Facilitating for Diversity and Inclusion

“I’m grateful to the DLF for taking their mission of inclusion seriously.”—Stacie Williams

“I love the inclusive, expansive, thoughtful, and community-oriented leadership [of the DLF].”—Chris Bourg

Basic Resources

Social justice and the public good are front-and-center in DLF’s mission statement. But these are impossible goals to serve without thoughtful, conscious, welcoming, and dedicated efforts among all our working and interest groups, as well as among our staff and the volunteer committees that help organize DLF Forum. Most of all, we encourage DLF group leaders and participants to value and create conditions for humility and listening.

Below, you’ll find just a few recommended readings and toolkits for pushing against structural racism, systemic gender bias, able-ism, and other forms of oppression and exclusion that are endemic in librarianship and technology fields. This list is far from complete! We welcome your contributions.

• Beatley Library Anti-Oppression Guide

• Culturally Connected (written from a health literacy perspective, but very useful in the GLAM context; see especially resources on cultural humility)

• Cultural Humility for Library Workers (JCLC 2018 workshop resources by Nicky Andrews and Sunny Kim)

• Social Inclusion Audit and Toolkit, Canadian Urban Libraries Council

• Geek Feminism Wiki

• Code4Lib Journal Special Issue on Diversity in Library Technology

• Racial Equity Tools

• Diversity & Consensus - Training for Change

• Tools and Activities - Training for Change

• Run Meetings That Are Fair to Introverts, Women, and Remote Workers - Harvard Business Review

• Design for Diversity

• Consider increasing the safety level of sensitive meetings by running them under the Chatham House Rule.

Code of Conduct

In 2016, DLF staff and members of our newly-established DLF Forum Planning Committee on Inclusivity worked together to revise our Code of Conduct, which had been in place since 2012. The DLF CoC now covers activities happening under the Digital Library Federation umbrella, both in person and online, year-round. All group facilitators are asked to read this document, share with their communities, and contact us with questions or suggestions.

• Revised DLF Code of Conduct
• Blog post: “Behind the scenes: making the Forum as welcoming and accessible as possible”

Accessibility

• DLF Forum Guide to Creating Accessible Presentations

• Accessibility tips and resources from LITA

• DLF Forum Moderator Training (2018, with thanks to Paige C. Morgan and Helene Williams)

• DLF Social Event Checklist (2018, with thanks to Carli Spina and the DLF Forum Inclusivity Committee)

Ally Skills

DLF has also underwritten formal Ally Skills training courses at two recent Forums, most recently in Milwaukee, 2016 with Bess Sadler and Mark Bussey. Interested in having this opportunity available at a future DLF Forum or in helping us to fund opportunities like this? Let us know.

• 2016 DLF Ally Skills Workshop
• Video: Ally Skills Workshop taught at Wikimedia Foundation - Valerie Aurora of Ada Initiative

“The level of generosity, drive toward inclusion, & care for colleagues in the @CLIRDLF community inspires, astounds.”—Bethany Nowviskie

Table of Contents

1. About DLF and the Organizers' Toolkit
2. Working with Team DLF
3. Starting a New Initiative or Working Group
4. General Facilitation and Goal-Setting
5. Facilitating for Diversity and Inclusion
6. Communications and Consensus
7. Preventing and Managing Burnout
8. Gathering Info/Building Enthusiasm
9. Planning an In-Person Meetup
10. Setting Up Year-Round Meetings
11. Planning Virtual Meetings and Webinars
12. Talking and Writing
13. Organizing and Sharing Your Work
14. In a Nutshell