Libraries Leading with Equity is a multi-part training that provides comprehensive equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) training based on the Oregon Library Association (OLA) Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Antiracism Toolkit [PDF]. This free training champions the importance of understanding and incorporating EDI efforts into all aspects of library services, challenging participants to identify ways in which they can build their skills as strong allies and collaborators.
For the June 2024 session, the cohort will meet over three consecutive days:
Tuesday, June 18
Wednesday, June 19
Thursday, June 20
at the McMenamins Old St. Francis School in Bend, OR.
Guided by the OLA Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Antiracism Toolkit [PDF], the training will provide opportunities for participants to learn, practice, and apply the concepts presented during both the training and in their own libraries and communities. Participants will work together, learning, developing, and implementing skills and best practices that are critical to introducing lasting and successful EDI initiatives, particularly in school settings.
Participants can expect to learn about:
The trainings will be an opportunity for both those new to equity work and those experienced with equity work to learn more and begin to work together. The cohorts are safe spaces for learning, growing, and community building.
The cohort will be led by Christina Fuller-Gregory and will be funded in whole by LSTA as administered by the State Library of Oregon.
School library staff of all roles are welcome to apply, whether teacher-librarians, district library coordinators, library media assistants, etc. Acceptance is not dependent on fall employment in a school, but applicants should currently be working in a school library. Public library staff are welcome to apply, as well, and will be added to the cohort as space allows.
Attendance for all three days is mandatory for participation, and to facilitate this, a hotel room for check-in on Monday, June 17 through check-out on Thursday, June 20 will be provided for each participant, as well as breakfast and lunch on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, mileage from your home to the Old St. Francis School, and per diem allotments for dinner Monday through Wednesday.
Applications are due by Friday, May 10.
Cohort Facilitator
The EDI Cohorts project will be led by Christina Fuller-Gregory, who has been a longtime member of and has served as co-chair of the Public Library Association's EDISJ (equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice) committee. Christina played a critical leadership role in developing PLA's EDI work, including the regional trainings offered pre-pandemic and the EDI-focused Leadership Lab. She most recently completed work on the Cultural Proficiencies for Racial Equity Framework, a guide for libraries and library workers designed to support them in developing personal, organizational, institutional, and systems-level knowledge and understanding of the nature of racism and its many manifestations.