This presentation will be an opportunity for participants to learn about how implicit bias affects how each library staff person perceives and interacts with their patrons. In order to provide the best service possible and to stay true to professions core values and mission, a critical lens must be turned to the individual in order to work on ameliorating the effect of one’s biases. We will describe strategies and resources we used to overcome these challenges, such as encouraging self-reflection, providing discussion about topics such as race, social class and privilege within a holding environment (an atmosphere that encourages openness and ease despite difficult topics), and choosing to show or recommend books and films that address cultural humility. Attendees will be able to define implicit bias, recognize their own biases, understand why teaching and learning about implicit bias is useful, and incorporate strategies learned in this session into their own lives.
To learn more about your own potential implicit biases before this presentation, we strongly encourage you to visit Harvard's Project Implicit page to take an Implicit Association Test:
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/.
