MLA/DLACon2023

How do we create greater equity to library services in diverse, hard to reach communities, breach the gulf of access created by the digital divide and address cultural differences that can act as barriers to connecting underserved communities to the legacy of the public library? Answer: Bring the library to them. This case study illustrates how to drive a wedge into library voids through community partnerships, data-driven demographic evaluation, targeted marketing and innovative approaches. Takeaways will include identifying potential pop-up candidates in your own neighborhood and first steps, and seamlessly integrating EDIA best practices into your own vision.

The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) was established in 1989 by attorney Bryan Stevenson in Montgomery, AL to provide legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced or abused in state jails and prisons. EJI also collaborates with communities ,in its Community Remembrance Project, to memorialize documented victims of racial violence and foster meaningful dialogue about race and justice. EJI's Lynching in America Report documents more than 4,400 racial terror lynchings of African American from the Civil War to World War II. These lynchings were a widely supported campaign to enforce racial subordination and segregation. Taking this national equity issue to the local level, hear a panel discussion of how Anne Arundel County honored the five lynching victims with a marker at one library and memorialized the life of King Johnson who was lynched in 1911, just one mile from another branch of the library system.

Learn how Maryland's public libraries collaborated to develop an educational resource to engage the general public with local Native and Indigenous heritage and culture. Curated by Dr. Elizabeth Rule (Chickasaw Nation) of American University, "Guide to Indigenous Maryland" is an educational mobile app and website that invites the general public to discover and honor the presence of Native and Indigenous heritage in contemporary life. The project exemplifies how creativity, technology, and cross-disciplinary partnerships advance the visibility and recognition of Native and Indigenous communities at the local level. Developed with support from IMLS LSTA funds administered by Maryland State Library Agency.

The phrases "hidden disability" and "invisible disability" are loose terms used to capture an entire spectrum of physical, emotional, mental and neurological disabilities that are not immediately apparent. With more than 40 million disabled Americans categorizing their disabilities as invisible, or 96% of the disabled community, chances are high that you work with someone who is invisibly disabled. Using a mixture of research and lived experiences, join us as we explore common hidden disabilities, discuss why simply offering accommodations is not enough, and share how universal design principles can ease many hidden disabilities.