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Registration is free and you do not need to be an ¾«¶«´«Ã½member.
Each session must be individually registered for and a link to recorded sessions will be emailed afterwards for those who can't attend live.

Previous Recorded Sessions

August 9, 2023 12:00pm - 4:30pm Central Time

Join the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) for our fourth annual Afternoon of Social Justice. This free virtual event features scholars and librarians as they present on a variety of topics including feminist struggles in times of crises, disabilities, and boycotts. Time will be allowed at the end of each presentation for questions and discussions.

Schedule (Central Time):

12:00pm - 1:30pm What Can U.S. Librarians Learn from Feminist Struggles in Ukraine, Sudan, and Iran?

1:45pm - 2:45pm Disability is Not a Bad Word

3:00pm - 4:30pm Film Screening & Discussion: Boycott

Panel: What Can U.S. Librarians Learn from Feminist Struggles Against Imperialist Invasion in Ukraine, Military Wars in Sudan and Religious Fundamentalism in Iran?

12:00pm – 1:30pm (Central)
Feminists are actively involved in the current struggles against Russia’s imperialist invasion of Ukraine, war between military factions in Sudan, and religious fundamentalist rule in Iran. What are the unique features of the struggles of women in these countries today? What can U.S. librarians learn from them as we face growing authoritarianism, racism, misogyny and homophobia in the U.S.? How can librarians and feminists in these countries help each other’s struggles?

Moderator: Derek Wilmott, SRRT Programming Committee Co-Chair
Panelists: Frieda Afary, Public librarian, translator, writer, activist, and author
Dr. Tetiana Granchak, Head, Department of Political Analysis, Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, member of the Board of the Ukrainian Library Association
Israa Abbas, poet, researcher, cataloger, archivist, and founder of the Sudanese Poetics Archive and the Sudanese Literature Archive

Disability is Not a Bad Word

1:45pm – 2:45pm (Central)
A critical step towards making libraries more equitable, diverse, and inclusive is increasing library staff awareness about disability. Accessibility is more than just wheelchair access and website functionality. It includes a library’s culture surrounding the way disability is understood and discussed. And importantly, it means ensuring libraries are inclusive not only for patrons but also library workers with disabilities. To create a more inclusive culture, library staff and administration can start by improving their understanding of accessible language and disability concepts. This session uses a disability justice framework to explore the historical context of disability, which connects to the importance of disability as a part of EDI work in libraries. Attendees will learn the importance of terminology in disability inclusion and receive strategies to incorporate accessible language into their library cultures.

Moderator: April Sheppard, SRRT Past-Coordinator
Panelists: Katelyn Quirin Manwiller, Education Librarian, West Chester University
Brea McQueen, Student Success Librarian, Miami University Hamilton

Film Screening & Discussion: Boycott

3:00pm – 4:30pm (Central)
The film will be Boycott, produced by Just Vision. Boycott follows the stories of a news publisher in Arkansas, an attorney in Arizona, and a speech therapist in Texas, who, when forced to choose between their jobs and their political beliefs, launch legal battles that expose an attack on freedom of speech across the US. The film traces the impact of state legislation passed in 35 states designed to penalize individuals and companies that choose to boycott Israel due to its human rights record. Several of these state laws have been declared unconstitutional, but the Arkansas law has been upheld in court. The state anti-boycott laws discussed in the film were drafted by the rightwing organization ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council). Since 2021 ALEC has also utilized this legislation as a template for bills banning state contracts with companies that engage in boycotts of fossil fuels and the firearms industry and bills banning state investment in companies that practice responsible environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG). The film showing will be followed by discussion.

Moderator: Al Kagan, SRRT Action Council and IRTF Member
Speaker: Daniel Nerenberg, Just Vision Education and Communications Specialist

(No recording was made due to film copyright.)