The first meeting of ACRL/NY’s Social Activism and Support Affinity Group will take place in February 7, 2025 (1pm-2pm)
In this initial meeting, we will determine together what format(s) feel best for the group (online or in-person) and based on members’ interest, we will collaboratively determine the direction of the group, any specific goals, and frequency of meetings.
More about the Social Activism and Support Affinity Group:
We will convene conversations on the role of librarians, libraries, and ACRL/NY in engaging with timely issues of equity, justice, and political and social discourse. College campuses have a long and rich history as a site of student organizing and activism. We saw this in 1968 as students protested the war in Vietnam, in the 1980s when students protested apartheid in South Africa, and again in the Spring of 2024 as students set up encampments, and called for a ceasefire in Gaza and for their universities to divest from the State of Israel. Now, following November’s election, we face tremendous uncertainty. Questions of freedom of speech and the veracity of information have emerged that feel squarely within the space of academic librarians. How do we navigate these complicated questions? This group will be a space for librarians across academic institutions to come together to wrestle with these questions , identify opportunities for mutual support and action, and advocate for organizational support from ACRL/NY and perhaps ACRL National.
The group will collectively establish guidelines for engaging in respectful group discussion.
Discussion questions for the group may include:
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What role should libraries play on college and university campuses in these situations?
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What do the ethics of our profession compel us to do?
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What does the positionality of the library allow for and what does it limit?
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How can academic libraries support and respond to student activism, political engagement, and the campus climate more generally?
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How can librarians support each other?
Community Agreements
We are committed to establishing a safe space where everyone is heard and treated with respect. We intend for the group to be a place where librarians can safely discuss complicated, and potentially charged, issues. The group will discuss community agreements that will help guide us in facilitating conversation and treating others with courtesy and respect. These agreements include: .
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Tolerating discomfort
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Respecting one another’s needs
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Articulating our own needs
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Setting expectations around confidentiality
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Listening to each other
At the start of each meeting, community agreements will be reviewed to help set expectations for the group.
Liam Adler, Barnard College
Carrie Jedlika, Kingsborough Community College, CUNY
