YALSA Statement Against Racism and Discrimination in the Library Profession

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The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) joins our colleagues in ACRL, AILA, APALA, BCALA, GLBT, LITA, REFORMA, RUSA, and SRRT, as well as the ALA Executive Board, in condemning the recent incidents of racial harassment and discrimination that occurred at the 2019 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle. As an association with an unwavering commitment to the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion, YALSA agrees that immediate and sustained action is necessary to redress institutional inequities and systemic power asymmetries that affect ALA and our society, to challenge bias, harassment, and discrimination, and to provide equal opportunity for all persons.

YALSA welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the ethnic affiliates, ALA roundtables, other divisions, and ALA to promote and provide educational opportunities that will ensure that ALA is an inclusive place where differences are welcomed, where different perspectives are respectfully heard and responded to, and where every individual feels a sense of belonging and inclusion.

On behalf of the YALSA Board by Crystle Martin,  President Young Adult Library Association.

Approved by members of the YALSA Board:

Trixie Dantis, Director

Kate Denier, Financial Advancement Committee Chair

Dora Ho, Fiscal Officer

Franklin Escobedo, Secretary

Jane Gov, Director

Sandra Hughes-Hassell, Immediate Past President

Derek Ivie, Director

Todd Krueger, President-Elect

Melissa McBride, Director

Ryan Moniz, Director

Abby Phillips, Division Councilor

Colleen Seisser, Director

Mega Subramaniam, Director

Valerie Tagoe, Organization & Bylaws Chair

Josie Watanabe, Board Fellow


YALS 2017 Summer Resources: Learning From Each Other: Successful Mentoring/Protege Relationships

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In the Summer 2017 issue of YALS, (digital edition available now to members & subscribers via the Members Only section of the YALSA website) Linda Braun’s article describes what makes a quality mentoring/protege relationship from both the mentor and the protege perspective. Her article includes references and resources that shouldn’t be missed. The full list of those resources follows:

Click to access MentoringReboot_MW17.pdf

http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2017/07/01/yals-summer-2017-mentoring-thoughts/

YALS Summer 2017 Resources: What Does YALSA’s National Research Agenda Have to Offer You?

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In the Summer 2017 issue of YALS, (digital edition available now to members & subscribers via the Members Only section of the YALSA website) an article about YALSA’s new Research Agenda connects the dots between the Research Agenda and Library Practitioners. The importance of this article is to connect research to practice.

National Research Agenda on Libraries, Learning, and Teens 2017 – 2021: http://www.ala.org/yalsa/sites/ala.org.yalsa/files/content/2017YALSA_NatlResearchAgenda_Print.pdf

YALS Summer 2017 Resources: Fighting Fake News: Because We All Deserve the Truth

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In the Summer 2017 issue of YALS, (digital edition available now to members & subscribers via the Members Only section of the YALSA website) Hannah E. Spratt and Denise E. Agosto’s article explores fake news and offers resources and activities for helping your teens to recognize and combat fake news. Her article includes references and resources that shouldn’t be missed. The full list of those resources follows:

Identifying Fake News

Crockett, Lee W.  “The Critical Thinking Skills Cheatsheet [Infographic].”  Global Digital Citizen Foundation.  December 12, 2016.  https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/critical-thinking-skills-cheatsheet-infographic

“How to Spot Fake News.”  International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.  Last modified April 4, 2017.   https://www.ifla.org/publications/node/11174

“Breaking News Consumer’s Handbook:  Fake News Edition.”  On the Media.  November 18, 2016.  http://www.wnyc.org/story/breaking-news-consumer-handbook-fake-news-edition/

“Evaluating Information – Applying the CRAAP Test.”. Meriam Library, California State University, Chico.  Last modified, September 17, 2010.  http://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/eval_websites.pdf

“Ten Questions for Fake News Detection.”  News Literacy Project.  Accessed April 1, 2017.  http://www.thenewsliteracyproject.org/sites/default/files/GO-TenQuestionsForFakeNewsFINAL.pdf

Online Resources for Fact Checking

Associated Press Fact Check

The Associated Press is a non-profit independent news organization dedicated to covering news stories from around the world.  AP Fact Check is an online resource provided by the Associated Press that offers additional resources for popular news.

https://www.apnews.com/tag/APFactCheck

American Press Institute

The American Press Institute is a nonprofit educational organization that conducts research and training, and creates tools for journalist with the intent to promote reliable news media in a digital age. They provide fact-checking resources on a wide range of resources from politics to public interest.

https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/training-tools/fact-checking-resource/

Detector de Mentrias (Lie Detector)

Detector de Mentrias is the first U.S. based Spanish-language fact checking project.  It is apart of Univision, a commercial media company focused on Spanish-speaking audiences.  Audiences are able to suggest fact-checking topics.

http://www.univision.com/noticias/detector-de-mentiras

FactCheck.org

FactCheck.org is a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that strives to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.  They analyze the accuracy of what is being said in the news and media by U.S. politicians and affiliates.

http://www.factcheck.org/

PolitiFact.com

PolitiFact is run by the independent newspaper the Tampa Bay Times and is devoted to fact checking claims that pertain to American politics.  They analyze statements and rate their accuracy on a truth scale.  Also associated with PolitiFact is PunditFact, a site dedicated to fact-checking pundits.

http://www.politifact.com/

http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/

Snopes.com

David Mikkelson, a professional research and writer, created Snopes.com in 1994 to share research on urban legends.  Over the last two decades, Snopes.com has grown to become one of the largest fact-checking sites on the Internet and is recognized as such by organizations like the American Library Association and the National Public Radio.

http://www.snopes.com/

Recommended Sources for Bursting the Filter Bubble!

AllSides.com

AllSides is news provider dedicated to providing multiple angles on the same story.  They do not create their own content, but provide users with multiple sources from left and right wing news providers.  The mission of AllSides is to combat the polarization of politics in our society that is a result of information being filtered by social media websites and search results.  https://www.allsides.com/

Escape Your Bubble

Escape Your Bubble is a Chrome Extension that replaces ads with positive political articles from the opposite political party.  Upon downloading the extension, you are asked, “Who would you like to be more accepting of?” and given the option of seeing more positive Republican or Democratic information.

The New York Times

Hess, Amanda.  (March 2017).  “How to escape your political bubble for a clearer view.”  New York Times.  Accessed April 1, 2017.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/arts/the-battle-over-your-political-bubble.html?_r=0

Pew Research Center

Mitchell, Amy and Jeffrey Gottried, Jocelyn Kiley, and Katerina Eva Matsa.  (Oct 2014).  “Trust levels of news sources by ideological group.”  Pew Research Center.  Accessed April 1, 2017.  http://www.journalism.org/2014/10/21/political-polarization-media-habits/pj_14-10-21_mediapolarization-01/

Read Across the Aisle

Read Across the Aisle is an iPhone app that, when downloaded, nudges users to read articles outside their “bubble.”  This app encourages users to read news from multiple sources in order to become better informed.

http://www.readacrosstheaisle.com/

References

ALA Public Programs Office.  “News:  Fake news:  A library resources round-up.”  Programming Librarian.  February 23, 2017. http://www.programminglibrarian.org/articles/fake-news-library-round

Alvarez, Barbara. “Public libraries in the age of fake news.” Public Libraries, 55, no.6 (November 2016): 24-27.

Cooke, Nicole.  “Post-truth:  Fake news and a new era of information literacy.”  Online webinar presented by the American Library Association, Wednesday, February 22, 2017. http://www.programminglibrarian.org/sites/default/files/post_truth_webinar.pdf

Davis, Wynne.  “Fake or real?  How to self-check the news and get the facts.”  NPR. December 5, 2016.  http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/12/05/503581220/fake-or-real-how-to-self-check-the-news-and-get-the-facts

“Evaluating information for accuracy is a skill that is timely – and timeless.”  Libraries Transform, Accessed April 1, 2017.   http://www.ilovelibraries.org/librariestransform/evaluating-information-accuracy-skill-timely-and-timeless

Gottfried, Jeffrey. and Michael Barthel.  “How millennials’ political news habits differ from those of gen x and baby boomers.”  Pew Research Center.  June 1, 2015.  http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/06/01/political-news-habits-by-generation/

Gottfried, Jeffrey and Elisa Shearer.  “News use across social media platforms.”  Pew Research Center.  May 26, 2016.   http://www.journalism.org/2016/05/26/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2016/

Hobbs, Renee.  “Empowering Learners with Digital and Media Literacy.”  Knowledge Quest 39, no. 5 (May 2011):  12-17. http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/knowledgequest/docs/KNOW_39_5_EmpoweringLearners.pdf

Jolly, Jihii.  “How to build a healthy news diet.”  Columbia Journalism Review.  June 30, 2014. http://archives.cjr.org/news_literacy/you_are_what_you_read.php

“Media literacy:  A definition and more.”  Center for Media Literacy.  Accessed March 19, 2017.  http://www.medialit.org/media-literacy-definition-and-more

Ohlheiser, Abby.  “This is how Facebook’s fake-news writers make money.” Washington Post, November 18, 2016.   https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/11/18/this-is-how-the-internets-fake-news-writers-make-money/?utm_term=.43c3d046a1e5.

“‘Post-truth’ declared word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries.”  BBC.  November 16, 2016. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37995600#

Pariser, Eli.  “Beware online “filter bubbles.”  TEDtalk. May 2011. https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles/transcript?language=en

Silverman, Craig.  “Here are 50 of the biggest fake news hits on Facebook from 2016.”  BuzzFeed.  December 30, 2016.  https://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/top-fake-news-of-2016?utm_term=.dpomRA11YB#.erVoeVyy5K

“State of America’s libraries 2016” shows service transformation to meet tech demands of library patrons.”  American Library Association.  April 11, 2016. http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2016/04/state-america-s-libraries-2016-shows-service-transformation-meet-tech-demands

Wineburg, Sam & Sarah McGrew. “Evaluating information: The cornerstone of civic online reasoning.” Stanford History Education Group. November 22, 2016. https://sheg.stanford.edu/upload/V3LessonPlans/Executive%20Summary%2011.21.16.pdf

YALS Summer 2017 Resources: Research RoundUp: Learning to Lead the Organization

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In the Summer 2017 issue of YALS, (digital edition available now to members & subscribers via the Members Only section of the YALSA website) Elsa Ouvard-Prettol’s research roundup describes making the transition from follower to leader. Her article includes references and resources that shouldn’t be missed. The full list of those resources follows:

Hollingsworth, Erin. “Barrow’s Living Room.” Tribal College Journal, vol. 27, no. 1, 2015, p50-52.

Miller, Rebecca. “A Career Like Hers.” Library Journal, vol. 139, no. 1, 2014, p1-1.

Chant, Ian. “Stepping Up on Usability.” Library Journal, vol.139, no. 3, 2014, p41-41.

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YALS Summer 2017 Resources: Leading with the Futures Report: From Talk to Action

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In the Summer 2017 issue of YALS, (digital edition available now to members & subscribers via the Members Only section of the YALSA website) Kate McNair’s article describes her dive into leadership as she worked with her colleagues to connect their strategic plan and YALSA’s Future Report. His article includes references and resources that shouldn’t be missed, including Discussion Questions for the Future’s Report. The full list of those resources follows:

Discussion Questions for the Future’s Report

Futures Report Post-Its

Grants to States: Five Year Plan

YALS Summer 2017 Resources: Creating Tomorrow’s Civic Leaders by Learning to Be Civically Engaged Today

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In the Summer 2017 issue of YALS, (digital edition available now to members & subscribers via the Members Only section of the YALSA website) John Chrastka’s article lays out how to develop your own political literacy so you can support your teens in developing theirs. His article includes references and resources that shouldn’t be missed. The full list of those resources follows:

Generation Citizen – experiential learning organization that integrates civics and the teaching of civics into curriculum in urban and rural schools around the country: http://generationcitizen.org/

Politicraft – game-based learning for civics and civic education: https://www.politicraft.org/

iCivics – produces great online civics simulations for ages 10 and up: https://www.icivics.org/

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YALS Summer 2017 Companion: Research RoundUp: Learning To Lead The Organization

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Are you a manager? A supervisor? Maybe, like me, you feel you are a great follower. I have been working in my current position, as the sole full-time library staff, for eight years; and I have developed my position as well as our library collections and the services we offer, and slowly but surely, my department is growing. I have also, over the last four years, been increasing my participation in local, state and national library associations and events.

As I keep thinking about how my Library Services department can best respond to my community’s needs and interests, as well as how I can grow professionally, I have been thinking about what leadership is. Through this exploration I started thinking: maybe I can be a leader. Maybe, in some small ways, I had already taken steps on the path to leadership. That was an intense moment for me, as I had never thought of myself as a leader. Here is what I gained from my research, which I hope will also provoke new ideas for you!

A LEADER’S ATTITUDE

Current research on library leadership agrees: library leaders know that a library is at the heart of their community, and that the emphasis should not be on what the library owns but on what the library does. Thus, library leaders need to focus on discovering, understanding and responding to the community needs.

The philosophy can be condensed to: “Books out, people in”. That is what Louise Berry, former director of the famous Darien Public Library in Connecticut, used to say. It is the work of library leadership to bring together the library (staff, collection and services) and its community. An example of that philosophy is what the Tuzzy Consortium Library (Barrow, AK) has been able to put together, thanks to their leadership’s focus on the community. They have partnered with the school districts, local public and private organizations, the State Library, local clubs, and many more, to channel their power into one goal: serving the community.

Leadership can be demonstrated through several characteristics, which I have been fortunate to observe in the leadership team at my school. Leaders:

  • hire people who fit well with our school culture and have the same vision and values;
  • trust them to do their job on their own;
  • hold themselves and others to high standards;
  • provide (internal and external) professional development for everyone within reach and even go beyond those standards;
  • listen to our community (staff, faculty, students and parents);
  • make decisions based on our community’s needs and interests.

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YALS Spring 2017 Resources – From Awareness to Advocacy: An Urban Teen Librarian’s Journey from Passivity to Activism

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In the Spring 2017 issue of YALS, (digital edition available now
to members & subscribers via the Members Only section of the YALSA website) David Wang’s article describes his personal journey from passivity to activism as his library faced serious financial cuts. His article includes references and resources that shouldn’t be missed. The full list of those resources follows:

Invest in Libraries: http://www.investinlibraries.org/

Invest in Libraries Rally: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_39MpGQdKTw

YALS Spring 2017 Resources: Using Media Literacy to Combat Youth Extremism

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In the Spring 2017 issue of YALS, (digital edition available now
to members & subscribers via the Members Only section of the YALSA website) D.C .Vito describes how media literacy can be used to combat youth extremism. His article includes references and resources that shouldn’t be missed. The full list of those resources follows:

France Robles, (2015, June 20) “Dylann Roof Photos and a Manifesto Are Posted on Website” New York Times.

Jon Anderson (2015, April 20) “Hoover woman joins ISIS: Meet Hoda Muthana who fled U.S. to Syria” Alabama Media Group.

UNESCO “Internet and the Radicalization of Youth: Preventing, Acting and Living Together“.

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