OVERDUE: Weeding Out Oppression in Libraries

Send us Fan Mail Episode 1 In the first episode of this two-part interview, we chat with C.A. "Dean" Deane, a law librarian moving between academic law libraries and law firms with the skill to think in big picture about what is fair and reasonable using a global perspective and an anthropological lens. With their ability to synthesize information from many different places, Deane brings...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we chat with Cindy Texeira, Librarian at Windward Community College, and Sarah Gilman Sur, Head Librarian at Windward Community College in Kāneʻohe, Hawaiʻi, part of the University of Hawaiʻi system. Together, they have been working to make the library a space where Native Hawaiian students feel a true sense of belonging. This work includes collaboration with Cind...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, part 2 of 2, our hosts welcome ILLUMINATION collection team members Irene Rasheed and Megan England about their unique roles on their project teams. They explore how shared community identity and relationships, built on trust, impacted their work and the stories that were shared and what influence this has on how communities interact with libraries and museums. Li...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, part 1 of 2, our hosts welcome ILLUMINATION collection team members Ofelia Guzman and Thomas Hiura to discuss their experiences with the project, the impact they’ve seen from this work and what they’d like to see in the future. ILLUMINATION is a history and story collection project started by Madeline McGraw and Mindy Linder to actively work to address representat...

Send us Fan Mail This episode originally aired on December 31, 2024 and is being re-released. In this episode we welcome We Need Diverse Books ( WNDB) board members and authors Caroline Richmond (Executive Director) and Dhonielle Clayton (COO) to discuss why it is more important than ever to ensure diverse books are available and accessible to youth. Since its creation in 2014, WNDB has championed...

Send us Fan Mail This episode originally aired on August 31, 2023 and is being re-released to celebrate Native American Heritage Month (November). In this episode we talk with Dr. Sandy Littletree (Navajo/Eastern Shoshone), Assistant Professor at the Information School at the University of Washington, whose work focuses on Native North American Indigenous Knowledge.  Dr. Littletree shares backgrou...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we chat with the magical Nisha Mody, a Liberatory Life Coach, facilitator, and former librarian, about how library workers can navigate, survive, and heal from toxic work environments.  Nisha shares insights on trauma-informed care, values alignment, and relational liberation, offering practical tools for self-compassion, boundary-setting, and fostering more suppo...

Send us Fan Mail This episode originally aired on July 31, 2024 as Season 3, Episode 5, and is being re-released in light of Fobazi's recent health challenges. Listeners who wish to support Fobazi, can access the Go Fund Me  by clicking on the hyperlink.  In this episode we are joined in conversation by scholar, academic consultant, librarian and educational game designer, Fobzi Ettarh, who n...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we are joined by Angelica Novoa de Cordeiro and Maria Aguilar, Adult Services Librarian and Library Director at the Cornelius Public Library. The duo discusses the importance of collective effort, authentic relationship building and establishing a foundation of trust when serving not only Spanish-speakers, but the community at large. Whether it is offering a Zumba...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Kaetrena Davis Kendrick—an award-winning librarian, researcher, and the 2024–2025 Follett Chair at Dominican University—joins the hosts. Kendrick, renowned for her research on the topic of low-morale in libraries, sheds light on the systemic systems and structures that enable these environments and  how BIPOC library workers and administrators grapple with this. T...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, the remarkable Heidi Estrada & Sophie Kenney discuss RAILS BIPOC Library Workers Group and RAILS BIPOC Library Workers Mentorship Program —two inclusive programs for library professionals in Illinois that foster support and mitigate racial disparities. More specifically, RAILS BIPOC Library Workers Group aims to foster connection, share resources and discuss s...

Send us Fan Mail We are joined in this episode by Oregon State University Associate Professor and Special Collections and Archives Research Center (SCARC) Curator, Natalia Fernández.  How can academic archives confront harmful narratives and create more inclusive records? Fernández shares how SCARC'S Antiracist Description Activities project is challenging biased language, improving finding a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we welcome Kendra Morris-Jacobson with the Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC), and Lisa MM Butler, a Black, biracial, transracial, domestic adoptee working in libraries in Washington State. Kendra and Lisa discuss the vital role that libraries, books and educational resources play in the lives of children in care and adoptees. From fostering a sense of...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, the hosts welcome back Jamia Williams , co-creator and co-host of the podcast LibVoices , which amplifies the voices of Black, indigenous, and people of color who work in archives and libraries. This time around, Williams, a Consumer Health Program Specialist with the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) Training Office , discusses health literacy, r...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we welcome We Need Diverse Books ( WNDB) board members and authors Caroline Richmond (Executive Director) and Dhonielle Clayton (COO) to discuss why it is more important than ever to ensure diverse books are available and accessible to youth. Since its creation in 2014, WNDB has championed diverse publishing and diverse creators, and has pushed back against the lac...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Emily Knox , a professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, explores the intersection of intellectual freedom, freedom of expression, and social justice, as well as power, neutrality, and the rise in book challenges and bans in the United States. Hosts : Ericka Brunson-Rochette and Gene Iparraguirre Record Dat...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode*, we have the absolute honor of conversing with Donna Barba Higuera, Middle Grade and Picture Book Author, Newbery Medal and Pura Belpré Award Winner and New York Times Best Seller. Donna shares from where and whom she draws her stories, and how she went from an imaginative child to inspiring readers of all ages. In a time where book challenges are on the rise, Don...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we are joined in conversation by Shannon LaRance (Dine'/Hopi/Assiniboine).   Founder of Indigenous Empowerment, Indigenous Empowerment's mission is to ensure culturally sensitive counselors and social service agents are accessible to those in need. Their goal is to train human service organizations across the nation on the complexities, nuances, and beaut...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we are joined in conversation by scholar, academic consultant, librarian and educational game designer, Fobzi Ettarh, who notably coined the concept of "vocational awe" in 2018. Ettarh shares how vocational awe operates at both the micro and macro levels, contributing to problematic hiring, onboarding, and retention practices in the library profession, an...

Send us Fan Mail Anne Heidemann & Melissa Isaac from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan join us to share about Maawn Doobiigeng, a new classification system for the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Library.  In 2019, The Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Libraries were awarded the IMLS National Leadership Grant to facilitate the creation of a new classification system by members of the community. As o...

Send us Fan Mail *There were slight technical issues during the recording of this episode. We apologize for any minor disruptions* We are excited to welcome Jamillah R. Gabriel,  the Critical Pedagogy Research Librarian at Harvard University and co-host of the podcast LibVoices, for a second time. Jamillah provides listeners with a beginner-friendly overview of Critical Pedagogy, how it can be app...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Immer Honorato, Library Outreach Specialist at the Tualatin Public Library, talks with us about connecting his library with his community in Tualatin, Oregon.  As an immigrant of Mexico who grew up in Tualatin, Immer brings an important bilingual and bicultural perspective to bridging the gap between library services and a library’s community. He reminds us that t...

Send us Fan Mail Multitalented Aaron Whitefield joins the hosts and shares insight gained from leading successful multicultural academic programs during the decade he spent working as an educator, library professional and youth development specialist in Columbus, Ohio. Aaron’s passion for uplifting youth and creating community is apparent, even while navigating systemic issues like sexism, classis...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we hear from Ayn Reyes Frazee and Mai Takahashi, co-chairs of the newly formed EDI Committee of ALSC (Association of Library Services to Children, a division of ALA). Frazee, who serves as current president of the Oregon Association of School Libraries, is a high school librarian in Portland and was a 2019 ALSC Equity and Diversity Fellow. Takahashi is a youth ser...

Send us Fan Mail We are joined in this episode by Nichelle M. Hayes, MPA, MLS, founding director of the Center for Black Literature & Culture, and former CEO (Interim) of the Indianapolis Public Library, and current President of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA).  Hayes shares her background in human resources with us as she discusses ways that HR departments can hel...