, a topic on a lot of people’s minds is that of social injustice and racial discrimination. I am sure many of us have been overwhelmed by posts on social media from both sides of the issue. In sorting through the deluge of posts and comments I came upon this great resource, www.tolerance.org, which I found both helpful and uplifting. While most of the information on this website is geared toward educators, particularly those who teach history and social studies, I did find a particular article from the Spring 2020 issue that I think can benefit libraries, both public and school. The article is entitled “The New YA” by Julia Delacroix and it talks about the critical impact the young reader’s edition of particular books can have in helping students unlearn history, their ability to help students learn history from a different perspective. I think that one of the most powerful messages we can send as libraries is the need to read to gain perspective, insight, and compassion for others’ experiences.

https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/spring-2020/the-new-ya

– Jackie Wood, Marshall Public Library

SPLAT explores the ever-evolving library world and supports library folks as they adapt to meet the needs of their communities. Library folk throughout the state of Idaho volunteer to serve on the Special Projects Library Action Team (SPLAT). Learn more about SPLAT at splat.lili.org

SPLAT is brought to you by the Idaho Commission for Libraries and was made possible, in part, by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (LS-00-19-0013-19). The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.