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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>ALA has a <a href="http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/socialmediaguidelines">good tool kit here</a>. It at least provides some advice and philosophy though not a template for a policy. Hopefully some shared their policies off list to OP. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>HTH, Mary<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Mary Jean Harrison<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Director<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Coloma Public Library<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>151 W. Center Street<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>PO Box 430<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Coloma Michigan 49083<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>269-468-3431<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.colomapubliclibrary.net/"><span style='color:#0563C1'>www.colomapubliclibrary.net</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:13.45pt;line-height:21.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly'><i><span style='font-family:"Constantia",serif;color:#555555;letter-spacing:-.1pt'>The most important asset of any library goes home at night – the library staff.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:15.0pt;mso-line-height-rule:exactly'><i><span style='font-family:"Constantia",serif;color:#555555;letter-spacing:-.1pt'>Timothy Healy<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> Michlib-l <michlib-l-bounces@mcls.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Katherine Mason via Michlib-l<br><b>Sent:</b> Friday, April 16, 2021 4:21 PM<br><b>To:</b> Kristin Fontichiaro <font@umich.edu><br><b>Cc:</b> michlib-l@mcls.org<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [Michlib-l] Discomfort with Wednesday post about "neutrality"<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>I also would like to thank Kristin for speaking up. I spent time looking for answers to Kim's question but was struggling to find the "right" words.<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Maybe I looked past it - is there a social media "toolkit" that assists libraries with developing policies, canned responses to comments, strategies for shifting the conversation back to its original focus? <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Thanks again Kristin <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Kathie<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Kathie Mason<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Collections Librarian<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Eastern Michigan University <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>On Fri, Apr 16, 2021, 3:34 PM Kristin Fontichiaro via Michlib-l <<a href="mailto:michlib-l@mcls.org">michlib-l@mcls.org</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><p class=MsoNormal>Hello, all --<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>There was a post on this earlier this week in which a librarian asked for advice on policies that would help her library navigate the pushback some of her DEI posts are receiving. Their query received one response. Admitting that they had not viewed the content in question, the respondent argued that the profession should be more careful about betraying neutrality and that we would do well to walk more in the shoes of our (assumed majority white) patrons and plan posts accordingly. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>I have been really uncomfortable about that for the past few days and have been waiting for someone to pipe up and voice concern about it. And now I am more uncomfortable that no one has, so I guess it's time for me to.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Our profession's Code of Ethics advocates for <a href="http://www.ala.org/united/sites/ala.org.united/files/content/trustees/orgtools/policies/ALA-code-of-ethics.pdf" target="_blank">equitable access and service for all</a> and that we leave our personal perspectives at the door when we show up to work to live out the library's mission. The Code of Ethics never actually says, "Be neutral," or, "Equity matters, but if it ruffles a few feathers, just let it go." I am haunted by Elie Wiesel's articulation that, "<a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1986/wiesel/26054-elie-wiesel-acceptance-speech-1986/" target="_blank">Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim</a>." When we ask whose shoes we should be walking in, we might do better to ask who is most in need of empathy and whose perspectives are most underrrepresented. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>I'm no DEI expert. I know how far I have to go in my own journey and that I have said and done dumb or hurtful things when I didn't know better. But if we are going to say we're proud to serve all, we have to acknowledge that this should not be a self-congratulatory pat on the back but a call to action. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>I <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/19/style/loretta-ross-smith-college-cancel-culture.html" target="_blank">don't believe that shame is an effective learning tool</a>, and I am NOT writing this to provoke angry jabs at the respondent. We may share a goal of equity but have different paths of getting there. Libraries outside of metropolitan areas serve very different communities from those in more diverse areas, and our action steps toward equity may look different or move at different rhythms or speeds ... as long as we keep moving forward. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>I hope this message will help us all have a chance to take a deep breath, step back from the weird and stressful times we are living in, and ask, "How can our library welcome a wider swath of the population?"<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Thanks for reading and for everything you do to help those who need it most. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Kristin<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><br>-- <o:p></o:p></p><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Kristin Fontichiaro<br>University of Michigan School of Information<br>4427 North Quad<br>105 S. State St.<br>Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.5pt'>734.647.3593</span><br><a href="http://fontichiaro.com/activelearning" target="_blank">Blog</a> | <a href="https://www.google.com/calendar/selfsched?sstoken=UUFHX1E5cXRtYUVQfGRlZmF1bHR8YmY3NDdlYzA4ZDM2MjFmMzAzMDM2OTA3NGM3NjliMzQ" target="_blank"><span style='font-size:9.5pt'>Book an Appointment (school year only) </span></a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><b>Projects:</b><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://michiganmakers.si.umich.edu" target="_blank">Michigan Makers</a> | <a href="http://makinglibraries.si.umich.edu" target="_blank">Making in Michigan Libraries</a> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><a href="http://dataliteracy.si.umich.edu" target="_blank">Data Literacy in High School</a> | <a href="http://ai.umich.edu/portfolio/public-library-management/" target="_blank">Public Library Management MOOC</a><br><br><br><br><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal>_______________________________________________<br>Michlib-l mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Michlib-l@mcls.org" target="_blank">Michlib-l@mcls.org</a><br><a href="https://mail3.mcls.org/mailman/listinfo/michlib-l" target="_blank">https://mail3.mcls.org/mailman/listinfo/michlib-l</a><o:p></o:p></p></blockquote></div></div></body></html>