Championing Trans Inclusion for Library Leaders

***BEFORE YOU REGISTER FOR THIS WEBINAR PLEASE REVIEW IMPORTANT REGISTRATION INFORMATION BELOW***

Throughout the country, libraries face an increasing backlash targeting everything from books and displays to programs and presenters to institutions and staff. Commentary has escalated to include misinformation, hate speech, and violent threats. These attacks are designed to enforce a chilling effect on library workers by dictating what is or isn’t “safe” to say, do, or be at work. The desire for safety can tempt administrators to avoid “controversy” by falling in line with demands, but this is not a viable tactic because the safety it promises is illusory. In the short term, it sacrifices the specific groups being targeted. In the long term, libraries are held hostage to further demands, eroding access for everyone.

One group currently being targeted is the transgender community; as a result, trans librarians face a uniquely hostile work environment. Yet their safety is often overlooked because bias, outdated protocols, and antagonism impact what support is available to them.

This webinar will examine the interlinked concepts of safety and support in libraries through a conversation between two librarians: a cisgender administrator offering perspectives on hiring and supporting trans employees, and a trans librarian giving insight into the daily experience of “working while trans” in a public library .

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Better understand the daily working experience of a transgender public library worker;
• Craft inclusive library policies and procedures that cultivate an environment of ongoing, active support for all staff members; and
• Recognize and counter harmful misinformation, and incorporate it into their work to create a stronger and more empathetic workplace.

Who Should Attend

This webinar is intended for library directors and administrators, as well as managerial and supervisory staff, who want to increase their understanding of this topic.

Panelists

Heath Umbreit (they/them) is the adult services librarian at Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Heath uses they/them pronouns, and is trans/nonbinary and genderfluid. They earned their MLIS from Drexel University in 2014, and have conducted professional LIS trainings on state, regional, and national stages. In their work, they intentionally center the values of equity, access, and social justice.

Miki Wolfe (she/her) is the library director of Morse Institute Library in Natick, MA. Over the course of her decade-plus long career in library services, she has focused on community-building, equity and inclusion, and providing supportive leadership.

Important Registration Information

Log into or create your ALA eLearning account

An ALA eLearning account is required to register. Don’t have an account? Create one for free by going to the “Log in” menu located at the top right corner of your screen. No membership is required to create the account. If you encounter any issues registering for this webinar, then please email ce@ala.org for assistance.

Redeem your signup code to complete your registration

Once you’ve registered for this webinar, a signup code will be added to your ALA eLearning account and emailed to you. Find the signup code on your signup code page, then redeem it on your account’s dashboard to complete your enrollment in this live webinar.

• Need to purchase registration on behalf of a colleague?
• Need to register a group of 3 or more?
• Need to register with a purchase order?

Review the ALA eLearning FAQ if you need more information.

Accommodations

This live webinar will be captioned in English (United States). Zoom desktop client or mobile app is required to access captions.

Attendees using screen readers are advised to turn off speech prior to joining the Zoom event because PLA webinars make extensive use of chat functionality. Attendees who find chat distracting may wish to disable it in the Zoom event, as PLA moderators will verbally highlight important topics raised in chat and chat transcripts will be provided post-webinar.

If you have a physical or communication need that may affect your participation in this webinar, please contact us at plawebinars@ala.org or 800-545-2433 ext. 5PLA (5752) at least two weeks prior to the webinar. Without prior notification of need, we may not be able to provide appropriate accommodations for the live event.

Archived Recording

If you're unable to attend this live webinar, an archived recording will be available to all registrants typically within 1–3 business of the live event. Access to closed captions will be provided in the webinar recording.

Tech Requirements

This webinar will be presented using the Zoom platform. Please review Zoom technical requirements and support information, and test your connection.

Once you've joined the webinar, there are two ways to connect your audio: via computer (VoIP) or via telephone. No microphone is required. PLA works with its webinar platform provider to assure the highest quality audio is being delivered to attendees. However, variables over which PLA has no control—such as the speed of your Internet connection or traffic on your local network—can affect the end quality of the webinar audio delivered by your computer. Each webinar’s audio is also available by telephone via a toll number, so we recommend you have access to a long-distance enabled phone as a backup in case you experience audio issues with VoIP. If you do encounter any problems during the webinar, you will receive a link to its archived recording within a week of the live event and can review anything you missed.

Contact

This webinar is presented by the Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).

Questions about this webinar? Please contact us at plawebinars@ala.org or 800-545-2433 ext. 5PLA (5752).