Labor
This is a page for the DLF Working Group on Labor in Digital Libraries. Read an announcement on the group's formation, by Ruth Tillman.
- Listserv: Google Group dlf-labor-working-group. Ask to join.
- Zotero: Find citations and materials relevant to our work in our Zotero group
- Slack: To join our Slack, contact Ruth at rkt6 at psu.edu.
- Twitter: Join the conversation with these hashtags #DLFLabor, #LaborWG, #LibLabor, #LAMLabor, #PrecarityIs
Most of our collaborative writing and meeting minutes are now done using Google Drive. We have also used RiseUpPad for occasions when we want to create a more anonymous context.
Resources
- This wiki page collects information about groups and campaigns working on labor issues in and adjacent to libraries, archives, and museums: resource table and (also available as a list). (ongoing)
- Collective Responsibility Labor Advocacy Toolkit (2020)
- "Do Better" -Love(,) Us: Guidelines for Developing and Supporting Grant-Funded Positions in Digital Libraries, Archives, and Museums (2020)
- White paper from Collective Responsibility Phase 1 (2019)
- Survey results and project documents (2019-2020)
- Research Agenda: Valuing Labor in Digital Libraries (August 2018)
SubGroups
Note: as of Feb 2021, Amy Wickner has transitioned off the Valuing Labor subgroup and we're welcoming three new co-facilitators for Valuing Labor. We're planning a whole group meeting to discuss possible new subgroups and one-off projects.
Contingency and Precarity
Facilitators: Sandy Rodriguez, Ruth Tillman
Topics: Grant-funded & term positions, organizing workers, digitization & labor (including labor of incarcerated workers), labor and digital scholarship, internships, credential creep/credentialism
Goals 2020
- Develop Collective Responsibility Labor Advocacy Toolkit
- Promote publication "Do Better" -Love(,) Us: Guidelines for Developing and Supporting Grant-Funded Positions in Digital Libraries, Archives, and Museums and explore next steps toward adoption.
Activities
- performing a literature review on contingency and precarity (2017)
- drafting guidelines for designing grant-funded positions (2018-2019)
- applying for IMLS National Leadership in Libraries forum grant (2018)
- As part of the Collective Responsibility Labor Forum (2018-2020):
- conducting a survey to develop a collective understanding of the experiences of grant-funded digital LAM workers
- constructing best practices, recommendations, and benchmarks appropriate to participating institutions and funders
Minutes page
Valuing Labor
Facilitators: Stephanie Bennett, Leanne Finnigan, Ellen LeClere
Topics: Organiz(ed/ing) labor, (in)visibility, maintenance, emotional labor, classification of labor, transitions across categories of labor, worker-centered assessment, hiring and retention practices especially re: members of marginalized communities
Activities
- Collaborate on a research agenda for valuing labor in digital libraries (2018)
- Host working conversations to highlight advocacy, research, and skills of relevance to working group members (2019)
- Create a list of groups and campaigns also working on labor issues (2019)
- Research projects (2020)
- To what extent and how are digital LAM workers organized?
- What organizing and advocacy tactics can be effective while minimizing risk for workers?
- What are creative and effective ways to share data about digital LAM labor?
- Bibliography & resource-building: library labor news and organizing resources during covid-19 (2020)