Abstracts
Abstract
Canadian communities are facing a crisis of inequity, and library service providers must do more to respond to the causal conditions of anti-Black and other forms of systemic racism (Black & Mehra, 2023). Beginning in 2022, the first known Canadian MLIS course, Anti-Racism in Library and Information Science, was piloted at Western University. It aimed to allow students to engage with transformative and collaborative anti-racism frameworks relevant to the Canadian library sector and MLIS curriculum. The one-semester (13-week) course was offered once each summer in 2022 and 2023. The multi-faceted course aimed to equip students with community-based approaches to learning in partnership with local Black communities. As exemplars, the course approach and learnings also allow LIS scholars and practitioners to explore and evaluate their understanding of community-based and anti-racist frameworks. This paper provides evidence-based research and Black-centred resources that can begin to address anti-Black and other forms of systemic racism impacting Canadian library communities. The Canadian-centric and LIS-tailored approach can further benefit both library and community organizations by supporting anti-racism efforts to uncover covert practices of anti-Black racism in personal and professional practices and worldviews.
Keywords:
- library and information science curriculum,
- anti-racism,
- community-engaged learning,
- Canada
Résumé
Les communautés canadiennes font face à une crise d'iniquité et les fournisseurs de services de bibliothèques doivent en faire davantage pour répondre aux conditions causales du racisme anti-noir et à d’autres formes de racisme systémique (Black et Mehra, 2023). En 2022, le premier cours connu au Canada en bibliothéconomie, « Anti-Racism in Library and Information Science », a été piloté à l’Université Western. Il visait à permettre aux étudiants de s’engager avec des cadres conceptuels antiracistes transformatifs et collaboratifs pertinents pour le secteur des bibliothèques canadiennes et le curriculum en bibliothéconomie. Le cours d’un semestre (13 semaines) a été offert à l’été 2022 et 2023. Le cours à multiples facettes visait à offrir aux étudiants un apprentissage au sein de la communauté grâce à un partenariat avec les communautés noires locales. En tant qu’exemples, l’approche du cours et les apprentissages permettent également aux chercheurs et aux praticiens en sciences de l’information d’explorer et d’évaluer leur compréhension des cadres communautaires et antiracistes. Cet article fournit une recherche basée sur des preuves ainsi que des ressources centrées sur les Noirs qui peuvent à contrer le racisme anti-Noir et d’autres formes de racisme systémique qui ont un impact sur les bibliothèques canadiennes. L’approche centrée sur le Canada et adaptée à la bibliothéconomie peut être bénéfique aux bibliothèques et aux organismes communautaires en soutenant les efforts de lutte contre le racisme visant à mettre au jour les pratiques cachées de racisme anti-noir dans les pratiques personnelles et professionnelles et dans les visions du monde.
Mots-clés :
- curriculum en bibliothéconomie,
- antiracisme,
- apprentissage au sein de la communauté,
- Canada
Appendices
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