[Libs-Or] About the Petition to the State Library of Oregon

Tue Feb 15 08:50:29 PST 2022

Thank you for your leadership Kate!

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On Tue, Feb 15, 2022 at 8:46 AM OLA Past President via Libs-Or <
libs-or at omls.oregon.gov> wrote:

> Hi Penny,
>
> You bring up many points that I’d like to address, none less important
> than the value we all share for equity in our profession. As the immediate
> past president of OLA and a current member of the executive board, I see
> this moment as an opportunity to build solidarity and reflect on our
> performance as librarians.
>
> At the February meeting, the OLA board
> <https://www.olaweb.org/executive-board> voted to endorse the petition to
> the State Library of Oregon to Break the Library Institutional Reliance
> on Unpaid BIPOC Labor
> <https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/break-the-library-institutional-reliance-on-unpaid>.
> I voted “yes” to the endorsement and witnessed not only unanimous support
> from the board, but echoed enthusiasm for the cause. Board members were not
> coerced or intimidated into voting yes.
>
> OLA updated its strategic plan in December 2020 to include a focus area to
> actively commit to being an equitable, diverse, inclusive, and anti-racist
> organization. This recent update was pivotal for the association and
> reflects the organization’s initiative to improve diversity within OLA
> through recruitment, retention, and support. This means that we agreed to
> take action in support of librarians of color in our association and in the
> field of librarianship.
>
> The OLA EDI Antiracism Committee is made up of primarily black and brown
> librarians who helped draft the petition and present it to the OLA board.
> The OLA board did not edit the voice of the petition. I read the petition
> thoroughly and voted to support the whole statement, including the name of
> OLA’s president-elect, the first person of color to serve as Oregon Library
> Association president.
>
> The OLA board benefits from an excellent relationship with the State
> Library of Oregon. We consulted with State Library leaders about the
> petition. We agreed to hold this public dialogue to raise awareness
> together. The OLA board and the State Library understand that any new or
> temporary position in state government must be open and competitive.
>
> The petition and the dialogue it created is a demonstration of the social
> justice necessary to raise awareness about how to recruit, retain, and
> support librarians of color.
>
> I’m not sure there can be anything such as an “appropriate” petition that
> addresses the need for social justice. Social justice is not a bureaucratic
> process. New pathways must be forged. The petition represents a new way to
> support librarians of color and the leaders they choose.
>
> The petition illustrates the need for change. The request is authentic. It
> doesn’t fit into the status quo because the status quo is the problem. This
> is our opportunity to support our colleagues who are suffering and
> demonstrate our solidarity as a community. I stand in support of my
> colleagues of color.
>
> Please take a closer look at this cause.
>
>
> Kate Lasky
>
> 2022 Immediate Past President
>
> Oregon Library Association
>
> On Tue, Feb 15, 2022 at 8:37 AM Penelope Hummel via Libs-Or <
> libs-or at omls.oregon.gov> wrote:
>
>> Thank you, Marci.  I’m sure you are right when you say that no one at OLA
>> raised any concerns to you about the content of the petition.  I believe
>> that the petition moved forward under two possible scenarios:
>>
>> --If no one on the OLA Executive Board had any concerns about the content
>> of the petition, then I question the current board’s understanding of
>> conflict of interest and general appropriateness (since I don’t think a
>> petition promoting the job candidacy of anyone—even someone NOT on the OLA
>> board—is appropriate coming from the OLA Executive Board)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --If there were members of the OLA Executive Board that DID have concerns
>> about the content of the petition, but apparently did not feel they could
>> share them, then I would ask the board collectively why that was the case.
>> And I would ask what needs to happen within the discourse of the OLA
>> Executive Board so that there is inclusion of diverse and differing points
>> of view, and to create an environment where people feel safe disagreeing
>> with each other.  Groupthink does not result in productive outcomes.
>>
>> I leave this feedback to you and your colleagues on the OLA Executive
>> Board to explore as you choose.  Thanks--
>>
>>
>>
>> Penny Hummel
>>
>> PENNY HUMMEL CONSULTING
>>
>> penny at pennyhummel.com | 503.890.0494 | www.pennyhummel.com
>>
>>
>>
>> *Ensuring that libraries survive and thrive in challenging times*
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From: *Marci Jenkins <marci.r.jenkins at outlook.com>
>> *Date: *Tuesday, February 15, 2022 at 8:00 AM
>> *To: *libs-or <libs-or at omls.oregon.gov>, reforma_or <
>> reforma_or at omls.oregon.gov>, Penelope Hummel <penny at pennyhummel.com>
>> *Subject: *Re: [Libs-Or] About the Petition to the State Library of
>> Oregon
>>
>>
>>
>> Thank you Penelope for expressing your concerns. I cannot speak on behalf
>> of the State Library of Oregon and I am certainly not speaking on behalf of
>> every single member of the OLA Executive Board, however, as I mentioned
>> before, this petition was previously discussed with both organizations and
>> no similar concerns were brought to my attention. I would not pursue an
>> idea or initiative if any of those were flagged as offensive, demanding or
>> illegal by the State Library of Oregon or "harmful" by the Oregon Library
>> Association.
>>
>> On the topic of optical and performative allyship.  I would like to take
>> the opportunity to share with you and all a great article that speaks to
>> this exact scenario.
>>
>>
>> https://www.wocandlib.org/features/2021/9/3/statement-against-white-appropriation-of-black-indigenous-and-people-of-colors-labor
>>
>> Have a great day
>> Marci
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Feb 14, 2022 at 4:49 PM, Penelope Hummel <penny at pennyhummel.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Marci, you have made substantial contributions to the Oregon library
>> community and have rightfully earned the respect that has resulted from
>> that effort.  My response to your e-mail here is to provide a perspective
>> that might be helpful in understanding why some people (including myself)
>> have concerns about the petition. As a library professional and a past
>> president of the Oregon Library Association, the following issues came up
>> for me when I read it:
>>
>>
>>
>>    - The appropriateness of a petition that requests the State Library
>>    of Oregon create a new staff position while also making the case for who
>>    the perfect candidate for that position would be.  This issue is heightened
>>    when the person named (as you have shared) is also the author of the
>>    petition.
>>    - The optics of the OLA Executive Board endorsing such a petition
>>    when the president of OLA is an employee of the State Library of Oregon and
>>    when the president-elect of OLA is the person named in the petition as the
>>    perfect candidate for the position. Both of these situations constitute a
>>    conflict of interest.  Collectively, they give the impression (whether true
>>    or not) of cronyism. Since I believe that this aspect of the petition’s
>>    content is harmful to OLA’s reputation, I am disappointed that this
>>    petition was endorsed by the OLA Executive Committee.  The rightfulness of
>>    the larger cause the petition is advocating for does not cancel out this
>>    harm.  OLA’s future success in its statewide advocacy work for Oregon
>>    libraries is contingent upon its reputation as a fair and ethical
>>    organization.
>>
>>
>>
>> Below, you have stated *“So called "allies" must refrain from professing
>> allyship to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Antiracism, especially if they
>> are not interested in public solidarity and only in performative or optical
>> allyship.*”This implies that the only action that can be considered true
>> allyship is expressing public solidarity and agreement with everything you
>> have put forth.  To me, that’s a rather high and unfortunate bar. I have to
>> wonder whether some of those within OLA who endorsed this petition had
>> mixed feelings about the part that recommends a particular person for the
>> SOL position, but did not feel they could speak up because they feared
>> being condemned as non-allies. If I’m right about that, what might have
>> resulted had they felt comfortable sharing this input could have been a
>> stronger document—a petition clearly focused on advocating for increased
>> EDIA support for Oregon libraries, vs. one that has unfortunately gotten
>> sidetracked by another issue.
>>
>>
>> Our collective work as library professionals is strengthened by the open
>> exchange of ideas, the ability to disagree and still respect each other,
>> and the willingness to learn from each other.  It is in this spirit that I
>> share my thoughts today.
>>
>> Thank you and best wishes,
>>
>>
>>
>> Penny Hummel
>>
>> PENNY HUMMEL CONSULTING
>>
>> penny at pennyhummel.com | 503.890.0494 | www.pennyhummel.com
>>
>>
>>
>> *Ensuring that libraries survive and thrive in challenging times*
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From: *Libs-Or <libs-or-bounces at omls.oregon.gov> on behalf of Marci
>> Ramiro-Jenkins via Libs-Or <libs-or at omls.oregon.gov>
>> *Reply-To: *Marci Ramiro-Jenkins <marci.r.jenkins at outlook.com>
>> *Date: *Monday, February 14, 2022 at 1:33 PM
>> *To: *"libs-or at omls.oregon.gov" <libs-or at omls.oregon.gov>, "
>> reforma_or at omls.oregon.gov" <reforma_or at omls.oregon.gov>
>> *Subject: *[Libs-Or] About the Petition to the State Library of Oregon
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear Colleagues,
>>
>>
>>
>> About a week ago the Oregon Library Association (OLA) distributed the
>> petition below to its membership as part of an advocacy effort for Equity,
>> Diversity Inclusion and Antiracism (EDIA) in libraries. This petition was
>> written by me, edited, and proofread by a group of EDIA supports and BIPOC
>> library workers.
>>
>>
>>
>> This petition is endorsed by the Oregon Library Association Executive
>> Board and by the OLA Equity Diversity Inclusion and Antiracism Committee.
>> Meetings were conducted to discuss the idea of this petition and a review
>> period to receive feedback from both groups was open for several weeks
>> until the petition passed by vote on February 4th, 2022. This petition was
>> also discussed with a representative from the State Library of Oregon in
>> December 2021. Again, *this is an advocacy effort*, there are no
>> promises, deals, offers, and/or set outcomes to favor me or anyone else
>> involved with this petition. This is not a petition to "demand" anything,
>> this is a petition to gauge the library community interest and an attempt
>> to bring awareness to the invisible labor imposed on BIPOC.
>>
>>
>>
>>  There is nothing new or wrong about leaders advocating for themselves
>> and seeking the support of people who are familiar with a cause and with
>> the hard work involved in it, especially when it is done in a non-partisan,
>> spontaneous, unpretentious and respectful way.
>>
>>
>>
>> So called "allies" must refrain from professing allyship to Equity,
>> Diversity, Inclusion and Antiracism, especially if they are not interested
>> in public solidarity and only in performative or optical allyship.
>> Solidarity cannot be reduced to thoughts and good wishes. Real solidarity
>> in EDIA means power given by you to those who have been underserved,
>> underrepresented, misled, mistreated, unseen and unheard.
>>
>>
>>
>> You can access the petition here ->
>> https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/break-the-library-institutional-reliance-on-unpaid
>>  .
>>
>>
>>
>> **Please note, petition websites often ask for donations to maintain
>> their platform live, no donations are being asked from my part of from the
>> part of the groups involved with this petition. *
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Thank you so much,
>>
>> Marci Ramiro-Jenkins
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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