AAllkkiiAlki
The Washington Library
Association Journal
December 2020
Volume 36 | Number 3
Inside this Issue:
Harry Potter in the 21st Century.............................................................................................p.7
Open Education, Open Pedagogy............................................................................................p.10
Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Checking Your Privilege...............................p.11
New Program, New Books: Selecting Materials for the Muckleshoot Ed.D. Cohort..........p.21
Conference Issue
2 ALKI • December 2020
Table of Contents
Alki
The Washington Library
Association Journal
PO Box 33808
Seattle, WA 98133
(206) 486-4367
email: [email protected]
web: www.wla.org
ALKI Editorial Committee
Johanna Jacobsen Kiciman, Alki Editor
Suzanne Carlson-Prandini, Alki Committee Chair
Katie Brantley
Elizabeth Bruno
Joan Hua
Linda Johns
Lauren Pressley
Kelsey Smith
Maura Walsh
Brianna Hoffman
WLA Executive Director
Kate Laughlin
Strategic Advisor
Hannah Streetman
Programs & Events Coordinator
Lesley Bourne
Administrative Assistant
“Alki,” a Chinook word meaning “by and by,” was
suggested by the late Nancy Pryor, Special Collections at
Washington State Library, as a title for the Washington
Library Association’s journal. “Alki” is also the “unofficial”
state motto, signifying a focus on the future.
Alki (ISSN: 8756-4173) is published online three times per
year in March, July, and November.
Alki’s purpose is to communicate philosophical and
substantive analyses of current and enduring issues
for and about Washington libraries, personnel, and
advocates, and to facilitate the exchange of research,
opinion, and information.
Direct your submission queries to:
email: [email protected]
Cover attribution: Cover attribution: Art by Jenna Zarzycki.
Jenna has been honing her skills in watercolor and
gouache ever since she was introduced to the medium at
(where else?) her local public library. She lives and works
in King County, where she's constantly inspired by the
beauty of the natural world, particularly our ever-changing
Design: Sonya Kopetz, KB design
Up Front
My 2020 Conference Experience .....................................................................................................3
By Emily Keller
From the Editor
An Honest Note. .................................................................................................................................4
By Johanna Jacobsen Kiciman
Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: An Alki Column
Checking Your Privilege .....................................................................................................................5
By Michelle H. Martin
Washington Library Association: New Board Members.................................................7
By Maura Walsh
Alki 2020 Community Survey Results.....................................................................................8
By The Alki Editorial Committee
Feature: Resilience and Resolve
Taking the Lead with Wanda K. Brown .........................................................................................10
By Lauren Pressley
Catching up on Conference ............................................................................................................12
By Joan Hua
A Tale of Two Sessions ....................................................................................................................14
By Elizabeth Bruno
School to Public: Think Farm to Table ...........................................................................................16
By Maura Walsh
What I Missed/Silver Linings ..........................................................................................................17
By Elizabeth Bruno
Portrait of the Librarian as an Artist ..............................................................................................18
By Maura Walsh
Articles
Open Education, Open Pedagogy: A Conversation ..................................................................... 19
By Greg Bem and Johanna Jacobsen Kiciman
Reimagine Libraries and Voter Engagement: A Reflection ........................................................ 24
By Suzanne Carlson-Prandini
New Program, New Books: Selecting Materials for the Muckleshoot Ed.D. Cohort at the
University of Washington, Tacoma ................................................................................................25
By Kristin Orth
Harry Potter in the 21st Century: Leveraging Problematic Fiction to Infuse Social Justice
into the LIS Curriculum ....................................................................................................................27
By Michelle H. Martin, Milly Romeijn-Stout, Emily Beran, Jennifer Stetson,
Jamie Poirier, Justine Rea, Rea Harris, Nicole Breiner, Austin Foglesong, Jennifer
Ching, Chelsea Riddle, and Chelsea Davis
Milestones
New Hires, Transitions, Expansions, Retirements and Remembrances .................................33
By Sarah Threlkeld
A Call for Cover Art..........................................................................................................................32
By Alki Editorial Committee and Alki Editor
I’d Rather Be Reading
Best Book Lists .................................................................................................................................. 35
By Emily Calkins
Read This Book! News and Opinions by Teacher-Librarians
Justice and Representation ............................................................................................................36
By Sarah Threlkeld
Dispatches from Swellville
Horoscopes ........................................................................................................................................ 38
By Darcy McMurtery
Alki 2020 Community Survey .....................................................................................................8
By The Alki Editorial Committee
WLA Thanks Our Organizational Members.........................................................................39
ALKI • December 2020 3
Emily Keller
WLA, including at the conference. e Academic Library Division
(ALD) unconference and happy hour gave us an opportunity
to commiserate around the deep challenges of providing access
to streaming media, strategizing towards Open Educational
Resources (OER), and share experiences in supporting students
and faculty. ese challenges are exacerbated by the context of
furloughs, layos, and slashed collection and operations budgets.
e learning was balanced by this time to be in community,
restorative in the face of so many challenges.
And so many books! Booktalking the Best with CAYAS (the
Children & Young Adult Services Section) revealed a fantastic
selection of thoughtfully curated reading for all the diverse young
people in our communities. WA Do I Read Next? surfaced books
by Washington State authors, a session which always drives
much of my reading every year. And the Sasquatch and Otter
Awards celebration, a collaboration between CAYAS and the
School Library Division, was just plain fun. e program was a
profound reminder of the crucial role that library workers play in
connecting authors and readers. I’m also thrilled to see this cross
divisional collaboration, which was our hope in the merger of
the Washington Library Media Association (WLMA), now the
School Library Division, with WLA.
is is just a small sampling of my experiences at our conference.
I hope that you also met new colleagues, connected with old
friends, and took some new energy back to your work. If you
were registered for the conference, you can still view recordings
of sessions until the end of the calendar year. I want to extend my
sincere gratitude to the WLA Conference Committee, the WLA
oce sta, the exhibitors and sponsors, and all of the presenters
and participants in this year’s conference.
e WLA Annual Conference is always a highlight of my
professional development activities in any given year, and 2020
was no dierent. OK, so it was dierent, but it was still rich
with connections to colleagues around the state, learning about
practices that I’ll bring back to my own work, and inspirational
stories of the impact libraries have in their communities.
Wanda Brown delivered a heartfelt morning keynote, emphasizing
how library workers’ empathy has been central to their service in
their communities, particularly with users who are more vulnerable
due to racial and economic inequities. I was so touched when she
recounted her own experience as a hospital patient, noting that the
primary dierence in her own comfort was the way that hospital
workers demonstrated care and concern for her as a human being.
At this moment, we are rightly consumed with the details of
shiing our service models and workows, adapting our budgets,
and addressing changing needs of our users. But at the end of the
day, this empathy for our users—and for ourselves—is at the heart
of our impact.
While I was disappointed that I could not invite you all to my
fancy hotel room for the President’s reception, I was happy to
host a Zoom reception from my modest kitchen. We were joined
by another President, Abraham Lincoln, and First Lady Mary
Todd Lincoln (also known as Kevin Wood and Laura F. Keyes
of Historic Voices). We learned some interesting history about
previous Presidential elections, shared some purely social time, and
recounted the lighter side of daily life in a pandemic. It was also a
great reminder of the healing power of a good belly laugh.
As an academic librarian, I have been enjoying the increased
programming and camaraderie among academic library workers in
Up Front
Emily Keller is the Political Science and Public Policy Librarian
at the University of Washington Libraries, and 2020 Board
President for WLA.
My 2020 Conference Experience
by Emily Keller
4 ALKI • December 2020
Johanna Jacobsen
Kiciman
From the Editor
As I write this, I want to acknowledge that I am on the land of the
Coastal Salish people, the traditional home of all tribes and bands
within the Duwamish, Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot
nations. I recognize their elders past and present for their ongoing
eorts to sustain tribal sovereignty, preserve their culture, and
care for this place.
I have spent a fair amount of time this fall reading the Young
Adult novel SLAY by author Brittney Morris, a book which
centers Black excellence and creates a ctional gaming world in
which people can be who they are or who they want to be. What
a tour de force, and, without spoiling it for you, I will say this:
we need more books that create authentic spaces for people’s
identities—oen intersectional—to ourish! And we need more
of the honesty that Morris allows to shine through her pages.
Here’s my honesty of the moment: a year into my Alki editorship,
I desperately want to oer up something to our readers to make
sense of this year, while being acutely aware of the fact that this
year in particular cannot be summarized with platitudes. Words
oen fail me. I am disappointed in the ways that the jargon that
has sprung up around us like weeds (“pivoting,” “new normal,”
“unprecedented”) sometimes works to erase our eorts and our
exhaustion. I am hopeful because of the specicity of language
use I see emerging that acknowledges anti-Black racism in work
spaces, as well as the attempts to be accountable with action. I
am relieved to be breathing smoke-free air, and perhaps a little
grumpy about the rain. I am more grateful than I can express that
the national election is behind us. I am extraordinarily worried
about COVID-19 and what the winter is promising to look like:
please be careful. And I was so very happy to see the success of the
annual meeting of the Washington Library Association this year,
held not in Spokane but in a virtual environment. It was so nice
to connect with folks that I knew and learn from those that I had
not yet met.
Johanna Jacobsen Kiciman works at the University of
Washington, Tacoma as Coordinator, Research Help and
Instruction Services Librarian. She also loves reading Young
Adult novels and may be found with a parrot (or two) on her
shoulders.
is issue is historically the Conference Issue, where the Alki
Editorial Committee covers some of the ideas that were raised
at the conference. You’ll see some great thoughts about virtual
conferences (Hua), a look at the keynote by Wanda K. Brown
(Pressley), and a tasting menu of conference sessions (Bruno).
We are excited to be including a conversation between myself
and Greg Bem where we talk about Open Pedagogy, inspired
by Bem’s WLA presentation. But we also have the launch of our
Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion column (Martin), as
well as a piece on libraries and civic engagement during elections
(Carlson-Prandini), an examination of Collection Development
for the new Muckleshoot Ed.D. cohort at the University of
Washington Tacoma (Orth), and much more! Our regular
columnists shine, as they always do! And make sure to check out
our Community Survey results, because so many of you graciously
shared your thoughts and advice.
So please know this: Alki is here for you, and even if we cannot
always make sense of the world around us, we will keep trying.
And we’ll also acknowledge that sometimes, sometimes we are
tired. Be well, dear colleagues, and take good care of yourselves
and your loved ones. We will see you all in the New Year for our
March Issue.
Yours, Johanna (she/her/hers)
An Honest Note
by Johanna Jacobsen Kiciman
ALKI • December 2020 5
When I was growing up, I had a place at home to do my
homework.
My parents/guardians could communicate with my teachers
because they spoke the same language as my teachers.
At least one of my parents/guardians went to college.
I had friends who supported my eorts to do well in school.
I could count on being able to eat breakfast and dinner at
home.
My parents/guardians were able to take me school shopping at
the start of each school year.
I had a home to go to aer school.
I had someone in my household who could and would read to
me.
I had books of my own when I was growing up.
My family considered it a given that I would go to college.
I never had to go without a textbook because of not being able
to aord it.
I have never been told I got into a particular institution or job
because of my race.
When I needed help in school, I felt comfortable asking my
teachers for help.
I grew up enjoying school most of the time.
As you work through these questions, consider how many of the
questions and their answers surprise you. Perhaps you have never
thought of eating breakfast at home before school as a privilege or
advantage. Maybe you attended a school that provided breakfast
In September, I attended a virtual two-day workshop with
Academic Impressions, a company that provides a plethora of
dierent types of training for instructors and administrators in
higher education. e workshop was called “Practicing Culturally
Relevant Pedagogy in Higher Education,” and because I am always
working toward making my classes more inclusive, I planned to
use this workshop to begin revising my winter quarter syllabi. e
workshop description noted:
“Practiced under many dierent names, culturally
relevant pedagogy is an approach to teaching that
purposefully challenges androcentric, Eurocentric, and
heterocentric knowledge. is process requires an instructor
to frequently examine their own knowledge base, unpack
where bias may lie, revise course materials and practices, and
be both vulnerable and courageous enough to have tough
conversations in their classrooms.”
I found the course content rich, the facilitators both no-nonsense
and inspiring, and the call to action exceedingly relevant to
where we are nationally in conversations about race, equity, and
dierence. One of my takeaways was an “Advantage Survey” that
one of the facilitators, Dr. Jamiella Brooks, Associate Director
of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of
Pennsylvania, gave the participants. I have since adapted this tool
for workshops that I have led with librarians, particularly for those
in youth services.
I would encourage you to take this survey yourself and to use it
to think about who you are and what you bring to your work in
libraries. Which of these is true for you?
Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Dr. Michelle H. Martin is the Beverly Cleary Endowed
Professor for Children and Youth Services at the University
of Washington iSchool and from 2011-2016 was the inaugural
Augusta Baker Endowed Chair in Childhood Literacy at the
University of South Carolina. She published Brown Gold:
Milestones of African-American Children’s Picture Books,
1845-2002 (Routledge, 2004) and founded Read-a-Rama
(www.Read-a-Rama.org), a non-profit that uses children’s
books as the springboard for year-round and summer camp
programming.
Checking Your Privilege
by Michelle H. Martin
Anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion (AEDI) work is a core, guiding principle for Alki and the WLA.
In an effort to highlight AEDI, Alki features a permanent column dedicated to these themes. In creating
this column, we do not intend to limit the conversation to this space.
6 ALKI • December 2020
for children or even had a backpack program for sending children
home on the weekend with enough food to feed themselves and
their families during weekends; or maybe food insecurity was
not a problem for those in your school. Perhaps having a parent,
grandparent, or older sibling who read to you regularly doesn’t
seem so special. But what if no one in your household spoke
the language spoken at school, and what if your parents had a
low level of literacy in the language they grew up speaking and
could not read to you in their native language either? How much
more dicult would it be to navigate K-12 schools under those
circumstances? And even at the college level, consider what it
would mean to get into a college and earn good enough grades
to stay there but then struggle to be able to buy the textbooks
required for performing well in classes.
Privilege matters. And examining it helps you better serve those
who lack the privileges you have enjoyed.
If you are someone whose survey answers were mostly armative,
how oen do you assume that those who use library services (or in
my case, those who take my classes) have the same privileges you
had growing up? ere are probably people whose struggles will be
apparent when they come into your library, but so many of these
questions above point to “invisible” privileges—advantages you
may not necessarily be able to see but that nevertheless strongly
impact assumptions of others and how we move through the
world.
As we experience this reckoning in our country around power,
privilege, race, and the historical, intentional and systematic
discrimination against BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People
of Color) groups, LGBTQIA+ people, those with disabilities
and others, I would implore you to think more about how your
assumptions about privilege impact how you serve those in your
community and in your library. What if you assumed less about
other people’s privileges and made more of an eort to level the
playing eld by designing programming and library services to
achieve greater equity for all? What would that look like? What
would it take to make such changes?
And what might result if you did?
I would implore you to
think more about how your
assumptions about privilege
impact how you serve those
in your community and in
your library.
Anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion (AEDI) work
is a core, guiding principle for Alki and the WLA. In an
eort to highlight AEDI, Alki now features a permanent
column dedicated to these themes. In creating this
column July 2020 and launching it this November, we do
not intend to limit the conversation to this space.
Each Alki issue is a dynamic collection of submissions
from library workers and students across the state; the
content is dependent upon those who choose to share
their voices. Due to the justice-focused nature of libraries
and library work, AEDI themes may naturally show up in
the pieces we receive and believe that it will be reected
across many of the feature articles that are published.
However, they are not always guaranteed. We, the Alki
Editorial Committee, intend for this column to ensure
that justice-focused work and stories are consistently
elevated and that conversations are sustained.
We are energized to call on our entire community of
library workers—in any role—to submit articles for this
column by emailing alkieditor@wla.org. Please include
the article in your email and a brief biography. e
deadline is rolling, and we will consider all articles that
are submitted that address AEDI themes.
Articles can be about, but are not limited to:
• accountability
• equity and social justice
• anti-racism
• dismantling existing structures and examinations
of power
• community-led engagement
uestions? Please reach out to the Alki Editor by
emailing alkieditor@wla.org.
Anti-Racism,
Equity, Diversity,
and Inclusion
Call for Contributors
by the Alki Editorial Committee and Alki Editor
Checking Your Privilege - 2 continued om previous page
ALKI • December 2020 7
Washington Library Association: New Board Members
By Maura Walsh
Board Director, Special Library Division: Alycia Ensminger
Ensminger has implemented a range of programs
and initiatives across private and public sectors
while working in special libraries. She has lectured
at the University of Washington iSchool. She
believes in the need to better organize and
increase the accessibility of information to an
underserved and diverse community of users. Her
goal is to recruit and connect diverse special librarians, helping
highlight the work happening throughout our organization.
Student Representative to the Board: Marissa Rydzewski
Rydzewski serves as WLA’s Library &
Information Student Section (LISS) chair.
She brings valuable rst-hand experience in
structural management, transitioning work
concepts and platforms, and data collection. She
understands from personal experience the need
to make individual members feel welcomed and
connected. She would like to use this experience
to bridge connections between WLA groups.
e newly elected board members were announced at the WLA
Awards Lunch at our annual conference. Here are some brief
introductions and photos to help you get acquainted!
Vice President/President-Elect: Ahniwa Ferrari
Ferrari has been involved in WLA since 2008. He
has served on the Member Services Committee,
chaired Sections and Divisions, helped organize
and bring content to conferences, and presented
both in-person and virtually. He believes in the
value of active participation in WLA for all
libraries and library sta. He hopes to continue
attracting new members from traditionally underrepresented
libraries.
Treasurer: Muriel Wheatley
Wheatley obtained an MLIS from the University
of Washington in 2016, and has been working
as Centralia Timberland Library’s Operations
Supervisor for over 3 years. She currently serves
as Board Treasurer for the Centralia Downtown
Association (CDA) and has helped them to
streamline their nances and successfully secure
CARES Act funding. As a longtime WLA member, she presented
at our most recent conference. Wheatley plans tocontinue
promoting an EDI focus for WLA.
Board Director, Academic Library Division: Erica Coe
Coe has over 20 years of service in a variety of
academic libraries and is the current chair of
the State Board of Community and Technical
Colleges Library Leadership Council (LLC).
Coe would like to promote greater collaboration
between LLC and WLA, bringing together a
diverse community of library employees across
all elds and focus areas. She hopes to foster connections to
ensure equitable access to information, openness to new ideas and
perspectives, and support for colleagues.
Maura Walsh is the LSTA Grants & Contracts Coordinator at
Washington State Library.
8 ALKI • December 2020
Alki Community Survey Results
By The Alki Editorial Committee
What Stage Of Your Career Are You At?
As you will see from the chart, mid-career librarians are a large
bulk of our readership. We are hoping to get more student readers
of Alki, and publish student work: we see it as a great space for
folks to develop their professional voices. We are fortunate to have
a student representative on our board, Katie Brantley, and have
published an article in this issue by Doc Martin and her students at
the University of Washington iSchool.
In the March and July issues of 2020, the Alki Editorial Committee
put out a survey that sought to understand who you are and what
hopes and wishes you have for this, our state library journal.
We received 62 responses, and are very excited to share results here.
Please contact the Alki Editor at a[email protected] if you have
questions or would like more granular data. If we did not address a
specic concern of yours here, do know that we are keeping track of
suggestions and ideas and will be working on incorporating those
that we can into our practices.
Most of all: thank you for your participation. It will
help us cra a better journal that meets your interests
and needs. And remember: we need you to contribute
your articles, because Alki truly is intended to be for all
members of the Washington state library community.
Library Type
It is notable that most of our readers work at (or in the
case of MLIS students or job seekers hope to work at)
public libraries. Academic libraries and governmental
libraries are also reasonably well represented, but only
9.7% of our readers who responded work for school
libraries. It was nice to see that some prison library
workers read our journal, but we have a long way to go
to get more tribal library workers and special librarians
involved. ese numbers will help us think about who we may need
to do more outreach to, and how to expand our board.
Image courtesy of Alki Editorial Committee
continued on next page
Image courtesy of Alki Editorial Committee
ALKI • December 2020 9
Photo by Nicholas Bartos on Unsplash
Why Do You Read Alki?
A few themes emerged for this short-answer question that we
would like to highlight:
• Keeping up with current (especially local) trends; professional
development
• Connecting with colleagues who do the same type of library
work across the state
• Community building and connections
• “I read Alki to nd out about Washington-centric library
happenings. It's also just fun to read, probably for the same
reason that my local newspaper is fun to read. It's a bit funky.”
~We love this, and agree. ere’s something in here for everyone.
• uality of the journal makes it worthwhile
Some folks called for more articles that focus on government
libraries and special libraries; we absolutely would love to see our
colleagues submit work in these areas.
Additional Desired Content
e answers to this question are illuminating. Respondents could
select more than one answer.
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (59.3%). We hope that the
addition of the AEDI column, in addition to the ongoing
publications that center Equity, Diversity and Inclusion help
begin to address this need. As Editorial Committee member
Lauren Pressley notes in her article in this issue, this is work that
will last our lifetimes.
• Intellectual Freedom (37.3%)
• Public Libraries (37.3%)
• Reader’s Advisory (25.4%). Check out Elizabeth Bruno’s article
in this issue that reviews some of the WLA conference sessions
on reader’s advisory and collection development! As always, our
columns by Emily Calkins and Sarah relkeld are also here for
you.
• Collection Development (35.6%)
• Conferences (27.1%). We are excited to present this conference
issue, but understand that our readers would also love to hear
about other opportunities or read reections about some of our
national conferences. What a great idea!
• Special & Tribal Libraries (18.6%). We would love some
Committee representatives who work in these areas. Please reach
out if you are interested!
Additionally, there were calls for articles on trauma-informed/social
work oriented librarianship, technology, community buildings,
trends in libraries that are supporting groups of color, LGBTQIA+,
library management, outcomes based evaluation, and non-librarian
sta participation in programming.
Miscellany
• e majority of you (75%) hear about Alki’s Call for Papers
through WLA Wednesdays, and 10% of you do not hear about
the Call for Papers at all. e rest use Twitter, rely on friends,
or check the WLA website. We will have to think about ways
we can reach those of you who are not hearing about the Call
for Papers, because we absolutely want your voices represented.
• ere is denitely a much stronger interest in reading Alki
digitally (87.1%) than reading Alki in print (12.9%),
• Folks called for a more robust promotion of the Call for
Papers and the published editions of Alki. ank you for this
feedback. Readers, we will nd a way, but also ask you to share
each new Alki with your colleagues. Remember: we publish
March, July, and November!
• We love the suggestion to have some key articles published in
WLA Wednesdays, and will start some conversations along
those lines.
Alki Survey Results - 2 continued om previous page
10 ALKI • December 2020
Feature: Conference Issue
Taking the Lead with Wanda K. Brown
by Lauren Pressley
Lauren Pressley is the Associate Dean for Research & Learning
Services for the University of Washington Libraries. She
regularly publishes and presents on leadership, organizational
change, and the evolving information environment. She holds
a Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) from
University of North Carolina-Greensboro.
When I learned that one of my early mentors was giving the
keynote kicko for this year’s Washington Library Association
conference, I was excited to get a
chance to watch.
Wanda Brown, the 2019–2020
American Library Association
president and Library Director for
Winston-Salem State University
in North Carolina, gave the kick-
o keynote “Taking the Lead” for
the WLA annual conference. is
presentation was both an opportunity
to reect on what our work has
looked like over the past year and a
call to action.
As an empathetic leader, Wanda
began with appreciation for audience
members’ demonstrated commitment to continuous growth, as
evidenced by their attendance at the annual meeting. She also
thanked members for the eorts made by libraries and library
workers to make their communities better through our work.
Wanda's presentation highlighted how storytelling frames our
work in libraries. e pandemic has underscored the fact that
libraries are the services and people working within them, as
much as they are physical items and facilities. As we continue to
emphasize user needs, Wanda said our services must evolve and
focus on representation, partnerships, and values.
Telling Our Stories
Wanda then began to build the case for telling our stories. She
pointed out that we have stories about the actions we have taken
throughout this pandemic that are driven by empathy, creative
solutions, virtual expansions of services, supporting dierences in
our communities, and strengthening partnerships. Sharing those
stories demonstrates our value to our users, the community, and
funders.
continued on next page
is idea is one that many of us have been thinking about for a very
long time. Stories help the community update their understanding
of the role of their libraries. Stories
provide a model for people who are
unsure how to engage with their
libraries. Stories provide evidence for
funders who are determining budgets
and resource allocations. Our stories
might focus on dierent actions over
these past many months, but they will
still highlight the values we bring to
the work, the ways we improve our
users’ lives, and the role that libraries
play in our communities.
At this junction in time, our normal
library stories are dierent—and
people are curious! I have heard
directly from more library supporters
who wonder how the library works in the past few months than
I have in the course of my career. ey want to know why we are
taking the approach we chose, what factors go into our planning,
what we might attempt to oer soon and how it might change
their own work. People are primed to listen to stories, and we have
stories to tell them!
Our Buildings Do Not Dene Us
Wanda pointed out that an underlying theme of these new stories
is that the building we operate in does not dene our value and
worth. She argued that this moment in time has made it easier to
help our communities reframe the work of the library to be about
information and service rather than about items and facilities.
Wanda and I worked together on a residential campus, and
because of that you might think that our work would have been
centered on the physical space, but that was not entirely the case,
even before this heavily remote time period. Our colleagues were
also focused on building out excellent virtual and online services,
and we found that a strong online experience helped jump-start
relationships with students, and our student body remained deeply
connected to the physical space; the strong online presence and
deep connection to physical space were mutually reinforcing,
improving both sides of a given service.
Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash
ALKI • December 2020 11
Taking the Lead - 2 continued om previous page
As I have talked with people
working in all types of libraries
throughout the pandemic
period, I have seen that dierent
organizations have their own
reasoning for how they prioritize
virtual and physical services and
collections. I have also found
that no matter how much an
organization is oriented around
one or another, all acknowledge
that there ought to be a focus
and energy on strengthening
our virtual presence. On the
other side of the pandemic, we
may nd that some of our users
grew more connected to libraries
through our virtual services and
collections, and that those may
also feel more connected to our
physical spaces as well.
Representation Matters
Of course, this moment has not just been about our response to
a pandemic and the development of online services. We have also
been in the midst of an overdue racial reckoning. Wanda made the
case that we must examine whether our users would see themselves
in the collections we manage, the lessons we teach, and in the sta
that they interact with.
is moment has seen no shortage of statements from libraries
about concern for their communities, racism, and inequality.
Statements are an important step in making clear that our
organizations are not complicit, but they are also just a step. Many
organizations are building opportunities for training and learning
and looking for action-oriented methods to change work to be
more equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist.
is also is happening at the individual level. We should all do
the work of growing a more inclusive, equitable, and welcoming
organization, whether our work is collection management, public
service, programming and outreach, or administrative. is work is
ongoing and will be the work of our careers.
Importance of Partnerships
Building on the importance of storytelling and representation,
Wanda made a plea for the importance of community partnerships.
She pointed out that through partnerships we tell and retell our
story and form relationships with others. Our partners become
familiar enough with our story to help share it, and we are able to
expand our reach.
When we have relationships with
other community groups, we also
learn more about the community,
giving us a better understanding
of community needs and our
potential to help meet them. In
partnering with the community
we both strengthen our voice and
expand our ability to reach more.
I know that most library folks will
speak to our work as being tied
to education: through literacy,
through self-directed learning,
and through instructional
programs to support classroom
based-learning. Wanda’s nod to
partnership also recognized both
community organizations and
private industry partners. She
pointed out that public-private
partnerships that libraries might participate in, which enable
additional resources for their community. By engaging with other
community members such as teachers in our local schools, other
units in our universities or communities, or the other libraries in
our communities, we can accomplish more.
Focus on the Needs of Your Users
As Wanda concluded, she hit on a theme that I rst heard her
speak about nearly two decades ago: libraries should strive to meet
the needs of their users. e reason our libraries exist, that our
stakeholders fund our work, that we do the jobs we do, is because
of what we can do for our community. Focusing on how best to
meet their needs allows us to support the success of our users.
Wanda came back again and again to the importance of keeping
the needs of our community in our mind as we approach our work.
“Taking the Lead” was a welcomed opportunity to pause and
reect on what our work has looked like over the past year:
how our day-to-day experience has changed, the creativity and
innovative approaches we have taken to meeting the needs of
our users, and the new host of stories we can share about the role
of libraries. e gi of taking time to do that was balanced with
a call to action: to think deeply about the needs of your users,
how we can support social mobility, ensure representation in our
collections, buildings, and practices, and to form partnerships.
We should all do the
work of growing a more
inclusive, equitable, and
welcoming organization,
whether our work is
collection management,
public service, programming
and outreach, or
administrative. This work
is ongoing and will be the
work of our careers.
12 ALKI • December 2020
ere are a few things I especially look
forward to in a conference experience:
relationship building, inspiration, and
dedicated time and space for learning
and growth. Some of these elements
get lost easily in the day-to-day, and it
can be dicult to prioritize cultivating
conversations and relationships when
more tangible routines demand immediate
attention; and yet they are vital to the
library profession, which requires constant
updating of a broad scope of knowledge.
e truth is that my experience attending
the 2020 WLA Conference during a
global pandemic was dened by the
struggle to make room for these important
elements of a conference experience.
Without the dedicated time and space, I
found my schedule and mind crowded by
myriad competing priorities. I oer the
following reections on catching up on
conferencing during a pandemic.
If you were like me, you may have initially
picked out sessions from the conference
and marked them in your calendar, only
to nd yourself pulled away by other
commitments during the conference week,
unable to attend in real time. e good
news is that the conference recordings
are available through December 31, 2020. You can access them
via an app called Whova, a platform being used for many other
events and conferences. e Whova app is the ocial 2020 WLA
conference platform, and the information about the app is on the
conference webpage.
In addition to session recordings, which can also be accessed
through a web browser, the app is a place for connecting with other
Catching Up on Conferencing During a Pandemic
by Joan Hua
Joan Hua is the Media Asset Manager at KEXP 90.3 FM in
Seattle, where she also serves as the in-house librarian and
archivist. Her professional experiences include oral history,
cultural heritage research, and digital scholarship. She holds
a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from
University of Washington.
attendees. You can follow topics in the
Community section, send direct messages
in the Messages section, and see photos
shared by attendees in the Home section.
You can also use it to organize your own
agenda with sessions that interest you.
And if you are like me—feeling totally
burnt out from long days at the desk and
an exploding amount of screen time—
you may nd yourself listening to the
recordings from the app while taking a
walk outside.
My current role is in digital asset
management and encompasses a bit
of everything from archives to system
support. My projects may not align with
the narrow denitions of library services,
but they have foundations in digital
curation, preservation, archiving, and
library service design principles. As such, I
was interested in topics that can be applied
generally to special libraries:
• Sam Wallin, Analyst / Project
Coordinator at Fort Vancouver Regional
Library District, gave a presentation on “A
Practical Plan for Measurable Outcomes”
that included resources I will refer back
to as I plan projects at my work. e
presentation covered precise wording
to construct measurable outcome statements and, more
importantly, why they are important and how to implement
them, taking into account sta buy-in and and abstract results
that may be hard to measure or make visible in the short term.
• “What's in a Data Story?” presented by Nancy Shin, NNLM
PNR Research and Data Coordinator at University of
Washington Libraries, highlighted seven dierent types
of data stories. Nancy went over choices for making data
visualization that tells a story with clear graphics and
messages. e neatly organized lesson gave a useful crash
course on using data to tell stories to your specic audience.
continued on next page
Screenshot courtesy of Joan Hua
ALKI • December 2020 13
Catching Up on Conferencing - 2 continued om previous page
• Betha Gutsche, WebJunction Programs Manager at OCLC,
gave a presentation on “Libraries
Open Pathways to Civil Legal
Justice” and oered rich insights on
Washington state resources to help
answer questions related to civil
legal issues, a need that has been
accentuated by the pandemic.
Together with “Narrow Scope, Broad
Impact: Washington Special Libraries &
You”—which included a panel of special
librarians such as Laura Edmonston from
Washington State Law Library and Mary
Scha, Northwest Librarian/Legislative
Services Liaison at Washington State
Library—these presentations showcase the
breadth of library services represented by
the conference sessions. It was energizing
to consider the impressive variety of
information needs and users we serve.
As I went through this year’s WLA
conference, what I found challenging was
not the lack of technology and tools to
run a session or connect with somebody.
Rather, it was the removal of dedicated
time and space we used to have while attending a conference in
person. When I could be (physically or
mentally) away from my everyday work
and attend a conference for several days,
I could allocate a portion of my mental
capacity to focus on the conference. e
opportunity to come together with far-
ung colleagues in real time, dedicating
attention and energy to the shared ideas
and inquiries, is something I missed
during my virtual experience of the 2020
WLA Conference. As we go through a
year of virtual learning, working, and
conferencing, perhaps that is something
we simply cannot regain without shiing
our expectations of (our own and our
colleagues’) workload, availability, and
productivity during these extraordinary
times.
Screenshot courtesy of Joan Hua
Screenshot courtesy of Joan Hua
14 ALKI • December 2020
Selecting a session to view online on the Whova app? Here are
some recommendations, focused around audience, content, and
take-aways. Take a look!
DIVERSITY IN YOUR LIBRARY: BEYOND BOOK
SELECTION
Who Should Attend and Why?
Librarians who are considering or who are in the process of creating
an environment that allows diversity in all forms to be seen, heard,
A Tale of Two Sessions
by Elizabeth Bruno
Elizabeth Bruno is an elementary school librarian at Rainier
Elementary School, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA.
and experienced in their libraries and communities should tune
in! is session was presented by three Bellevue School District
teacher-librarians, but it’s content is widely applicable. Anyone
viewing will walk away with a treasure trove of questions and
resources to ponder and use along their personal and organizational
journey toward diverse representation.
Nuts and Bolts
Kimberly Johnson began by asking foundational questions
including “What kind of diversity are you thinking about?” and
“Whose story is being le out?” She gave points to consider in
answering those questions. Kimberly spoke on behalf of the trio in
stating that this is an ongoing process with no end, and that none of
them have “arrived”.
continued on next page
Photo by Clayton on Unsplash
ALKI • December 2020 15
Elizabeth Roberts described a ve action-steps cycle for updating
library collections with a focus on diversity. Her main points
included that this cycle is not a checklist and we must examine our
perspectives and bias throughout each step of every cycle.
Highlight
Erin Gehrke told viewers how she answered an interview question,
“How is diversity going to be represented in your library?” four
years ago. She then shared her personal growth journey and
experiences within her school and the Bellevue School District
during the past four years. She ended by sharing how she would
now respond, if she was asked that interview question again. You
will have goosebumps aer hearing Erin’s journey.
Handouts
• Resource List: Links to articles, blogs, and books referenced
throughout the presentation
• Presentation Slide Deck
Pairs With
In case you want more of this type of content, check out: “Diversity
Tagging: Becoming More Aware of Your Collection!”
BOOKTALKING BOOKS YOU'VE NEVER READ AND
MAY NEVER READ
Who Should Attend and Why?
Any librarian who has become speechless during reader’s advisory
should attend this session presented by Alex Byrne, Pierce County
Library System Youth Services Librarian. Viewers will smile while
listening to gentle humorous commentary sprinkled throughout
this session focusing on an essential librarian skill.
Nuts and Bolts
Alex shares a down-to-earth booktalking approach gleaned from
their experience working with all ages in choosing the next book,
not the perfect book. ey assured viewers that no librarian has the
time to read all the new books published annually and that library
employees oen have very little time to read.
Alex walks viewers through the steps of leveraging genre knowledge,
especially genres you don’t read. ey also introduced the use of
genre tropes to construct understanding of similar characteristics
and become familiar with cross genres. Alex discussed using
publishers’ marketing materials, subject headings and summaries
from catalog records, jacket copy, and a newer feature called content
notes that is becoming more prevalent.
Highlight
Alex practiced booktalking by randomly selecting an audiobook
they had never heard during “Overdrive Roulette.” ey
emphasized practicing booktalking with coworkers who are willing
to listen and on your own as time allows.
More
Further audio and video resources were recommended that will help
viewers gain new skills in booktalking. ese included Nancy Pearl’s
“Four Doorways” method.
Pairs With
• Booktalking the Best with CAYAS!
• WA Do I Read Next?
• Around the World in 75 Minutes
A Tale of Two Sessions -2 continued om previous page
e Washington Library Association includes
some of the best and brightest members of the
Washington library community.
We are united by our care for the well-being of
Washington libraries. For more information, visit
our website at wla.org. Explore the site and make
our business your business.
Membership information is at
wla.org/membership.
Join WLA
16 ALKI • December 2020
School to Public: Think Farm to Table
by Maura Walsh
Maura Walsh is the LSTA Grants & Contracts Coordinator at
Washington State Library.
One WLA session, “Like PB&J:
School & Public Librarians
Unite,” was a fantastic primer
on school libraries and public
libraries working together. Kristy
Gale, Darcy Brixey, and Shannon
Wallace (Seattle Public Library),
and TuesD Chambers (Seattle
Public Schools, Ballard High
School) presented a complete
and thoughtful program that
highlighted their collaboration and presented ways to turn events
and relationships into greater resources.
Concretely, they showed how collaborations can meet the needs
of expanding audiences, oen without a signicant increase in
work. eir focus was the importance of relationships, which was
a thread that ran through the presentation. Exploring and utilizing
local resources, akin to the farm to table restaurant movement,
enables more people to reap
what is being cultivated
locally. ere is less waste,
as library programs can
be used consecutively
or collaboratively. e
presentation included
examples for programming,
promotion (mainly through
social media), and helpful,
hands-on resources such as
book displays.
While their presentation
was specically centered
on school-public library
partnerships, many of
their ideas could be
tweaked for all sorts of
interlibrary relationships
and programming, or even
library and community group partnerships. eir timing could
not have been better, as many
need extra resources due to
COVID-19.
If you can identify spheres of
overlap, you can benet from the
ideas these librarians have already
developed. You can build stronger
relationships, create greater
recognition, and nd innovative
ways to explore relationships that
oer mutual benet and a strengthened community. is session
outlines a hey toolkit and provides a practical blueprint for
collaboration.
Luckily, this interesting, information-packed session is still available
on the conference website (until December 31, 2020) if you are
registered. It is worth watching twice and taking notes!
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
If you can identify
spheres of overlap, you
can benefit from the ideas
these librarians have already
developed.
ALKI • December 2020 17
What I Missed
Passing through Snoqualmie Pass, the Columbia River viewpoints, by wind farms and wide-open farm elds during the
road trip to and from Spokane
Meeting new people, renewing acquaintances, and being with some who have known me quite awhile
Conversations before, during, and aer sessions; during meals; and in the hallways
Listening to vendors’ sales pitches and entering drawings for freebies
Absorbing the passion and energy of conference presenters and attendees
Being with my job-cohort and not being a singleton in my building
Winning an item during a conference meal
Breakfast at Frank’s Diner
Purchasing beer at No-Li Brewhouse to take home and enjoy drinking as I remember a great WLA conference
Unexpected Silver Linings
No need to make the tough choice between many sessions in the same time slot. All sessions were recorded, so I could
attend as many sessions as I wanted
I didn’t have to write substitute teacher plans. I didn’t have to use my personal days or sick days to attend
is was an economical option. My school district does not pay for conferences such as WLA. I had an added bonus this
year, because my registration fee was covered as a benet for being on the Alki Editorial Committee
Sessions were held over six-days which allowed time to rest and reect on information presented. I can still view/review
sessions until December 31 and download handouts
ere is no information overload.
What I Missed/Silver Linings
by Elizabeth Bruno
Elizabeth Bruno is an elementary school librarian at Rainier
Elementary School, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA.
18 ALKI • December 2020
Portrait of the Librarian as an Artist at WLA Annual
Conference
by Maura Walsh
Maura Walsh is the LSTA Grants & Contracts Coordinator at
Washington State Library.
As we become more and more accustomed to the brave
new world of virtual meeting and conferencing, we
may also nd ourselves missing in-person interaction.
At a typical conference it is not unusual to strike up
a conversation with someone you do not know while
waiting for coee, or even while you are lost together
trying to nd the same session. ese casual contacts can
turn into valuable professional connections and even
friendships.
WLA Annual provided virtual solutions to help soen
this decit. At this year’s conference hosted on Whova,
the Community tab (Main Navigation, on the le side
menu) directed folks to a virtual space called “Meet-ups
& Virtual Meets” (yellow icon). One of the most popular
options in Meet-ups, “Show Us Your Art”, has 85 entries.
(It seems to be second only in entries to a board about
articles to share.)
You will be amazed at the wonderful projects generously
shared by your colleagues.
Knitting, needlework, collage,
photography, jewelry, painting,
mosaics, and so much more. If you
missed it “live”, you can still catch
it here if you are registered for the
conference. You may be inspired
and amazed at our collected
talent and creative diversity. Some
pictures are included here to get
your creative juices owing! Have
photos of your own you want
to share? Tweet them under the
hashtag #alkiart.
Photo courtesy of the artist Warren Chin.
Photo courtesy of the artist Elizabeth
Covington.
Photo courtesy of the artist Sara
Harrington.
Photo courtesy of the artist Judy Pitchford .
ALKI • December 2020 19
Introduction
O’Shea and O’Brian asked over a decade ago, in re-examining
Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed: “why is the work of dialogue as
a fraught but fundamentally trusting relationship so dicult to
sustain?”
1
e value of conversation as a pedagogy of growth and
learning—or, as O’Brian calls it, a pedagogy of care and well-being
that focuses on dialogue and relationality— is growing more and
more urgent
2
. We have been torn out of our contexts of teaching
and learning because of COVID-19, and are asked to produce
and think and learn in an environment that does not allow for
unscripted interactions and dialogue.
I was very interested in Greg Bem’s talk “Open Pedagogy:
Individual Voice in All Libraries,” presented at the 2020 Annual
Meeting of the Washington Library Association. To do justice to
this Freirian-inspired pedagogy of care and well-being, we decided
to have a conversation about Open Pedagogy, as a way to humanize
our own learning, to dive into a Freirian “engagement in a dialectic
between the deeply personal and the collective/linguistic and
structural”
3
. I believe that our conversation taps into the “ethics of
care and relationality [...that is] vital to creating the very conditions
for dialogue that can bring about transformation”
4
. is is a
question of fundamentally reinvigorating subjectivity, but to do so
as a collective or in dialogue.
Our conversation is reproduced here, and we hope that it is as
enjoyable to read as it was to think and talk. If you want to hone
in on particular areas of interest, please feel free to make use of the
bolded headings as a guide.
A CONVERSATION: 11/11/2020
About the Open Ed 2020 Conference
Johanna (she/her): And I'm still sort of waking up this morning. So
I'm actually going to start our conversation with just a: How [are]
you doing, Greg? And how is the Open Ed conference treating you?
Greg Bem (he/him): Great, great start. Yeah, I am doing pretty well.
It is cloudy here in Seattle, where I live, and we're in the middle of
fall quarter. Which is obviously a remote quarter
for teaching and learning, all instruction. It's being delivered online.
So that is exciting and challenging. Open[Ed2020]has been really
great. Have you been attending it?
Open Education, Open Pedagogy: A Conversation
by Greg Bem and Johanna Jacobsen Kiciman
Greg Bem is a faculty librarian and the current library
coordinator at Lake Washington Institute of Technology
(LWTech), a technical college in Kirkland, Washington. Greg
currently serves as the liaison between the Washington State
Board of Community and Technical Colleges Library
Leadership Council (LLC) and the Washington Library
Association (WLA). He is the 2019-2020 chair of WLA’s College
Libraries Across Washington State (CLAWS), a section of the
Academic Library Division. His passions include social justice
and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives, Open
Education, and critical information literacy. Greg is the current
Vice President of the Lake Washington Federation of Teachers,
Local 3533 of the American Federation of Teachers and
supports the Reinvest in Our Colleges (ROC) Campaign and
sits on the White Accountability Work Group. When not
serving the library and the college community, Greg creates
video art and writes books of poetry (see: Of Spray and Mist
(Hand to Mouth Books, 2020)). You can find him in the
mountains, physically or virtually.
Johanna Jacobsen Kiciman works at the University of
Washington, Tacoma as Coordinator, Research Help and
Instruction Services Librarian. She also loves reading Young
Adult novels and may be found with a parrot (or two) on her
shoulders.
continued on next page
Photo by Ryan Wilson on Unsplash
20 ALKI • December 2020
continued on next page
Johanna (she/her): I have not; I am limiting my zoom and screen
time best I can. But tell me about it. How is [it], how are you
nding the remote conference situation.?
Greg Bem (he/him): is is the third or fourth remote conference
that I've attended this quarter so it's both nothing new, and also
overwhelming. And, you know, Open [has] historically been one
of those conferences where it's gigantic; there's always way more to
go to [than] one has time to do,
and despite being remote, this
one is not an exception. ere's
just so many great panels, great
presentations, great discussions
and opportunities
It's fun to see people who, you
know, I have met in sessions and
conferences past in their virtual
form. ere are a lot of return
presenters, which is great. A lot
of [...] people who have taken the
spotlight for their work done in
the past and they've returned [and
are continuing] to do the work.
About dening Open Education
Johanna (she/her): Well for
those readers here who are not
familiar with Open Ed, we've
been talking about the conference. Would you go ahead and dene
Open Education for readers who are perhaps less familiar with the
concept?
Greg Bem (he/him): For me, Open Education is all about
responding to the system of copyright and ownership of intellectual
property and responding to those qualities that have, by default,
made those resource resources more restrictive or constrained in
nature, within the context of Open Education. And those resources
that are covered when I'm talking about copyrighted materials can
be everything from the traditional textbook to the supplemental, or
in class, or in- assignment materials that we're using, and even the
more abstract materials from the lectures that we give as educators
and the facilitation that we give as educators to the dialogues
and contributions that the students themselves bring into those
educational environments.
It's a very broad space, Open Education, with many denitions
because education, as we all know, is broad as well and it takes on
many dierent forms and can be explored in many dierent ways
depending on the needs of the folks who are seeking that education.
Barriers to Open Pedagogy in Higher Education
Johanna (she/her): For me it is that exibility piece that is
exhilarating. Right. It is really this [...] space of potential. And I'm
wondering if you could actually hone in a little bit on that concept
of need, though: Why does Higher Ed need Open Educational
Resources and Open Pedagogy? And are there barriers in Higher
Ed to [...] acceptanc[ing] Open Education?
Greg Bem (he/him): ose are
fantastic questions [...] and to
respond is going to take several
[...] responses. Actually it's a multi
pronged kind of situation here.
Johanna (she/her): To me, it is
a, it's a pedagogy. It's a tool. It
is a framework with which to
reinterpret what Higher Ed
[does] and its potential and, as
such, also critically calls to task
many of the problems that we see
in Higher Education, including
access to resources, the nancial
burdens put on students and
faculty (because it starts tapping
into adjunct [...] and issues of
job insecurity). For me it is [...]
contained within the ideas, this
potential of reimagining a space
that we all inhabit and whose edges we come up against time and
time and time again in the work that we do.
Greg Bem (he/him): Absolutely. e barriers are many. And I
think that historically and well documented in the research on
Open Education. One of those primary barriers or initial barriers
is the nancial barrier that students and faculty, students, and the
educators face.
[...W]e tend to center student experience when it comes to the
Open work that we're doing. Because really they're the reason
why we're doing what we're doing and to give a couple of the
stereotypical examples of these barriers, you know, some students
will not be able to aord tuition in a textbook with the same
paycheck. And so if they have to choose, they obviously are going
to enroll. ey're going to pay their tuition bill. Any of those college
fees and then that textbook will have to come later. ey rely on the
professor to scan a couple chapters in to get them by for the rst
couple weeks; using a digital PDF or they lean into their peers and
ask for to borrow the book of their peers or they pirate. e book
acquired illegally or acquired [...] through some means that might
not even be illegal or might be in a gray area when it comes to
legality. So there's a lot of dierent ways that students have adapted
Collection Development - 2 continued om previous page
We have been torn out
of our contexts of teaching
and learning because
of COVID-19, and are asked
to produce and think and
learn in an environment
that does not allow for
casual interactions and
dialogue. This is a question of
fundamentally reinvigorating
subjectivity….
ALKI • December 2020 21
continued on next page
to the costs of copyrighted materials.
And we're seeing that the Open solution has directly impacted
those [...] students’ experiences, they're able to positively engage
with their education by having a book that costs, no money or cost
a little money for a printed edition from the very beginning of the
class, and they can go on to be involved in the class. From day one.
ere are plenty of other barriers,
including for the format of the
work if the students are being
asked to buy the digital copy to
get access to specic test banks
or quizzes or what have you,
those additional materials that
come with the textbook. at
ends up becoming potentially an
accessibility issue or a usability
issue a design issue.
Open Education, Social Justice
and Including Minoritized
Voices
Johanna (she/her): [...] It also
strikes me that so much of the
work that we as librarians do is
student centered facing and that
that it also requires training and
buy-in from faculty and learning,
[...] and that within a system that
grants very little time for people
to be able to absorb new ideas. You've begun to drive us towards the
relationship between Open Education and social justice. Can you
sketch out your thoughts on the relationship between the two and
or perhaps, as a more concrete question: how does open pedagogy
work to include minoritized voices?
Greg Bem (he/him): Yeah, so that's [...] something that I came
into quite quickly: the key idea of Open Pedagogy supporting
minoritized voices and also reinforcing representation of students
within the works.
Again, historically, there are xed materials materials that have been
previously published that oer a little exibility when it comes to
modifying them to reect the learning community and the learning
community’s specic needs and specic contexts. And as a result,
the students in the learning environment, and in some cases the
educators ([...] educators can come from minoritized backgrounds
as well)....
ose xed materials would not reect the lived experiences and
identities and backgrounds of anyone in the learning community.
So Open Pedagogy really responds to that problem by shiing the
focus of the materials into those experiences, in those identities,
in those backgrounds, starting with all of that and then saying,
Okay, what materials can support the folks’ experiences, identities,
backgrounds.
[T]hat can reinforce how they are interacting in the environment
while keeping all of the folks in the environment in the center
rather than the other way
around. I feel like the other way
around essentially centers the
copyrighted material on this kind
of pedestal. You know that ends
up being that idol almost that we
all gather around and worship.
And there's no real exibility or
accommodation [as with] Open
Pedagog y.
Examples of Open Projects
A couple of examples that I've
seen as really successful within
the college that I teach at
[Lake Washington Institute of
Technology] include an open
glossary in a sociology course
where students are essentially
responding to the assignment
that requires them to contribute
entries into this glossary based
on sociological vocabulary. And
they're doing this, using their own denitions, using their own
language, their own vocabulary or their own you know vernacular.
It's not required to follow dominant vernacular […] and then they're
also providing examples which could be stories, poems, photos,
videos, etc. to reinforce their denition. So that's one example.
Another example is actually it's a little bit more common, I think,
[...] and that is just the idea of student research in general.
Student Research
Johanna (she/her): [at was where …] my brain was going. It
is not only [creating] representation and nding yourselves in
the materials that you are using for learning, [as it is also] being
a creator of those materials and beginning to see yourself as
somebody who is contributing to a body of knowledge.
What it does, in my mind, is that any of the work that students
can do for classes, whether it be contributing to set glossary or or
writing a paper, it raises the value, it raises the idea that what you're
doing is not just an assignment. And to me, it means [...] you begin
Collection Development - 3 continued om previous page
We all have many stories
within each and every one of
us. That's one of the beauties
of being human and as such,
we can all understand these
stories as we continue to live
through them and then find
new ways to share them and
through education. Ideally,
there will be room for for
telling these stories in a
variety of situations.
22 ALKI • December 2020
to see yourself as a contributor. And that is a fundamental shi in
my mind. Maybe that's not where you were going. But I’m like crazy
excited about that.
Greg Bem (he/him): Yeah, it's super, super exciting. I think, to
realize, alongside the students that we are [...] reducing hierarchy by
[doing this …] in this very information literacy sense. Yeah, well able
to contribute to the world around us and we are all responsible for
doing that as well, on our own as well as with our peers supporting
one another.
ere ends up becoming this universal sense [...] that we can all
[...] respond to those historic systems that have otherwise been
oppressive, have been minoritizing or marginalizing, have been
osetting liberty, have been osetting autonomy and stiing
creativity in one form or another across the board.
And now Open isn’t going to be the be all end all, there's still
powers that are always going to be there. ere's still a power
dierential: You say, Oh, the librarian that might know more, the
educator who might know more than the student: but allowing
students to come in and have a voice really makes so much more
room within the experience in the environment.
Privacy and Emotions
Johanna (she/her): So as you're talking, I so appreciate the dialogue:
it does make me understand more [about] why this also might be
threatening [...[ to the hierarchies and to structures of oppression.
Greg Bem (he/him): And one thing on the threatening piece, which
I'm really glad you brought that up because this is something that I
haven't seen a lot of Open practitioners talk about, is that the other
part, the other side of the coin is students can also feel threatened.
Students can also feel uncomfortable. Unsafe.
ere was actually a really great session [at OpenEd2020], but they
did bring [...] up this idea that is commonly referred to when we're
talking about Open Pedagogy and that's privacy. So when we start
opening things up, students have the ability to contribute more,
which is great. But [...] if it's not done so where there's a container
that reinforces privacy, reinforces safety. and there isn't an option
for anonymity: when students are bringing their voices, some
students might feel like totally awesome. is is such an amazing
invitation!
Other students might wonder, well, I'm coming from a world where
people abuse other people. People steal ideas or take advantage
of people. I don't want to be that person, especially because, well,
maybe I'm in a marginalized position myself or whatever the
situation is. Some students may not feel safe in opening up.
Sustainability and Scalability and Storytelling
Johanna (she/her): [I have been thinking a lot about sustainability
and scalability.] . And so, you know, we look at [...] the potential
of Open Pedagogy and how can one scale it up given limited
resources. And how do we do [that with] limited resources. at
in my mind is linked to the green movement and what does
Climate Justice look like in libraries and we've just exploded [this
conversation] out into space. But they are all interlinked.
Greg Bem (he/him): I think that's a really fascinating rabbit hole to
go down into and burrow into and stay for a while, really: the word
that came up when you were talking storytelling.
Much of my experience with Open Pedagogy has been based
around story. Now we all have our own stories. We all have many
stories within each and every one of us. at's one of the beauties
of being human and as such, we can all understand these stories as
we continue to live through them and then nd new ways to share
them and through education. Ideally, there will be room for telling
these stories in a variety of situations.
I think that when it comes to scale and also when it comes to
sustainability, which I think is another key ingredient or key piece
of Open work. Especially when we talk about labor and work and
compensation, etc. I think we can look at story in a variety of ways
that will help push things forward.
One of the great things about stories is that they are emotional and
compelling and attractive, whether they're negative, neutral, [or]
positive: there's a level of excitement behind this.
Photo by on Unsplash
continued on next page
Collection Development - 4 continued om previous page
ALKI • December 2020 23
And that yeah that it ends up becoming that cohesive quality that
allows relationships and connections to be made and be formed
and to be sustained. e stories end up being from my experience,
end up really allowing Open Pedagogy to emerge and take shape in
the classroom or the learning environment. But then they also stick
around a while, they end up forming history, they end up forming
relationships between peers, between educators over time, class
over class, course over course, students from one course have the
ability to see what was done the previous time, etc. [...] And so [...]
meaning I think develops over time as we continue to create and
and [h]onor these stories this collective body of knowledge.
Jargon, Copyright, Knowledge, Job Markets
Johanna (she/her): [...] is is making me go down entirely dierent
rabbit hole. [...] Are you at all concerned that Open will become
jargon?
Greg Bem (he/him): Yeah, you know, that's a great question and I
have to ask a [rhetorical question]. How, how much jargon and
how much unknown or forgettable language is centered around our
legal system and the idea of, of what we know, collectively, about
intellectual property—and not only the basics, but really how it all
works and the structures and systems behind it. Unfortunately, a lot
of us don't know much about [copyright].
e average person probably is not going to be an expert on
copyright and copyright law. I certainly am not an expert on
copywriting copyright law, though I might know more than the
average person. And librarians in general might know more, a little
bit more than the average person.
But that being said, I think that we need to. And this ties back to
that question on scale and formalization I think that we do need to
lean into some manner of an identity behind this work because the
identity for what we're responding to already exists, those barriers.
And systems they already exist. And they already have names on
them, whether we know whether folks know it or not.
One of the things I have seen. And you've probably seen it, too,
is this tremendous uptick in our librarians. e job market is just
ripe with this type of position and also there's been an uptick in
funding for OCR initiatives grants both hosted by institutions in
the case of four years and universities. And then, you know, more
publicly available funding through the federal government and state
governments.
inking that a lot of other institutions, especially the Community
and Technical colleges, have been relying on and that's paying
entire positions specically for the development of these resources.
I think enough research has been done to indicate their success in
responding to nancial costs and all the other costs, we've talked
about today. at folks are now paying attention. Yeah.
Johanna (she/her): I think we've given our readers a lot to chew
through as we've gone through a set of rabbit holes that, to me,
have demonstrated the intersection of so many things that we do
in libraries. [ey] sort of crisscross the idea of Open in a way that
I really feel that folks will nd pieces of their own work reected
in this conversation, regardless if they have spent that much time
actively thinking about it.
I've thoroughly enjoyed this conversation, Greg. So thank you.
Greg Bem (he/him): [...] I have really enjoyed this conversation
too. I think you put it really simply and elegantly when you
discuss the overlaps with a lot of what we do. In a way, going back
to the philosophy of it all, this is a great opportunity, whether
we're practicing or development or looking at Open through
another perspective, or from another position. is is a great
way to question librarianship. In general, and we have so many
opportunities to do that, of course.
But this is yet another one. And I think this one is open (as the
name implies) to the library work that library workers from all
dierent types of libraries and all dierent types of places can go
into so I hope that the conversations continue.
For me, this has been very
valuable. I hope that these
types of conversations can
continue to happen.
NOTES
1 Andrew O'Shea
Maeve O'Brien,
Pedagogy, Oppression and
Transformation in a "post-
Critical" Climate : the Return to Freirean inking (London ; New
York, 2011): 3.
2 Maeve O’Brian, “Towards a Pedagogy of Care and Well-Being:
Restoring the Vocation of Becoming Human rough Dialogue
and Relationality,” in Andrew O'Shea Maeve and O'Brien,
Pedagogy, Oppression and Transformation in a "post-Critical"
Climate : the Return to Freirean inking (London ; New York,
2011)
3 O’Shea and O’Brian: 4.
4 Ibid.: 6.
Photo by Reuben Juarez on Unsplash
Collection Development - 5 continued om previous page
24 ALKI • December 2020
Reimagine Libraries and Voter Engagement: A Reflection
by Suzanne Carlson-Prandini
Election Year: Libraries have
a familiar role to play, and yet
COVID-19 continually reshapes
all our lives, impacting how
libraries meet voter needs. In
addition to the challenges created
by the pandemic, engaging the
public around voting seems
even more daunting during a
particularly charged presidential
election.
Feeling intimidated is understandable, but you do have colleagues.
Of note is the recent Washington Library Association Conference
session titled “Staying Non-Partisan Doesn’t Mean Staying uiet.”
It walks library sta through various sticky scenarios, some related
to politics, providing library workers
with practical approaches for getting
beyond partisanship and into
information sharing.
e American Library Association
oers resources that help libraries
provide voter engagement tools.
ere are options that scale events
or sta training opportunities up
or down as well as links to articles
featuring libraries supporting citizen
involvement. Perhaps your library
has a ballot box located nearby,
or perhaps your website oers
information on voting, registering,
and election outcomes. Moving
forward, could your programming
include plans for hosting mock elections, forums, and candidate
debates?
e one missing element is tips on how to adapt these ideas as
virtual oerings. Don’t worry, ALA features a blog post discussing
how to transition programs online.
1
While written for a children’s
programming audience, the process applies to any program.
By the time this article is published, the current election will have
Suzanne Carlson-Prandini is a full-time public services
librarian at the Bellingham Public Library and a part-time
reference librarian at Whatcom Community College.
concluded. Energy will shi from
creating engagement to reection
on how libraries contributed
towards access and supported
information sharing and civic
engagement. How did libraries
help voters understand their rights
and responsibilities as well as
connect them to credible sources
on the issues? What went well
despite current closures? What
could be more robust moving
forward? Were sta able to respond and adapt to community
feedback or requests? If not, what prevented them from doing so?
It is impossible to explore how libraries met voters’ needs without
rst unpacking the challenges faced.
One of those challenges, of course,
is the loss of social interaction.
“People’s Faces” by spoken word
poet Kae Tempest captures the
intensity of the times and the power
of seeing other people. Created in
the context of Brexit, it explores the
value of in-person interactions and
the loss of structure. To be clear, some
structures need to be changed, but
the complexity of multi-systemic
disintegration being lived right now
is overwhelming. Not just because
it is hard to know what to expect of
multiple facets of daily life, but also
because of the burnout experienced
as we are all asked to thoughtfully
engage on, well, everything. All aspects of public and private life—
work, school, home, social—have been remade.
Kae Tempest’s piece speaks to those feelings of overwhelm and
grief while bolstering the sense that despite the struggle, or perhaps
because of it, individuals can be lied when they see each other.
is underscores a key asset that libraries oer the communities
they serve. Libraries create both gurative space and physical space
for citizens to view humanity through access to materials, meeting
rooms, and events. is increases the likelihood that all types of
patrons can cross paths, seeing and being seen, hopefully interacting
and learning from each other. While the physical space is severely
restricted at this time, libraries continue to demonstrate the value of
a paradox mindset by creating connection during a time of extreme
Libraries create both
figurative space and physical
space for citizens to view
humanity through access to
materials, meeting rooms,
and events.
Photo by Jennifer Grin on Unsplash
continued on page 32
Articles
ALKI • December 2020 25
New Program, New Books: Selecting Materials for
the Muckleshoot Ed.D. Cohort at the University of
Washington, Tacoma
by Kristen Orth
e University of Washington
Tacoma occupies the ancestral
land of the Coast Salish people,
specically the traditional
homelands of the Puyallup
Tribe of Indians
1
.is
acknowledgement has been part
of the university’s work--and the
formal practice of the Department
of Education since 2017--in an
eort to create an environment
that is more inclusive of
Indigenous cultures, histories, and
perspectives
2
. While the overall
university system has taken important steps towards this goal—
such as the opening of the UW Center for American Indian and
Indigenous Studies in 2018 and wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ-Intellectual House
in 2015—more work needs to be done to address systemic issues
on the Tacoma campus. Settler colonialism continues to uphold
barriers to Indigenous students, as reected in demographics:
out of over 5,000 students enrolled at UW Tacoma, only 118 are
Indigenous
3
.
To help dismantle those barriers, the
Doctoral Program in Educational
Leadership (Ed.D.) has partnered with
the Muckleshoot Tribal College to
oer a program centering Indigenous
knowledge and approaches. e
program was created and launched by
UW Tacoma’s Ed.D. Director Robin
Starr Zape-tah-hol-ah Minthorn and
Muckleshoot Tribal College’s Academic
Aairs Instructor Amy Maharaj,
alongside Denise Bill (Adult and
Higher Education Executive Director,
Muckleshoot Tribal College), Michelle
Montgomery (professor, UW Tacoma),
and Ashley Walker (Ed.D. Graduate
Advisor, UW Tacoma)
4
. Consisting of
students who are either tribal citizens
or have prior experience with tribal
education
5
, the Muckleshoot cohort
oers an exciting opportunity to increase Indigenous enrollment
and support Indigenous research and methodologies.
e 15 members of the inaugural
Muckleshoot cohort began their
studies this summer; four are
connected to the Muckleshoot
tribe and 11 are from tribes
such as the Lummi Nation, the
Makah Tribe and the Cochiti
Trib e
6
. Students meet for class one
weekend out of every month at
the Muckleshoot Tribal College
(classes are currently being held
online due to the COVID-19
pandemic). Faculty for the
program is made up of Indigenous
professors or those with extensive experience in tribal education
7
.
As a new program not only at UW Tacoma but also within the
Pacic Northwest, there are unique information needs that need
to be addressed, and libraries are uniquely situated to at least
begin that work. Students need a breadth of quality resources
that implement Indigenous methodologies at a level suitable for
doctorate-level research. Further
considerations also need to be given
for the circumstances created by the
COVID-19 pandemic. To answer
these needs, the UW Tacoma Library
launched a collection development
project this summer to increase the
quantity and quality of monographs
available for students.
Before beginning the search for
specic titles, purchase criteria needed
to be established. In addition to the
aforementioned needs and suitability
within the eld of Education, priority
was , given to Indigenous authors.
To ensure accurate and up-to-date
information, titles were limited to
publication dates within the last ten
years. As the cohort is based within the
Pacic Northwest region of the United
States, particular focus was given to
books with this setting; however, as perspectives outside of this
geographic limit are still valuable, key exceptions were made for
texts about First Nations and Aboriginal peoples.
It also opens up the
opportunity for library staff
members to reexamine their
relationship with Indigenous
patrons, and how they
can better support their
information needs.
continued on next page
Screenshot courtesy of Johanna Jacobsen Kiciman
26 ALKI • December 2020
COVID-19 presented new challenges throughout the duration of
the selection process. e collection development project began
almost simultaneously with the pandemic, which impacted the
amount of feedback that could be collected from key stakeholders.
As the program grows and develops, library workers at the UW
Tacoma Library will need to make an active eort to include more
voices and insights from cohort members and faculty whenever
possible.
UW Tacoma’s COVID-19 response included the closing of all
in-person services, including circulation. Access to physical books
from the UW Libraries was impossible when the program began,
and, while curbside services have now been implemented, accessing
print books for students who may not be close to the campus still
remains a barrier.. Because books were not able to be returned
or processed for the rst six months of the pandemic, the Access
Services at the UW Tacoma Library faced a backlog, which in turn
meant that newly purchased books would be delayed in being
put on the shelves and reaching the students. For the purposes
of the collection development work, titles were therefore limited
exclusively to eBooks.
e nal step in assessment was examining titles already in the
collection and determining what topics were well-represented and
what still needed development. Focus was put onto UW Tacoma’s
specic collection, although secondary consideration was given to
UW Libraries’ overall repository, as well as the collections from
fellow members of the Orbis Cascade Alliance Consortium. As
the ILS only allowed searching by call numbers, this method was
imprecise but helpful in understanding how current needs were or
were not being met. It was determined that while UW Libraries
were fairly comprehensive in owning materials that fullled the
criteria, UW Tacoma’s collection lacked newer works as well as
eBook copies.
With a clearer understanding of the selection criteria, titles could
be identied. WorldCat’s advanced search was used to lter for
the designated years and genre of books with the keywords. e
process gradually transitioned into subject searching, using the
subjects “Indigenous Knowledge,” “Indigenous peoples – Research
– Methodology,” and “Indigenous peoples – Education” as the main
focus. From these searches, a list of 65 titles was generated for the
nal step of consideration.
Final decisions were made based on whether the title had an eBook
version, whether a copy of the book already existed in the system
or consortium—and if so, the extent of the eBook license—and
whether the content was considered “highly relevant” to the needs
of the cohort. e general high cost of eBook licenses further
constrained what was available for purchasing within a special, one-
time additional $3,000 budget to support the Muckleshoot cohort.
In some cases, the decision was made to expand already existing
licensing to increase accessibility, especially during remote learning.
16 new eBooks were added to the University of Washington
collection as a result of this project, and several licenses were
expanded.
Higher Education has a long way to go to creating a more
equitable environment for Indigenous community members. e
Muckleshoot cohort is an exciting addition to the University of
Washington Tacoma’s program oerings, bringing institutional
power and resources directly to Indigenous educators and leaders.
It also opens up the opportunity for library workers to reexamine
their relationship with Indigenous patrons, and how they can better
support their information needs. e library was able to add more
Indigenous perspectives and knowledge to the collection through
this project, but it is just one way to increase representation and
oer support. As the Ed.D. program continues to grow, so should
the library’s services and methods.
Notes
1. “American Indian Programs & Resources,” American Indian
Programs & Resources | UW Tacoma, accessed October 15, 2020,
https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/american-indian-programs/american-
indian-programs-resources.
2. "Land Acknowledgment," Land Acknowledgment | UW Tacoma,
accessed November 18, 2020, https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/school-
education/land-acknowledgement.
3 Helena Lyng-Olsen, “Advanced Degree Program Launched
by Muckleshoot Tribe, UW Tacoma,” Tacoma News Tribune,
July 11, 2020, https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/
article244149207.html.
4. Ibid.
5. “Muckleshoot Cohort,” Muckleshoot Cohort | UW Tacoma,
accessed October 20, 2020, https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/
educational-leadership-edd/muckleshoot-cohort.
6. Helena Lyng-Olsen, “Advanced Degree Program Launched
by Muckleshoot Tribe, UW Tacoma,” Tacoma News Tribune,
July 11, 2020, https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/
article244149207.html.
7. “Muckleshoot Cohort,” Muckleshoot Cohort | UW Tacoma,
accessed October 20, 2020, https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/
educational-leadership-edd/muckleshoot-cohort.
New Program, New Books - 1 continued om previous page
ALKI • December 2020 27
INTRODUCTION
Doc Martin
Since the publication of the rst Harry Potter novel in 1997, the
series has garnered attention not only in the realm of pop culture,
but also in academia. While teaching Children’s Literature in the
English Department at Clemson University from 1999 to 2011,
I taught a Harry Potter class twice: rst to honors students at the
request of the Honors College and later taught a Senior English
Seminar for majors. I always integrate outreach into my classes,
regardless of focus, and the popularity of this series made outreach
fun to plan. My honors students
hosted a Harry Potter Trivia
Contest, which maxed out at
50 teams of 3 contestants each,
who answered questions that
would challenge even the most
dedicated Harry Potter fan. e
English Senior Seminar hosted a
uidditch competition (before
college uidditch teams were
widespread) and sold T-shirts.
Both classes donated their
fundraising proceeds to local
youth charities.
As I contemplated teaching
a summer 2020 Harry Potter
course for the University of
Washington’s iSchool Master
of Library and Information
Program, I had to consider the expansion of the Potterverse that
has occurred since I last taught the series: the release of the Deathly
Hallows lms, Part 1 and Part 2 and the Fantastic Beasts lms; the
production of e Cursed Child; the explosion of fanction about
the series; the creation of e Wizarding World of Harry Potter
theme park; the establishment of organizations like e Harry
Potter Alliance; the occurrence of Harry Potter-themed academic
conferences; and the publication of critical articles, books, and
more. I also knew that many students who “grew up” with Harry
are now struggling to manage their fandom and their dedication to
Rowling’s work when they feel betrayed by the author and the very
public transphobic stance she has recently taken. Hence, the 2020
class required both a new approach and new types of outreach.
Dr. Michelle H. Martin is the Beverly Cleary Endowed
Professor for Children and Youth Services at the University
of Washington iSchool and from 2011-2016 was the inaugural
Augusta Baker Endowed Chair in Childhood Literacy at the
University of South Carolina. She published Brown Gold:
Milestones of African-American Children’s Picture Books,
1845-2002 (Routledge, 2004) and founded Read-a-Rama
(www.Read-a-Rama.org), a non-profit that uses children’s
books as the springboard for year-round and summer camp
programming.
Milly Romeijn-Stout is a PhD
Candidate at the University of
Washington iSchool whose
research focuses on inclusion in
the public library. She lives in
Seattle, Washington.
Emily Beran (she/hers) is a
library assistant at the Kenneth
Spencer Research Library at
the University of Kansas and is
in her second year as an MLIS
student at the University of
Washington. Emily is House
Ravenclaw.
Jennifer Stetson (she/hers) lives
in the Southern California area
and is in her second year as an
MLIS student at the University
of Washington. Jennifer is
House Ravenclaw.
Jamie Poirier (she/hers) is a Supervising Librarian for the
San Rafael Public Library and is in her third/final year as an
MLIS student at the University of Washington.Jamie is House
Gryffindor.
Justine Rea (she/hers) works as an educator in the San
Francisco Bay Area and is in her third year as an MLIS student
at the University of Washington.
Jennifer Ching (she/her), an elementary library teacher in
Bellevue, WA, was sorted into Hufflepuff as a third year MLIS
student at the University of Washington.
Rea Harris, Nicole Breiner, Austin Foglesong, Chelsea Riddle,
and Chelsea Davies are all students at the University of
Washington iSchool.
Harry Potter in the 21st Century: Leveraging Problematic
Fiction to Infuse Social Justice into the LIS Curriculum
by Michelle H. Martin, Milly Romeijn-Stout, Emily Beran, Jennifer Stetson, Jamie Poirier, Justine Rea, Rea Harris, Nicole
Breiner, Austin Foglesong, Jennifer Ching, Chelsea Riddle, and Chelsea Davies
continued on next page
As many Harry Potter fans
struggle with how to manage
their fandom in the face of
J.K. Rowling’s transphobic
stance, this class highlighted
how to create new and better
library programming that
capitalizes on this fandom but
is more inclusive of
all readers.
28 ALKI • December 2020
Harry Potter in the 21st Century - 2 continued om previous page
I decided to name the class “Harry Potter in the 21st Century:
Equity, Race and Privilege in the Fantastic” and to teach it as a
social justice class.
Ebony Elizabeth omas’ critical book, e Dark Fantastic: Race
and the Imagination om Harry Potter to e Hunger Games,
framed our discussions for this 4½ -week summer online course.
1
In e Dark Fantastic, omas argues that those who write fantasy
have had a failure of the imagination in building worlds that too
oen exclude BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color)
characters, and when they do, they portray Black and Brown
characters only as the “dark other” or villains who need to be
eradicated or subdued. e racism inherent in fantasy excludes and
alienates non-white readers and forces them to imaginatively create
spaces for themselves in the fantasy worlds in which they never
appear or are rarely portrayed positively. And even when they do
appear—consider the casting of Amandla Stenberg as Rue in e
Hunger Games lm—there is sometimes a public outcry against
the inclusion of minoritized characters.
Using these ideas as a foundation for our discussions, I created
modules that addressed the following topics:
• Gender & the HP Franchise
• e Fantastic, Race & Ethnicity
• e HP Community: Social Justice & Fanction
• e Economics of HP & Exploring Other Fantasy Worlds
roughout the course, the students engaged actively in discussion
boards, watched lectures recorded by Milly Romeijn-Stout
(doctoral TA for the course) and me, and interviewed librarians
who are oering Harry Potter/fantasy-themed programming in
libraries in Washington, South Carolina, Colorado, and California
as well as four scholars who have published on Rowling’s work,
including Ebony omas herself. e class read and discussed
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, but since part of the goal
for the course was to help these LIS students diversify their
recommendations in reader’s advisory, and since most of the
students have read the seven Potter
books multiple times, the other texts
we read as a class were #OwnVoices
works by BIPOC writers: Gene Luen
Yang ’s Secret Coders, any work of
speculative ction by Zetta Elliott,
Nnedi Okorafor’s Akata Witch (based
on Nigerian mythology) and Rebecca
Roanhorse’s Race to the Sun (one of the
Rick Riordan Presents books based on
Navajo mythology). ese authors and
texts were new to most of the students
and pushed them to think more inclusively about the books they
read and recommend to those who love fantasy.
And since I still believe in the value of outreach to bring the
“Ivory Tower” into the community to make a positive dierence-
-even during a short summer course and even during a worldwide
pandemic—I contacted Sno-Isle Public Library, a library system
that has oered a full week of Harry Potter programming for
several years. When we discovered that they were pivoting to oer
this programming online, we asked if they would be interested in
having my students take part. ree of the students joined existing
Sno-Isle Library Committees, and the other 27 students formed
three committees that planned the following virtual programs,
advertised for teens and adults:
• Reel Talk: Harry Potter Film Adaptations, Monday, August
17, 4-5 pm
• Slash, Shipping and Head Canon: Harry Potter Fanction,
Tuesday, August 18, 5-6 pm
• Diversity Matters: Reading Diversely with Harry Potter,
Wednesday, August 19, 7-8 pm
e students were encouraged to use their prior knowledge and
experience of the Harry Potter series and other works of fantasy as
well as their readings, interviews and discussions from class, and
any relevant research, to create the programs. Each group met with
Milly and me twice to plan, to share their discussion questions,
and to “test drive” their presentations. We communicated regularly
with the Sno-Isle librarians, who answered questions and also
arranged a tech check 30 minutes before the start of each program.
Some students who had other engagements that prevented them
from participating in the actual program helped with planning,
research, creating PowerPoints, and other details beforehand, and
all of the students were asked to complete a survey about their
outreach experience. ey also each wrote a reective essay for
their nal class assignment, in which many discussed what it was
like to plan a library outreach program—a rst for most of them. I
asked for volunteers from each of the outreach groups to take part
in writing this article to share what they did and what they gained
from the experience.
STUDENTLED PROGRAMS
In this next section, students from the class describe the library
programs they led in their own voices, explaining their process step
by step and concluding with reections about their program and
the course overall. In addition to the student-led public library
programs, two students describe alternate ways they fullled the
requirements of this assignment while contributing positively to
Sno-Isle Public Library summer programming.
continued on next page
ALKI • December 2020 29
Reel Talk:
Emily Beran, Jennifer Stetson, Jamie Poirier
e goal of this program was for participants to gain a greater
understanding of how the expansion of the Harry Potter universe
has also allowed an expansion of representation in the real world.
Based on student interest, we formed three subcommittees:
Original Film Adaptations; Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
play, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find em.
Film Adaptations
Our questions in this section asked participants to consider the
dierences between the books and the movies and how those
dierences impact not only inclusion but how the participants see
themselves within the wizarding world. Our discussion included
the following questions: Based on the books, which casting choice
was your favorite in the movies and why? Which casting choice
did not match your expectations? Do you think the characters are
more diverse or less diverse in the movies than in the books?
e Cursed Child
We opened this section by mentioning the lack of diversity in the
wizarding world in terms of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, dierently-
abled people, and so on. We then posed the following discussion
questions, among others: if you could write an epilogue story set
in the Harry Potter universe, which characters might you like to
reimagine to be dierent from the movie portrayals (as the play
does with Hermione)? Which characters and subplots would you
want to follow in an epilogue?
Wanting to leave participants with some action items, we ended
with book recommendations and encouraged them to think about
how their favorite stories would look if they were more diverse. We
also hope that such a line of thinking will encourage them to seek
out new kinds of stories (such as those by #OwnVoices writers) and
potentially even be inspired to write their own.
Fantastic Beasts Movies
For this section of the program, we had participants sketch their
own made-up beasts,
then name them. Our
discussion questions
asked participants to
think critically about the
lm franchise, keeping
diversity, equity and
inclusion in mind. In the
two Fantastic Beasts lms,
there appears to be an
Harry Potter in the 21st Century - 3 continued om previous page
attempt to incorporate diversity/
representation. To what extent do
you think the lms met the goal
of diversity and representation?
If future lms take place in
the US, how could Indigenous
communities be represented?
e Fantastic Beasts series is the
adaptation and world expansion
most distant from the content of
the original books, which makes it
particularly interesting to discuss
from a diversity standpoint.
ere is not a seven-volume series
full of character descriptions
that dictate some of the casting
choices for these lms. Because
of this, the Fantastic Beasts series has a level of freedom that the
original lms and e Cursed Child do not. And yet, the diversity
and representation still leave much to be desired in these lms. We
asked participants to consider why this might be.
Reections
Our feedback survey gave us valuable suggestions that included
providing discussion questions beforehand (“to allow for more
participation from those who may not have an immediate answer”)
and a request for more slides with visual components to spark
more conversation.
Our primary challenges were guring out how best to foster
audience participation and to maintain a steady ow through
the three subcommittee presentations. While we did have a few
technical diculties, they were not signicant enough to detract
from the substance of the program. We feel condent we can avoid
them in future programs. We also learned that we needed to pay
attention to both verbal discussion and the chat, since the chat can
be both rich and quite dierent from what is happening verbally.
e pandemic has been a source of frustration for everyone,
but having an alternative platform for discussion like Zoom was
positive overall as it gave participants another way to engage that
made them more comfortable and active.
Slash, Shipping and Head Canon:
Justine Rea
e goals of our program were to:
• Provide a brief introduction to fanction, advice about
how teens should conduct themselves as participants in the
fanction world, and what sites are available to them for
Photo by Pierrick VAN-TROOST
on Unsplash
Image courtesy of Jamie Poirier
continued on next page
30 ALKI • December 2020
Harry Potter in the 21st Century - 4 continued om previous page
posting and interacting with fanction and its enthusiasts
• Provide a safe and fun space to discuss and explore what
fanction means to them
• Explore topics concerning diversity and inclusion within
the fanction realm, with special attention given to areas
of fanction where creators deviated from the HP canon
(because doing so can make space for more diversity and
inclusion)
• Engage in a some fanction free-writing
Program Outline
Following introductions,
we covered fanction
basics, including fanction
history, vocabulary and
what inclusivity and
diversity look like through
dierent fanction
mediums, with special
attention given to Slash
and Headcanon fanction
prose. We then had
participants contribute to a Word Cloud and a scavenger hunt
related to fanction. Overall, the teen participants were highly
engaged, and we were surprised at how much engagement they
brought: they wanted to talk rather than just typing in the chat.
is supports the claims in Hinck in which she describes how
publics are formed through these shared grounds
2
. is program
supported the thinking that fanction can motivate people to
public engagement.
Diversity Matters:
Rea Harris, Nicole Breiner, Austin Foglesong, Jennifer Ching
Working with 12 fellow graduate students online, who you do not
know personally, who are around the world in dierent time zones,
might have been a daunting task. However, we were united in our
belief in the importance of diversity, whether it be race, culture,
sexual orientation/identity, or abilities, and thus determined to get
the project to work.
Aer our initial meetings, we decided on a general structure and
goals for the program, then created subcommittees by program
tasks: introduction; discussion guides; book talk/resources, and
Call to Action.
Most importantly, we wanted to make sure that program
participants felt included and recognized. We wanted to give
them a chance to discuss their own dening characteristics and to
think about multiple diverse perspectives. In addition, we wanted
to share Harry Potter read-alikes that represented traditionally
underrepresented perspectives and to provide resources for
fandoms that promote diversity in the fantasy genre.
With this in mind, our goals for the project were to:
• Provide participants an opportunity to identify and discuss
characteristics that speak to who they are (race, ethnicity,
gender identity, ability, etc.) for a re-imagined sorting hat;
• Encourage participants to think critically about the diverse
perspectives present in or missing from the works of fantasy
they choose to read;
• Share Harry Potter read-alikes and alternatives in the fantasy
genre, highlighting and adding to those in the Sno-Isle reading
list, that feature characters oering diverse perspectives;
• Issue a Call to Action by oering suggestions for involvement
in online fan communities and organizations that promote a
diversity of voices in the fantasy world.
Our program included a check-in in which participants shared
their name, pronouns, location and Patronus, a PowerPoint
Image courtesy of Justine Rea.
Images courtesy of Jennifer Ching.
continued on next page
ALKI • December 2020 31
Harry Potter in the 21st Century - 5 continued om previous page
about diversity and identity in Harry Potter that framed our
conversation, and breakout groups facilitated by members of our
committee. We then gave a book talk and shared a resource list
that described additional diverse books, podcasts, lms, etc., that
our participants might enjoy. We ended with the Call to Action,
Q&A, and thank yous.
Participants overwhelmingly enjoyed the program, though some
provided constructive feedback such as wanting more details about
Harry Potter and wanting us to connect the organizations to which
we referred in our Call to Action to specic Harry Potter examples.
We also used breakout rooms to discuss our sorting hat activity,
and several participants specically commented that they enjoyed
the breakout room conversations.
Our group created a resource list of books and resources that our
participants were excited to explore and add to. We focused on
Harry Potter read-alikes that included more diverse characters.
ese books included titles that we read for our own course, Zetta
Elliott’s Dragons in a Bag and Nnedi Okorafor’s Akata Witch.
We created a script to make our presentation go more smoothly.
We also provided handouts to the participants with links to the
books and resources that are in the Sno-Isle Library catalog. ese
consisted of PDF versions of specic slides from our presentation.
We even received a request for the references slide from an attendee
who wanted to look deeper into what we had discussed.
Reections
It was a really great opportunity to have this outreach experience.
Many of the tools and resources we used in the creation of the
Diversity Matters program were from what we learned and read
in class through required readings or from interviews with sta at
other libraries. It was an impactful way for us to demonstrate what
we had learned and put our skills and knowledge into practice.
We also appreciated the help and support of Doc Martin, Milly
Romeijn-Stout, and the Sno-Isle Librarians and sta. It took all of
us to help make these programs go smoothly and successfully.
EMBEDDED AND INDEPENDENT OUTREACH
PROJECTS
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Book Club:
Chelsea Riddle
I was one of the few students who experienced programming
embedded within a Sno-Isle Public Library committee for their
week of online programming, which took place the rst full week
of our class. I helped with the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s
Stone (HPSS) Book Club for youth, which attracted roughly
26 participants. e meeting began with a Zoom poll, and
discussion commenced aer the initial poll discussion. We polled
the participants four times throughout the meeting, with good
participation and follow-up discussions.
While most participants were under age twelve, the discussions
that took place were thorough, respectful, and insightful.
Organizers developed discussion questions before the meeting
with the intention of really getting everyone talking, but we
quickly found that the participants were so excited to talk about
the book that our predetermined questions only gently guided
the Book Club, rather than rmly focusing it. We began by asking
participants about themselves and how they relate to HPSS events
and characters, and slowly moved from an individual-focus to a
more community-based one. ere were several questions that
asked participants to relate to one another, and to the characters in
the book. e “why” questions really got kids thinking, and they
frequently came up with similar “why” questions on their own
during discussion. Poll activities were incorporated throughout the
discussion to break things up and to spark further thinking about
the book, and those were particularly popular.
Overall, the participants seemed to really enjoy the discussion and
poll activities and le the Zoom meeting excited for upcoming
event sessions. ey were also excited to continue reading the
Harry Potter series and beyond.
Dragons in a Bag Activity Book:
Chelsea Davies
While I do not have youth librarianship experience, I have
other creative and technical skills that I wanted to meaningfully
contribute to Sno-Isle Libraries programming. So I relied on my
skills as a designer to create an activity and coloring book. I was
inspired by the simplicity of diner activity books and placemats
and the idea of kids engaging with activities that might get them
even more excited about Zetta Elliot’s Dragons in a Bag. Aer I
created the activity book, Doc Martin shared it with Zetta Elliott,
who liked it very much, and with several communities of librarians
who planned to share it with patrons. Alki readers can access the
activity booklet here. Please share it with the young people in your
life and in your library.
CONCLUSION:
What is Harry Potter’s Place in the Library?
Doc Martin
As many Harry Potter fans struggle with how to manage their
fandom in the face of J.K. Rowling’s transphobic stance, this class
highlighted how to create new and better library programming
that capitalizes on this fandom but that is more inclusive of all
readers. Readings, assignments, activities and especially this
continued on next page
32 ALKI • December 2020
social isolation via virtual oerings.
2 3
Connections have value, and we can explore this idea in terms of
access to the internet. ere are moments when patrons must go
online in order to connect with businesses and organizations. A
recent interaction with a patron reminded me how hard it is to
connect oine. e patron wished to communicate with a political
campaign and a local radio station, but the only means of doing so
was through the organizations’ online question forms. is patron
did not use computers. While the political campaign was able
to supply a P.O. Box, the radio station was not. People without
digital access, especially during these times, nd themselves cut o
from many of the information ows in our society. is results in
increased isolation and a further loss of civic participation. Some
libraries have responded by creating or increasing loans of hotspots
and devices, and maintaining or expanding their WiFi outside
their buildings.
4 5
In addition, all libraries are working towards a
manageable, safe system for giving patrons time on computers in
buildings.
Elections ensure that the opportunity for citizens to reimagine
society occurs at regular intervals. is opportunity can only be
fully realized if knowledgeable citizens remain engaged. While
COVID-19 has remade our world in unanticipated ways, it has
not changed the election cycle. Now is the time to reect on how
libraries aid citizens to successfully participate in democracy and
plan for the next round of the cycle.
Notes
1 Jennifer Brown, “Transitioning to Virtual Programming: You
Already Know the Basics!” ALSC Blog, April 19, 2020, https://
www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2020/04/transitioning-to-virtual-
programming-you-already-know-the-basics/.
2 Timothy Inklebarger, “Escape for the Isolated,” American
Libraries (November/December 2020): 29.
3 Ruth Monnier, “News: Book Club Going Virtual? Consider
ese 3 ings,” Programming Librarian, March 31, 2020, https://
programminglibrarian.org/articles/book-club-going-virtual-
consider-these-3-things.
4 Nevonne McDaniels, “Reopening Plans: Library Has 130
Hotspots, Washable Keyboard Covers on the Way,” e Wenatchee
World, July 1, 2020, https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/
local/reopening-plans-library-has-130-hotspots-washable-
keyboard-covers-on-the-way/article_42864b9c-bbd4-11ea-9739-
173670a552b7.html.
5 “WiFi Hotspot Lending,” Bellingham Public Library, Accessed
November 13, 2020, https://www.bellinghampubliclibrary.org/
wi-hotspots.
Reimagine Libraries - 2 continued om page 26Harry Potter in the 21st Century - 6 continued om previous page
outreach project in partnership with Sno-Isle Library contributed
in a concrete way to the anti-racist learning and practices of future
librarians. e class also introduced students to some #OwnVoices
writers of fantasy with BIPOC main characters that most of the
students had not read prior to the class.
What did the students learn? One summed it up in this way:
“Organizing large groups to one task is never easy, and doing
so completely asynchronously adds extra stress to the process.
I think my task- and group-management skills were stretched
and broadened. I also think I learned valuable information
about what types of programs can be held in a public library,
and learned that sometimes book or general discussion is just
as helpful and engaging as a formal, fully-planned lecture or
event!”
Another student said:
“I feel that the process of helping to plan a program such as
this for a public library really made me think about Harry
Potter and fanction in general in a dierent way. Fanction
is a great form of entertainment for me, but putting a social
justice lens on things also helped look at fanction as a way
for readers to create mirrors of themselves in a universe, such
as the HP universe, where they may not be represented.”
While few faculty would attempt three outreach projects with 30
students in a 4½-week summer class, it was well worth the eort,
and everyone involved gained a great deal from this experience.
Notes
1 Ebony Elizabeth omas. e Dark Fantastic : Race and
the Imagination from Harry Potter to e Hunger Games.
Postmillennial Pop. New York: New York University Press, 2019.
2 Ashley Hinck. "eorizing a Public Engagement Keystone:
Seeing Fandom's Integral Connection to Civic Engagement
through the Case of the Harry Potter Alliance." Transformative
Works and Cultures 10 (2012): 42 .
ALKI • December 2020 33
New Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at KCLS
Dominica Myers joined King
County Library System as the
new Director of Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion (DEI). e
following update is from the KCLS
newsroom:
Myers joined KCLS in October to
head the DEI department in a newly
created leadership role, and will
report to KCLS Executive Director
Lisa Rosenblum. Born and raised in
Washington state, Myers comes to
KCLS from Seattle Opera where she
served as the associate director of
administration with responsibility for company-wide Racial Equity
and Social Impact initiatives.
Myers earned a master’s degree in nonprot leadership from Seattle
University in Seattle, Washington, and holds a bachelor’s degree
in theatre arts with a minor in Spanish from Central Washington
University in Ellensburg, Washington. She also serves on the Inspire
Washington board of trustees and the Tacoma Creates advisory
board.
“KCLS is deeply committed to diversity, equity and inclusion as
part of our service to the public,” stated KCLS Executive Director
Lisa Rosenblum. “We began recruitment for this new role in July
to expand leadership on our DEI initiatives, and we welcome
Dominica to KCLS.”
“e people and geography of King County are a diverse tapestry
of lived experiences, and the Library System is a reection of
that,” stated Myers. “KCLS holds a tremendous responsibility
for stewarding the public’s resources and trust toward creating an
equitable and inclusive experience for patrons of all backgrounds.
As the new DEI director, I certainly feel the weight of this charge,
but am excited for the journey with you.”
Cornish College of the Arts: Promotion to Director
As of June 1, 2020, Bridget Nowlin
has been promoted to the Director
of Library Services position at
Cornish. At Cornish College of the
Arts since 2002,
Nowlin began as the part-time
Curator of Visual Resources,
returned to the University of
Washington to get her MLIS and
became the Visual Arts Librarian.
Nowlin is also a practicing artist
with a focus on photography,
teaches the history of photography
by invitation, and is the Curator for
the Monsen Collection, a private
collection of photography, ceramics, and Asian art.
~Content courtesy of Bridget Nowlin.
WLA Member and La Conner Library Favorite Retires
Joy Neal retired from the La Conner
Library December 2019 aer years
of library service. She spent 23
years at North Central Regional
Library, and then became director
of La Conner Regional Library. Joy
was and is still an active member of
WLA. She is currently the outgoing
WLA Treasurer and a member
of the Washington State Library
Council.
In 1982 she joined the WLA Board
as Conference Chair. Along with a
committee she gathered, Joy helped
put on the rst Conference held in Wenatchee. She also worked
on numerous WLA conferences in various capacities—Chair,
Programs, Pre-Conference, Local Arrangements, Treasurer, and
nally three years as Exhibits Chair.
Milestones
Milestones focuses on significant moments for libraries statewide – recognizing notable new hires, transitions, expansions
and retirements, as well as remembrances of those who have passed. We’re looking for submissions, of approximately 250
words, that highlight notable accomplishments in the careers of those profiled. Photographs are encouraged. Please send
information to [email protected]g.
continued on next page
Image courtesy of Bridget
Nowlin
Image courtesy of Joy Neal
Image courtesy of Sarah omas
34 ALKI • December 2020
Joy retired from La Conner aer being invited to present about
public computer use at a Gates Foundation Peer Conference to a
worldwide audience, and aer successfully raising over 3 million
dollars for a new La Conner Library building scheduled to be built
in 2021 next year.
~Content courtesy of Joy Neal.
New Directory for Whitman County Library
Whitman County Library is pleased
to announce that Kylie Fullmer has
been hired as Director, beginning
work on September 8 of this year.
Fullmer was born and raised in the
Tri-Cities, graduating from the
University of Washington with her
MLIS in 2010. Aer a short stint
working at Amazon, Fullmer served
for 10 years as library director of
the East Adams Library District in
Ritzville.
During her time in Ritzville, Fullmer
became passionate about the role of
libraries in bridging the digital divide, working actively to support
local and statewide broadband initiatives helping ensure everyone in
rural areas has access to high speed internet.
About her new position, Kylie says: “I have long viewed Whitman
County Library as a leader for rural libraries and oen looked
to Whitman Country Library for inspiration during my time in
Ritzville. I look forward to working with the amazing sta and
continuing the successful programs and services community
members know and love, while also innovating to meet arising
needs as we navigate these uncertain times.”
In her rst few weeks at the library, Fullmer will tour all 14 branch
locations and communities, meet library sta and familiarize herself
with the intricacies of the system.
~Content courtesy of Kristie Kirkpatrick.
Milestones - 2 continued om previous page
We so greatly enjoyed the art contributed by library
workers from across the state shared at the Washington
Library Association annual meeting (see Walsh, Portrait
of a Librarian in this issue)! e past two issues, we have
been fortunate enough to have Alki covers featuring art
submitted, well, by you!
We are energized to call on our entire community of
library workers—in any role—to submit cover art as a
jpeg for upcoming issues of Alki by emailing alkieditor@
wla.org. Please include a brief biography with your
submission. e deadline is rolling, and we will consider
all images that are submitted that are in line with our
editorial principles.
uestions? Please reach out to the Alki Editor by
emailing alkieditor@wla.org.
A Call for
Cover Art
A Call for Contributors
by the Alki Editorial Committee and Alki Editor
Image courtesy of Kylie Fullmer
ALKI • December 2020 35
so—it was certainly one of my favorites of the
year. In fact, I expect that it will show up at the
top of many of this year’s lists, library-created or
otherwise. Our lists always include some of those
incredibly popular and well-reviewed titles, but our
lists also include more variety than many other lists.
Although our sta are still voting on their favorites
as I write this, I can guarantee that the King County
Library System’s 2020 Best Book list will include the
kind of literary ction appears on New York Times
lists It will also include plenty of genre ction, from
romance to sci-, because that’s how our sta and
patrons read.
Further, book lists are invaluable readers’ advisory
tools for years to come. I know that despite my
eorts to stay on top of book news and to read
widely and broadly all year long, sta will nominate
and vote for a book that I have not yet heard of.
Sta can condently recommend titles from past
lists whether they’ve read them or not because the
content is so wide-ranging in scope.
How do we determine the titles that go on our
list? At the King County Library System, we do
a traditional list: 4 categories (adult ction, adult
nonction, teen, and children’s) with 25 titles
each. We write short annotations for each title
to help readers get a sense of the selections. Our
list is compiled through a nomination and voting
process that gives input to sta at all levels and in all
positions. You can browse our picks online.
Other models also exist. In past years, Whatcom
County Library System has published a gi guide!
Take a look at the 2017 edition here. While it does
not feature exclusively new books, it does highlight some new titles,
tie into pop culture trends, and showcase the sta ’s readers’ advisory
expertise. For a more interactive experience, check out Multnomah
County Library’s Best Books. It’s built on the same open-source
soware as the NPR Book Concierge.
ere is no wrong way to share the books your sta loved this
year, and your patrons will be happy to dive in no matter how you
package your picks. I invite you to send me your library’s picks! I
can’t wait to see what library sta all over Washington read and
loved this year.
I’d Rather Be Reading
by Emily Calkins
Emily Calkins is the readers’ services program coordinator
for the King County Library System, where she organizes
system-wide readers’ advisory efforts, supports book groups,
coordinates author events, and co-hosts the library’s podcast,
The Desk Set.
Best Book
By the time this article is published in early
December, I’ll be wrapping up one of my favorite
projects of the year: our annual Best Books lists. It
is a signicant undertaking that starts almost two
months before the lists are published—and that
doesn’t include the time I spend all year reading new
books that might be Best Books contenders. I think
it’s worth the eort. In fact, I think every library
system should release some kind of year-end best
books content.
You may be wondering why your library should go
through the process of assembling a best books list
when so many other outlets and organizations, from
the New York Times to Goodreads, are doing the
same. Libraries are their own wonderful thing, and
our lists can reect that.
Libraries are rooted in their communities. at
means our lists feature community members,
including Washington State and other Pacic
Northwest writers. I hope that Jess Walter’s
wonderful new historical novel, e Cold Millions,
shows up on best book lists across the country, but
think it deserves a place on Washington library lists.
It is a deeply researched look at the labor movement
and free speech protests in the Northwest at the
turn of the century. Washington readers have an
extra connection to e Cold Millions that makes
the novel a particularly good choice for our best
books lists.
Keeping up with local authors can take a little
extra leg-work, so I’m grateful for the WLA annual
conference panel “WA Do I Read Next?” that
highlights the work of local writers. It is fun and
informative and one of my favorite sessions of WLA every year.
In addition to local connections, our lists reect the eclectic avor
of how our communities read. Will our list include Brit Bennett’s
gorgeous and compelling family story e Vanishing Half? I hope
Emily Calkins
36 ALKI • December 2020
It’s no secret that 2020 has been rough. ankfully, there are
books, always books, to ground us, to make us laugh, to make
us cry, to help us see the wonder in the world, and to make us
appreciate humanity. Here are a few highly recommended titles
that will do just that. Happy reading!
Black is a Rainbow Color.
Author: Angela Joy.
Illustrator: Ekua Holmes
Recommended for all ages
Review by Teresa Wittmann
A young girl reects
on what it means to be
Black and celebrates the
diverse and complex
aspects of her culture.
e verses are lyrical and
ow with the illustrations,
but they also highlight
continuing struggles and
historic Black gures. For
example:
“Black is the color of ink
staining page./Black is the
mask that shelters his rage./Black are the birds in cages that sing-/
Black is a color./Black is a culture.”
e vibrant full-page illustrations complement the verses and have
a feeling of stained glass and collage. is relevant picture book
is full of depth and vitality. Children will relate to it, but older
students and adults will also be able to use it as a starting point for
discussions on race, culture, creativity, and their own perspective of
themselves.
Ordinary Day.
Author: Elana K. Arnold.
Illustrator: Elizabet Vukovic
Recommended for K-6th grade
Review by Sarah relkeld
On a seemingly
ordinary day in a
suburban neighborhood
extraordinary events are
taking place. Two cars
pull up to the curb. A
person gets out of each
car, medical bag in hand.
ere are so knocks
on two dierent house
doors, and then the
reader is invited inside
to discover why the day
is so important to each
family. ere is birth and
there is death and the
world keeps spinning
while neighborhood kids play in the street and Mrs. LaFleur waters
her roses. is is an exceptional picture book about life, love,
family, and the small moments that dene us. e mixed media
illustrations in muted tones complement the text perfectly and
bring a sense of comfort to the reader. Tissues should be on hand
for the rst reading...and maybe even the h.
Read This Book! News and Opinions by Teacher-Librarians
Justice and Representation
by Sarah Threlkeld
Sarah Threlkeld is the current Chair of Puget Sound Council,
the head librarian at Briarwood Elementary in the Issaquah
School District, a member of the Sasquatch Committee,
and recovering podcaster. When she doesn't have her nose
buried in a book, she is probably baking, running, singing, or
building Lego with her family.
continued on next page
ALKI • December 2020 37
is is My World: Meet 84 Kids From Around the Globe om
Lonely Planet Publications
Recommended for 2nd-4th grade
Review by Paula Burton
Kids are showcased
from all over the world.
ey all have a two page
spread with pictures of
their surroundings, their
family and themselves.
Sometimes portrayed
traveling, with their
friends or practicing their
hobbies. It always has
a ag of their country
and an x on the globe
where they live. Most of
them have three words
describing themselves. At
the top of the page it has
the child’s name and their
age. Many individual photographs are mixed with stock photos of
food, clothing, and musical instruments. e description with each
heading is short including interesting facts for kids to get a more
global perspective on their peers in the world. e order of the kids
is alphabetically by their rst name. eir ages range between seven
and twelve. e layout is dynamic and colorful that will attract
kids in elementary school.
is Was Our Pact.
Author: Ryan Andrews
Recommended for 5th-8th grade
Review by Merrilyn Tucker
is was a magical pact,
indeed! On the autumnal
equinox, a group of
schoolboys on bikes try
to follow the lanterns that
the townspeople put out
to oat on the river. Every
year up to this point, they
had simply watched the
lanterns go around the
bend and then had headed
home. eir pact this year
was not to look back and
not to return home. Only
two boys ended up loyal
to that pact, one boy being
the outcast of the group.
Read This Book! - 2 continued om previous page
On their journey, Ben and Nathaniel met a talking bear, a magical
woman, festive autumnal celebrators, and ying sh. What they
also learned was what happens to the lanterns aer they turn the
bend in the river. Not least, the two boys become friends through
having to trust each other in daring circumstances and make a new
promise to take more adventures together. is graphic novel is a
long one at around 300 pages, but it's captivating and compelling.
Each time the scene changes or a character is introduced, the color
scheme of the pictures changes. Some pictures are a full two pages
and others take up a quarter or less of one page. e narrative is
easy to follow and the print varies in size and font. I really enjoyed
this fantasy and recommend it for students in grades ve and up.
We Are Power: How Noniolent Activism Changed the World
Author: Todd Hasak-Lowy
Recommended for 6th-12th grade
Review by Erin O’Connor
is is a timely book for
youth in 2020. With all
that is going on in the
world to try to change
systems of oppression, this
high interest title engages
young readers with an eye
toward activism and social
justice. We Are Power is
divided into 6 sections
that bind nonviolent
activists together. It starts
with the story of Gandhi
and the struggle for basic
human rights for Indians
in South Africa, and
later in the ght against
British colonialism in
India. Gandhi led the
way in showing that if
people have strength in numbers and in "soul force" they can make
change for the better. Following Gandhi, was a harrowing account
of what the suragettes (led by Alice Paul) went through in order
to secure the basic right to vote for women. In subsequent chapters
we see how leaders in nonviolent activism continued to carry
the ag to secure labor rights for farm workers (Cesar Chavez),
dismantle segregation and brutal racism in the deep south (Martin
Luther King, Jr.), and ght against communist rule (Vaclav Havel).
Finally, Greta unberg's ght to bring awareness to the global
climate crisis is highlighted, along with a call from unberg to
young people everywhere, "Activism works. So act."
38 ALKI • December 2020
Dispatches from Swellville
by Darcy McMurtery
Darcy McMurtery is a program manager for school libraries
in a large district on the west side. She’d tell you she loves to
read, but it’s an expectation of the job.
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Focus on survival this month. You will gain no ground if you are
stubborn like the ram. Only some stubbornness is a positive
as you will be stationed at the door to make sure your patrons
wear masks. You may be asked to lead a virtual book group
for the third consecutive month because your co-worker has
“internet problems.” Dig in and get the job done. All will be
well by month’s end.
Lucky call numbers: 917.23, 808.23
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
The month is fraught with challenges.
Believe in yourself and chant positive
mantras even as you clean syrup from the
book drop. Treat every sticky situation with
good humor. Your positive approach will be
rewarded.
Lucky call numbers: 133.33, 746.56
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
This is a rainy month for curbside check out.
Encourage your principals and managers
to join you, huddled under a pop-up tent.
Your steadfastness pays off, however, as
your students and patrons will check out
more in a single month than they have all
year. Reading for interest is not dead: it’s just
beginning.
Lucky call numbers: 515.67, 333.33
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
An unexpected donation lands on your desk. Look to the
horizon for inspiration on its use. All donations come with
expectations though. Make sure to set firm guidelines with
patrons and PTA moms.
Lucky call numbers: 612.47, 364.1523
Leo (July 23-August 22)
Faulty equipment is the theme of this month. Makerspace
technology is fried and printers are jammed. You may roar,
Leo, but calmer days are coming. You’ll find an unlikely ally in
your tech department. Do not overly rely on this ally as their
patience runs thin.
Lucky call numbers: 398.2, 972.56
Virgo (August 23-September 22)
As you quarantine your collection, ponder the distance this
creates in connection. Take this month, Virgo, to rekindle
professional relationships that have soured. Rare praise comes
from an opponent. Accept the praise but do not let your guard
down.
Lucky call numbers: 098.02, 822.33
Horoscopes
Libra (September 23-October 22)
While the outlook appears bleak, you’ll impress others with
your positivity and snappy comebacks. Save it for the staff
and faculty, Libra, as the patrons won’t appreciate it. A rare
opportunity comes your way. Make sure your ears and eyes
remain open.
Lucky call numbers: 422.33, 700
Scorpio (October 23-November 21)
Storytime gets explosive this month. Stay calm and be sure
to remain stocked up on tissues and Clorox
wipes. Your good humor gets you through a
rough month. Put on a happy face, as they
say, crank the Raffi, and shake those sillies
out.
Lucky call numbers: 746.43, 579.6
Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)
A disagreement with a staff member from
community relations heats up. Stand your
ground but remain open to compromise.
Sometimes pineapple does belong on a
pizza and Oxford commas need to stay in
your flyers.
Lucky call numbers: 573.49, 641.594
6
Capricorn (December 22-January 19)
Turn on the charm this month, Capricorn.
A board member visits your book group.
Do not let this get under your skin as they
will come bearing a message of positivity and a fully-funded
grant.
Lucky call numbers: 306.0973, 133.1
Aquarius (January 20-February 18)
Too many webinars will have your head spinning by month’s
end. Additional professional development will not keep you
from the difficult tasks at hand. Make lists, prioritize, make
your voice heard. The plant on your windowsill needs to be
watered.
Lucky call numbers: 369.43, 635.95
Pisces (February 19-March 20)
Make friends with the staff knitters. It’s going to be a
chilly month for curbside services. Your work pays off as a
mysterious donor leaves money for new books and hand
warmers. Do not fall for the ruse of sale paperbacks. This is a
time to splurge on library editions.
Lucky call numbers: 270.1, 910.911
Photo by Josh Rangel on Unsplash.
ALKI • December 2020 39
WLA Thanks Our Organizational Members
Asotin County Library
Bellingham Public Library
Big Bend CC Bonaudi Library
Burlington Public Library
Central Skagit Rural Partial County Library District
Centralia College Library
City of Richland - Library
Clark College Library
Clover Park Technical College Library
Columbia County Rural Library District
Community Colleges of Spokane - Library Services
Eastern Washington University Libraries
Ellensburg Public Library
Everett Public Library
Foley Center Library Gonzaga University
Fort Vancouver Regional Library District
Grandview Library
Green River College
Highland Terrace Elementary
Highline College Library
James Brooks Library, Central Washington University
Jeerson County Library
King County Library System
Kitsap Regional Library
La Conner Regional Library District
Lake Washington Institute of Technology
Liberty Lake Municipal Library
Longview Public Library
Lopez Island Library
Lower Columbia College
Lower Columbia College Library
Mount Vernon City Library
National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacic
Northwest Region
Sustaining Members
Neill Public Library
North Central Regional Library
North Seattle College
Orcas Island Library District
Pierce College Library
Pierce County Library System
Port Townsend Public Library
Puyallup Public Library
Renton Technical College Library
Ritzville Library District #2
San Juan Island Library
Seattle Central College Library
Seattle Public Library
Sedro-Woolley City Library
Shoreline Community College
Skagit Valley College/Norwood
Sno-Isle Libraries
Spokane County Library District
Spokane Public Library
Stevens County Rural Library District
Tacoma Public Library
e Evergreen State College
Timberland Regional Library
University of Washington Libraries
Upper Skagit Library
Walla Walla Community College Library
Walla Walla County Rural Library District
Washington State Library
Whatcom Community College
Whatcom County Library System
Whitman County Library
Yakima Valley College
Yakima Valley Libraries
Alki
The Washington Library Association Journal
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