Building Community-Based Summers (BCBS) Podcast

In this episode we are joined by Myles Cunningham a current LIS student and staff member of a public library in Washington. We talk about how equity is built into LIS coursework and ways in which equity can be embedded more specifically across courses in LIS.  We also consider power and agency in LIS and library services and how that has an impact on staff ability to build and integrate equitable practices. 

Building Equity-Based Summers is funded in part through the Institute of Museum and Library Services..

In this episode, co-hosts LaKesha and Linda talk about the ways in which libraries connect with communities through language . This includes connecting through translation and interpretation as well as through staffing and programs and services.   These ideas are discussed through the frame of language justice.

You can learn more about language justice on the University of Washington Language Justice Resources page. 

Building Equity-Based Summers is funded in part through the Institute of Museum and Library Services..

In this episode we continue the conversation we started in November 2024 with Dr. Nicole Cooke, Augusta Baker Chair at the University of South Carolina, College of Information and Communication and Christine Bolivar, library consultant.  In this part of our discussion we focus on counter-narratives, library school student exposure to equity and equitable practices, and power.

In the episode you'll hear about:

• Mirrors, Windows, Sliding Glass Doors
• Learning to (Re)member the Things We've Learned to Forget

Building Equity-Based Summers is funded in part through the Institute of Museum and Library Services..

As we end 2024 and move forward into 2025, we wanted to highlight some of the episodes from the past year of BEBS Podcasts.  These podcasts our gifts to you as you build equitable practices and consider how to evaluate progress, gain comfort with discomfort and vulnerability, integrate authenticity, take time to pause and reflect, and unlearn in order to let go of traditions.

We hope you enjoy our gift of previous episodes:

• Evaluation Can Have an Equity Center
• It's OK to Feel Discomfort
• Equity-based Teen Services Require Authenticity
• Balancing Thoughtful Progress with Equity Goals
• So Much to Learn

Building Equity-Based Summers is funded in part through the Institute of Museum and Library Services..

In this episode with guests Dr. Nicole Cooke and Christine Bolivar, we talk about the stories that library staff and libraries as institutions tell about themselves and the work they do with and for community.   

Building Equity-Based Summers is funded in part through the Institute of Museum and Library Services..

In our second episode on intersectionality, we discuss Jane Koston's article, "Intersectionality Wars" and consider Kimberlé Crenshaw's suggestion that intersectionality can be a tool for advocacy.  

Mentioned in this podcast:

• Intersectionality Wars
• Kimberlé Crenshaw on Intersectionality
• Human Factors Principles in UX Design

Building Equity-Based Summers is funded in part through the Institute of Museum and Library Services..

Wondering how libraries can authentically serve their diverse communities? Join us as we delve into the ideas of intersectionality and its transformative power in creating equitable library services.  Ivan Aquirre, President of the Reforma Inland Empire chapter, and Kym Powe, Children and Young Adult Consultant at the Connecticut State Library, join us as we talk about the importance of recognizing the multifaceted aspects of identity. Listen to our discussion on how libraries can move beyond rigid systems and embrace the fluidity of human identity.

Mentioned in this episode:
https://www.law.columbia.edu/news/archive/kimberle-crenshaw-intersectionality-more-two-decades-later

Building Equity-Based Summers is funded in part through the Institute of Museum and Library Services..

In this bite-size episode we continue our conversation with Sara White, Youth Services Consultant at the Washington State Library, and focus on the summer service traditions library staff hold on to, the history of those traditions, and the importance of reimagining traditions in order to provide equitable summer services.

Resources mentioned in the podcast: 

• A History of Youth Summer Reading Programs in Public Libraries
• Changing the Mindset of Pre-Service Librarians: Moving from Library Servants to Public Servants
• BEBS Podcast #8: Reimagining Libraries: Acting as a Public Servant to Foster Community Connection

Building Equity-Based Summers is funded in part through the Institute of Museum and Library Services..

In this episode LaKesha and Linda talk with Sara White, Youth Services Consultant at the Washington State Library, about five years of learning about building equitable practices.  Topics include the importance of reflection, working in the middle ground, and brave space.  

Items mentioned in the podcast:

• From Safe Spaces to Brave Spaces
• Nancy Levin on the Middle Ground
• LaKesha Kimbrough on the Middle Ground
• A Bit of Optimism podcast on Shades of Grey

Building Equity-Based Summers is funded in part through the Institute of Museum and Library Services..

In this episode we talk about the ways in which organizations, such as libraries, can and should think about their identity and how organizational culture and organizational systems work hand-in-hand and how each and both important when building equitable library services. 

Building Equity-Based Summers is funded in part through the Institute of Museum and Library Services..