Among those garnering support through advocacy by members of the California library community are those who are currently and formerly incarcerated. Cut off from resources while incarcerated, and facing significant challenges resuming positive roles within their communities after being released, these community members find tremendous support from what libraries and library supporters provide-but we can be doing more.
Join us for this free, 90-minute highly-interactive online workshop (via Zoom) under the auspices of the California Library Association Ursula Meyer Library Advocacy Training project, to hear from two formerly incarcerated librarians who are among our strongest advocates for their (and our) peers.
Aaron Blumberg and Eldon Ray James will explore a variety of interrelated topics including the importance of advocating for library services within carceral environments; public library and academic library involvement; the American Library Association’s newly revised Standards for Library Services for the Incarcerated or Detained; roles of public libraries in providing services to carceral environments; trauma-informed responses to formerly incarcerated; how to encourage and welcome those members of our communities; the role of social workers in the library; and advocating, overall, for currently and formerly incarcerated members of our communities.
Goal: Participants will further hone their skills in advocating for those who were or are incarcerated
Objectives: By the end of this session, you will be able to:
Summarize at least three ways you can effectively advocate on behalf of currently and formerly incarcerated individuals
Describe at least three elements of the newly revised ALA Standards for Library Services for the Incarcerated or Detained that you can incorporate into your work & much more
Presenters:
Aaron Blumberg is a formerly incarcerated librarian and consultant who advocates for the rights of the incarcerated and other marginalized groups, specifically uncensored access to information and the need for digital literacy. Aaron was a member of the working group which updated the American Library Association’s “Standards for Library Services for the Incarcerated or Detained.” He also served on the advisory committee of Ithaka S&R’s Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership grant-funded project exploring how public, state, prison, academic, and law libraries can more effectively collaborate to provide services to patrons who are impacted by the criminal legal system and as a consultant for further grant projects. His current research and advocacy endeavors include prison literacy programs; partnerships between carceral, public, and academic libraries; and breaking down barriers to education during and after incarceration. Aaron holds a BA in Art History and MLIS, both from The Florida State University.
Eldon Ray James is a retired librarian and researcher, ALA member, and formerly incarcerated person. He previously attended college, served in the US military, worked in radio and journalism, and ran for political office in Colorado. In 1996, James was arrested and then sentenced to 70 months in a minimum security Federal correctional camp. While incarcerated, James started taking classes and decided to become a librarian. After his release, James earned his BA in English (2005) and MSIS (2007) at the University of Texas at Austin. He attended his first ALA conference at the urging of his professor, Dr. Loriene Roy, then the ALA President.
About the Ursula Meyer Advocacy Fund Training Series:
This program is part of an ongoing series of monthly online sessions organized offered through the Ursula Meyer Advocacy Fund Training Series; sessions are generally held online on the second Wednesday of each month, beginning at 10 am PT, although this one begins at noon PT. The series honors the memory of Ursula Meyer, 1977-78 CLA President, California Library Hall of Fame inductee, longtime director of the Stockton-San Joaquin Public Library, and fierce advocate for library services and intellectual freedom. The Ursula Meyer Fund was established to provide for the training of librarians in all stages of their careers, and library supporters, in political advocacy and political action, in honor of Ursula’s belief that librarians need effective political skills to advocate for library support at all levels of government. Archived recordings of previous sessions are available on the California Library Association TH-cam channel at www.youtube.com/@californialibraryassociati2705/videos.
To support the series though a donation, please visit the CLA website at www.cla-net.org/donations/fund.asp?id=23440.