Sponsored by: Ohio Library Council

Registration has closed. Please call the OLC office at 614-410-8092 if you would still like to register for this event.

The OLC is working to promote diversity and inclusion within the library profession to create public libraries that are reflective and inclusive of the communities in which they serve. Our commitment to racial justice improves our ability to uphold the values of diversity and inclusion in our libraries. The OLC is offering this special event as professional development for all public library employees. Take advantage of the reduced registration fee for OLC Individual Members and discounted group rates for OLC Institutional Member Libraries.

Register at my OLC | Deadline to register: 8/3/20

Registration Fees:

*OLC Individual Members or staff of OLC Institutional Member Libraries.

**Group registration is for OLC Institutional Member Libraries ONLY
OLC defines a group as staff from a single library system logging in individually from multiple locations (or gathered at one access point) to participate in the live webinar broadcast. It will be the responsibility of the registrant to share the webinar login information with members of their staff who wish to participate.

Webinar Overview:
To become a true ally in the fight against racial injustice requires tough conversations. Finding a starting point isn’t easy and it can be uncomfortable. The OLC is committed to efforts that support ongoing learning, action, and engagement on issues of equity, diversity and inclusion. This event is a first in a series of programs to help tackle these challenging issues. It is designed to spark conversations and serve as an introduction to the concepts of power, identity, and oppression, and how they impact the staff, services, programs, collections, and spaces within public libraries. During this webinar, you’ll gain a better understanding of why it is so critical for libraries to focus on race to improve equitable outcomes for all.

This webinar will allow time for Q&A and will be recorded.

Learning Objective: To foster conversations about racism and implicit bias through the themes and topics in the novel All American Boys.

Presenters:

Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

Together, Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely wrote All American Boys, a young adult novel told in alternate chapters by high school classmates Rashad, who is Black, and Quinn, who is white. Rashad is wrongfully accused of shoplifting and is assaulted by a police officer—he is beaten so badly he is hospitalized. Quinn not only witnesses the assault, he knows the police officer personally. When a video of the attack goes viral, their classmates take sides and Rashad and Quinn are forced to think and talk about race in ways they hadn’t before.

Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a Kirkus Award winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors. Reynolds is also the 2020–2021 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. He often speaks about his own early years as a reluctant reader and says his books are for students who don’t see themselves reflected in the pages they are assigned in school.

Brendan Kiely is a New York Times bestselling author of All American Boys (with Jason Reynolds), The Last True Love Story, The Gospel of Winter, and Tradition. He received a Coretta Scott King Author Honor Award, the Walter Dean Myers Award, the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award. Known for his activism around racial justice, Kiely is a former high school teacher who writes dramatic, realistic fiction that engages young people in social issues. His work has been selected twice as one of the American Library Association’s Best Fiction for Young Adults and was a Chicago Public Library Best of the Best.

Intended Audience: All public library staff.

What’s Included: Participation in the live webinar and/or access to the archived version at a later date, resources (if applicable) provided by the presenter.

NOTE: Webinar invitations and access information will be sent via e-mail. Please check that your correct e-mail address is listed in your my OLC profile page. If registering a group, it is the responsibility of the registrant to share the webinar login information with members of their staff who wish to participate.

Continuing Education Credits: For those working toward their Ohio Public Librarian or Ohio Public Library Staff re-certification, this webinar counts as 1.0 hour of continuing education credit.

Ohio Public Library Core Competency: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion