[Eril-l] Core e-Forum: Countering Weaponized Tradition in Libraries

[Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list]

*Core e-Forum: Countering Weaponized Tradition in Libraries*

August 8-9, 2023



*Moderated by Erin Renee Wahl and Arlene Schmuland*



Please join us for an e-forum discussion. It’s free and open to everyone!

Registration information is at the end of the message.



Each day, discussion begins and ends at:

Pacific: 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Mountain: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Central: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Eastern: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.



A lot has been written on the benefits of understanding the history and
traditions of organizations when you join the team, but not a lot has been
written on the ways history and tradition can be used to affect an
organization negatively, or what actual tangible progress comes from
understanding this history and using it to instigate positive change. This
CORE e-Forum seeks to open a dialogue that might offer a broader, honest
perspective of progress informed by organizational history and traditions
in libraries and archives. This e-Forum will explore how librarians or
archivists have taken institutional history and tradition and pivoted the
narrative towards progressive changes. A relevant topic even prior to 2020,
the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic showed libraries and archives where
their organizations were weakest and has left even the strongest
organizations wondering how to leverage tradition for future
diversification. In addition, library and archives employees who were
already taxed by the tough realities of work are now asking more serious
questions about their work environments and wondering how to leverage
traditions to create a more progressive work environment.



Questions to be considered include:

·         How did you create buy-in in your library/archives/department to
change legacy practices?

·         What pre-COVID traditions has your library/archives shifted as
you return to normal? What led you to make this change?

·         What assessment methods do you use to inform shifting traditional
practices? Where is your change originating from?

·         How do you encourage new librarians and staff members to utilize
their expertise to implement change?

·         Legacy and tradition is not necessarily bad. What legacy
practices have you deliberately maintained and why? What led you to this
decision?

·         How do you create balance between legacy practices and
progressive momentum?

·         It’s not just about planning for shifts: almost every practice
shift requires significant labor to achieve. Whether that’s temporary work
or changing existing workloads: how have you managed the labor costs of
practice changes?

·         How do you work flexibility for change into strategic planning
and core library documents?



Please note: The moderators acknowledge the potentially sensitive nature of
this discussion and ask participants to consider this as well and keep our
discussion collegial, productive, and focused on the positive.



*Hosts*

Erin Renee Wahl, Assistant Professor and University Archivist, New Mexico
State University Library. Wahl’s research interests include sustainability
in libraries and educational change, rhetoric of and about libraries,
interdisciplinary use of archival sources, and library work environments.
In addition to her role in the library, Wahl is a PhD student in NMSU’s
Educational Leadership & Administration program, and plans to begin
collecting data for her dissertation in fall 2023.



Arlene Schmuland, Head of Archives and Special Collections, University of
Alaska Anchorage

Schmuland is the second head of the Archives at UAA since it was founded in
1979. She's been an archivist in a variety of institutions including local
and state government archives as well as academic archives and special
collections over the course of her nearly 30-year career. As she's taken on
progressively more responsible positions, she has experienced the interplay
of institutional memory, tradition, and change management and the role all
of those may play in the progress of library and archival work and goals.



*What Is an e-Forum?*

A Core e-forum provides an opportunity for librarians to discuss matters of
interest, led by a moderator, through the e-forum discussion list. The
e-forum discussion list works like an email listserv: register your email
address with the list, and then you will receive messages and communicate
with other participants through an email discussion. Most e-forums last two
to three days. Registration is necessary to participate, but it's free.



For information about upcoming e-forums, please visit
http://www.ala.org/core/e-forums



*How to Register*

You must register your email address to subscribe to or access an
electronic discussion list on ALA's Mailing List Service. Once you have
registered for one e-forum, you do not need to register again, unless you
choose to leave the list. Find instructions for subscribing and
unsubscribing online. (
http://www.ala.org/core/continuing-education/e-forum-instructions)



If you have any problems, please contact core-eforum+help at groups.io.



**Posted on behalf of the Core Continuing Education Committee.**

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