Organizing Ideas
35 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsBecause libraries and archives are never neutral.
Taking a closer look at the relationships between organizing information and community organizing. We talk to information professionals, activists, and other insightful folks who have thoughts about what we mean when we say, “knowledge is power”. Hosted by two new librarians figuring things out as we go. We are based on the unceded and ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
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Episodes
Ep 35 - Belonging, Safety, and Police Presence in Libraries with Stacy Collins - part 2
January 15, 2021 20:00 - 21 minutes - 13.3 MBIn this two-part interview, we chat with Stacy Collins, Research & Instruction Librarian at Simmons University in Boston, about police in libraries, as well as the role of policing in the forms of social work and librarianship. Timestamps: • 0:00 - 1:24 Intro • 1:24 - 5:56 Why police shouldn’t be in libraries • 5:56 - 9:56 How to talk about police and security in your workplace • 9:56 - 15:35 Social workers and private security in libraries • 15:35 - 21:05 Final thoughts on liberation, oppres...
Ep 34 - Anti-Oppression and Research Guides with Stacy Collins - part 1
January 08, 2021 20:00 - 56 minutes - 36.6 MBIn this two-part interview, we chat with Stacy Collins, Research & Instruction Librarian at Simmons University in Boston, about the Anti-Oppression LibGuide that she’s created, and how anti-oppression is intertwined with children’s literature. Timestamps: • 0:00 - 1:43 Intro • 1:43 - 5:39 How did you get into librarianship? • 5:39 - 11:51 What is anti-oppression, and what’s a LibGuide? • 11:51 - 17:00 Inspiration for the Anti-Oppression LibGuide? • 17:00 - 21:46 Challenges and highlights • 21...
Ep 33 - 2020 Reading in Review with Karen and Allison
December 25, 2020 20:21 - 51 minutes - 32.8 MBKaren and Allison share some personal-professional updates for 2020, as well as some of their reading joys and reading hopefuls. Listen to the episode: Read along with the transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LD2d-NRkOdLSdovxmDYsYW9mZnHuFXZ6pV8hm-jPxmI/edit?usp=sharing Time stamps: 0:00 // Introduction 1:03 // Podcast updates 5:25 // Personal-professional updates 21:58 // Reading habits in 2020 29:23 // Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me by Anna Mehler Paperny 30:28 // Beo...
Ep 32 - Precarious Work and Knowledge Mobilization with Ted Lee and Ean Henninger at Keeping it ReAL
December 11, 2020 12:00 - 1 hour - 58.9 MBWe welcome back our guests Ted Lee and Ean Henninger from Episode 3 of the podcast to talk about precarious work and knowledge mobilization. We discuss questions and qualms we have about knowledge mobilization, how precarious work makes knowledge mobilization difficult, the power of union organizing, and how COVID-19 has affected precarity! This episode was recorded live as part of the 2020 Keeping it ReAL conference. Follow Ean (@rhymewithzinger) and Ted (@teioh) on Twitter! Read along wi...
Ep 31 - Library Power Structures with Baharak Yousefi
October 30, 2020 13:49 - 43 minutes - 21.3 MBWe sit down with Baharak Yousefi to talk about being a good library boss, the joy and generosity of library Twitter, and the responsibilities of academic freedom... but mostly we talk about power, intersectionality, and anti-oppression. It’s a good one, folks! Follow Baharak on Twitter @BaharakY Read along with the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/y4uws5kh The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic. You can reach us at: Email: organizingideaspod [at] gmail [dot] com Twitter: @Orga...
Ep 30 - Witnessing and Reconsidering Personal Archives with Clara Giménez-Delgado
October 16, 2020 16:59 - 45 minutes - 25.5 MBIn this episode, we sat down with Karen’s classmate Clara Giménez-Delgado to talk about her project processing a collection of lantern slides at the Museum of Anthropology. The collection is called the Missionary Society of Missionary Society of the Church of England in Canada Slide Collection, and it was the subject of Clara’s final project in Dr. Jennifer Douglas’s Personal Archives class at the University of British Columbia. Clara talks about witnessing, emotion and affect, reconsidering...
Ep 29 - Anti-Fascist Librarianship with Lena Gluck
October 02, 2020 10:00 - 59 minutes - 29.5 MBWhat is fascism? How have fascists used libraries in their organizing strategies to gain legitimacy? How does this relate to current TERF room bookings at libraries? And why have libraries struggled so much to respond?! We cover all this and more with Lena Gluck, founder of the Anti-Fascist Library Network. Follow Lena on Twitter @LenaGluck Read along with the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/y4hxwvee The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic. You can reach us at: Email: organizin...
Ep 28 - Season 3 and Back to School
September 24, 2020 07:00 - 30 minutes - 19.9 MBIn this episode we outline our plans for season 3, as well as pass along some advice for folks returning or thinking of applying to library/archives school, with some guest clips from good friends Sony, Zakir, and Victoria. Read along with the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/y3g7abyo The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic (https://www.andrealukic.com/). You can reach us at: Email: organizingideaspod [at] gmail [dot] com Twitter: @OrganizingPod Website: https://organizingideas...
Ep 27 - Black Women Artists, Archives, and Futurity with Sierra King
August 26, 2020 07:00 - 50 minutes - 33.2 MBIn this episode, we chat with Sierra King, an artist, photographer, and archivist, about her work with Black Women Artists, and her curatorial debut exhibition here. there. everywhere. Sierra talks about Kathleen Cleaver’s archive, personal archiving, and Black art and futurity. Her exhibition (August 22 - September 26, 2020) at MINT Gallery in Atlanta is a multidimensional portrait of the journey towards Black Futurity that Black Women across the African Diaspora have been pursuing in the n...
Ep 26 - Books and Feelings in the Time of COVID-19
May 08, 2020 08:00 - 41 minutes - 39.9 MBEpisode 26, in which Karen and Allison talk about their feelings during the midst of COVID-19, and books they’ve been reading and shows they’ve been watching in 2020 so far. Read along with the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/y7nx8brh The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic (https://www.andrealukic.com/). You can reach us at: Email: organizingideaspod [at] gmail [dot] com Twitter: @OrganizingPod Website: https://organizingideaspod.wordpress.com/ --- Send in a voice message:...
Ep 25 - Community-Led Teen Librarianship with Ariel Caldwell
May 01, 2020 08:00 - 1 hour - 65.4 MBWe talk with Ariel Caldwell, a Teen Services Librarian at Vancouver Public Library, about teen librarianship, community-led work, juggling 5 calendars, using improv to navigate power dynamics, intergenerational programming, and creating fun! You can reach Ariel at ariel.caldwell [at] vpl [dot] ca. Read along with the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/yckbpmzh The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic (https://www.andrealukic.com/). You can reach us at: Email: organizingideaspod [at...
Ep 24 - Libraries, "Democracy", and Intellectual Freedom with Sam Popowich
April 20, 2020 08:00 - 1 hour - 58.1 MBIn anticipation of the (now cancelled) British Columbia Library Association 2020 conference on “Libraries, Democracy, and Action,” Sam Popowich, author of Confronting the Democratic Discourse of Librarianship: A Marxist Approach, talks about intellectual freedom and what democracy means in libraries. Follow Sam on Twitter @redlibrarian Read along with the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/ya9gkmwg The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic (https://www.andrealukic.com/). You can rea...
Ep 23 - How are you feeling? COVID-19 Call for Contributions
April 05, 2020 18:20 - 2 minutes - 1.24 MBHey folks - we hope this mini episode finds you as well as can be considering the current circumstances. We are putting together an episode COVID-19 and invite you to share your thoughts with us in a short audio clip! Find the full details about how to contribute by listening to the episode or reading the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/wzeduor The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic (https://www.andrealukic.com/). You can reach us at: Email: organizingideaspod [at] gmail [dot] c...
Ep 22 - Grassroots Libraries and Care in Community (Pre-BCLA Chat) with Y Vy Truong, Rachel Lau, and Avi Grundner
April 03, 2020 08:00 - 53 minutes - 49.2 MB** This episode was recorded on March 12, 2020 before UBC Library, where we were recording, was closed to the public, and we were all encouraged to stay home and physically distance from one another. ** In preparation for the now-cancelled British Columbia Library Association (BCLA) 2020 conference, Karen sat down with Y Vy Truong, Rachel Lau, and Avi Grundner to talk about expectations and ideas for their discussion panel, titled “Collections in Social Movements: Grassroots Libraries in Ma...
Ep 21 - (Elementary) Teacher Librarianship and Inquiry-Based Learning with Elaine Su
March 13, 2020 08:00 - 39 minutes - 60 MBThrow out the whole book! In this episode we chat with Elaine Su, an elementary school teacher librarian and advocate for youth voices, about inquiry-based learning and education practices and reform—and what she means by throwing the whole book out. Follow Elaine on Twitter @elainesoup Read along with the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/tfcl76k The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic (https://www.andrealukic.com/). You can reach us at: • Email: organizingideaspod [at] gmail [d...
Ep 20 - Libraries and Disabilities with Jessica Schomberg
February 28, 2020 11:00 - 54 minutes - 38.6 MBWe chat with Jessica Schomberg about disability frameworks, intersectionality, cataloguing, relationships, solidarity, prioritizing people over productivity, unions, and their new book, co-authored with Wendy Highby, coming out in April: “Beyond Accommodation: Creating an Inclusive Workplace for Disabled Library Workers.” Follow Jessica on Twitter @schomj Read along with the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/rrgfs5o The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic (https://www.andrealukic.c...
Ep 19 - (Web) Archives and Black Culture with Zakiya Collier
February 18, 2020 11:00 - 54 minutes - 39.4 MBWe hop on Skype to chat with Zakiya Collier from the Schomburg Centre for Research in Black Culture about her work web archiving (which is not what Gmail does), the Hashtag Syllabus Movement, critical archival studies, and “fugitive discernment”. Follow Zakiya on Twitter @ZZcollier Read along with the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/u84dvwo The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic (https://www.andrealukic.com/). You can reach us at: Email: organizingideaspod [at] gmail [dot] com...
Ep 18 - Public History with Krista McCracken
January 31, 2020 11:00 - 34 minutes - 24 MBWe chat with Krista McCracken about public history, colonialism and archives, how slooooowww archives are to change (and why there’s so much resistance to challenging power structures!), and embroidery as a form of feminist resistance. Check out Krista’s blog and follow them on Twitter @KristaMcCracken. The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic. Read along with the transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1frHtDAYAnv8fmrrzYu1e1tYhKIcmsKHwT7tchZjn7Lg/edit?usp=sharing You can...
Ep 17 - Digital Privacy, Information Literacy, and the Library Freedom Institute with Symphony Bruce
January 25, 2020 00:13 - 46 minutes - 40.2 MBSymphony Bruce, Resident Librarian at American University Library, shares her experience with the Library Freedom Institute, and talks to us about information literacy, digital privacy and safety, and how information is empowerment. Follow Symphony on Twitter @curlsinthelib Read along with the transcript (links to resources included): https://tinyurl.com/t4znf6f The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic (https://www.andrealukic.com/). You can reach us at: Email: organizingideaspo...
Ep 16 - Archival Theory Through Participation, Solidarity, and Social Justice with Lara Maestro
January 17, 2020 09:00 - 58 minutes - 51.5 MBLara Maestro talks about knowledge-keeping practices and living archives in the Philippines from her thesis, “Alternative Becomings, Alternative Belongings: Cordillera Case Studies of Records in Context,” and the values and framework that guided her work, which include participation, solidarity, and social justice. You can check out more of Lara’s community organizing work at Sulong at UBC on their Instagram and Facebook pages. The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic. Read along ...
Ep 15 - Catalyzing a Community Led Future at the Free Library of Philadelphia with Andrea Lemoins
January 10, 2020 09:00 - 51 minutes - 33.8 MBAndrea Lemoins, Community Organizer at the Free Library of Philadelphia, talks about her work with community, professionalization, library school, Afrofuturism, Yusef Omowale’s article “We Already Are”, community archives, and an upcoming Memory Lab project. Follow Andrea on twitter @ALemoins The reading list from the Community Archives and Digital Cultural Memory class at the Rare Book School: (https://rarebookschool.org/courses/library/l115/reading-list/) The cover art is done by our fr...
Ep 14 - Navigation, Resistance, and Rebellion with Sarah Dupont and Amy Perreault
January 03, 2020 09:00 - 46 minutes - 68.6 MBIn this episode we sit down with two amazing Métis librarians and information professionals at the University of British Columbia. Sarah Dupont is the Head of Xwi7xwa Library, and Amy Perreault is Senior Strategist for Indigenous Initiatives at the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology (CTLT). Sarah and Amy talk about Indigenous engagement, the importance of elders and finding community, and some of the projects that they’re working on. Some links to things mentioned (more in the tr...
Ep 13 - Recap and Looking Forward to 2020 (ft. voice messages)
December 13, 2019 10:44 - 34 minutes - 41.9 MBThis pod is winding down for the end of 2019! In this episode we reflect on what we’ve learned over the past few months, play some audio clips from listeners, share what we’re hoping and planning for in 2020, and talk a little bit about how we make the podcast and how you can get involved! The transcript is available here. The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic. You can reach us at: • Email: organizingideaspod [at] gmail [dot] com • Twitter: @OrganizingPod • Website: https://...
Ep 12 - 2019 Reading Highlights with Allison and Karen
December 06, 2019 09:00 - 39 minutes - 55.5 MBAllison and Karen get together to discuss their reading highlights as our home planet completes another arbitrary circuit around the sun. Books mentioned: > Chop Suey Nation by Ann Hui > Starlight by Richard Wagamese > The Tiger Flu by Larissa Lai > Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom > Trickster Drift by Eden Robinson > Disappearing Moon Cafe by SKY Lee > Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang > Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory > Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole > The Hungry ...
Ep 11 - Trans Inclusivity in Libraries and Research with Shelby Miller
November 29, 2019 09:00 - 34 minutes - 49.5 MBShelby Miller, a student in the MLIS program at UBC’s iSchool and an employee at Vancouver Public Library, joins us for a conversation about working at VPL as a non-binary trans employee, what’s wrong with the liberal utopian idea of intellectual freedom, and her thesis project on the information seeking habits of transgender individuals. Shelby recently participated (with Allison, Hazel Jane Plante, Leah Tottenham, and syr) in a roundtable discussion for the BCLA Connect newsletter called ...
Ep 10 - TPL and Transphobia (round 2) with Niko Stratis
November 22, 2019 08:00 - 30 minutes - 20.5 MBAllison chats with Niko Stratis, who has been heavily involved in responding to Meghan Murphy’s event at Toronto Public Library, about this event, the impact it has had on trans people, how libraries might rethink “intellectual freedom” if we’re committed to being trans inclusive, and the failures of media coverage of the event. Read their piece, “Someone Tell The Media That Trans Folks Were At The Meghan Murphy Protests, Too” and check out their Twitter feed to learn more about their work. ...
Ep 9 - Rare Books and Manuscripts Section 2019 Conference
November 15, 2019 11:00 - 25 minutes - 38 MBKaren Ng shares a letter written after the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section “Response and Responsibility: Special Collections and Climate Change” conference in Baltimore in June 2019. This episode includes written statements and a voice recording from Ayoola White, Aramis Sanchez, and Marielle Stockton. Read along with the transcript here. The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic. You can reach us at: • Email: organizingideaspod [at] gmail [dot] com • Twitter: @OrganizingPod • We...
Ep 8 - Queer and Radical Knowledge Organization with Avi Grundner
November 08, 2019 11:15 - 46 minutes - 68.8 MBThis episode we got to sit down with Avi Grundner, a MLIS/MAS student at UBC who is working on a Queer Subject Heading Thesaurus for Out on the Shelves Library. We talk about queer and radical knowledge organization and the power of seeing yourself represented in these systems. Read along with the transcript here. The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic. People and resources mentioned this episode: Avi Grundner and Out on the Shelves Emily Drabinski’s article Queering the Catalog...
Ep 7 - Public Programming and Professionalization with Y Vy Truong
November 01, 2019 16:51 - 52 minutes - 46.6 MBIn this episode we got to sit down with Y Vy Truong, who is the librarian for joss paper library based in Vancouver’s Chinatown. We got to talk about public programming, professionalization, and what it means to build both collections and communities. Read along with the transcript here. Things mentioned this episode: > Y Vy Truong: @YVyTruong > joss paper library: @josspaperlib > ARL Fellowship for Digital and Inclusive Excellence > American Library Association and accreditation > Lo...
Ep 6 - Toronto Public Library and Transphobia
October 25, 2019 14:02 - 47 minutes - 58.7 MBIn the wake of Toronto Public Library’s room booking to Meghan Murphy, we sit down to talk with Alicia Elliott, an incredible Tuscarora author from Six Nations of the Grand River, and one of the original signatories on a petition called “Stop Hate Speech from Being Spread at the Toronto Public Library.” This episode also includes statements from a number of trans community members and library workers about the impacts of this event, including Niko Stratis, John Fink, and Leanna Jantzi. Num...
Ep 5 - Community-Led Libraries with Jorge Cardenas
October 21, 2019 20:07 - 53 minutes - 86.6 MBWhat is community-led work in and for libraries? We got to sit down with Jorge Cardenas in Allison’s home to talk about what it means to work in libraries with a community-led focus. Jorge is a community librarian and currently manages Burnaby Public Library’s McGill branch. He is also an instructor at the University of British Columbia, where he co-taught the Community-Led Libraries class with Christie Menzo, and is now teaching it solo for the 2019-2020 academic year. Some resources mentio...
Ep 4 - Invitation to Contribute
October 20, 2019 22:45 - 1 minute - 2.49 MBWe are preparing an episode in response to Toronto Public Library’s recent room booking to Meghan Murphy, a well-known transphobic speaker. We would like to include the voices and perspectives of more trans people to hear how trans people are thinking and feeling about this room booking and similar events elsewhere. If you would like to leave us a voice message to include in the episode, please visit anchor.fm/organizing-ideas and click on "Send a Voice Message." You can also email us a writ...
Ep 3 - Precarious Work with Ean Henninger and Ted Lee
October 11, 2019 16:59 - 58 minutes - 50 MBIn this episode we got to sit down with Ean Henninger and Ted Lee to talk about precarity in the library, archival, and information field. It’s a fascinating conversation, ranging from the challenges of addressing the lack of diversity in LIS to the mental and physical toll of precarious work, to the inevitable question: how do we dismantle capitalism!? Read along with the transcript. Resources > Follow Ean on Twitter: @rhymewithzinger; @LISprecarity > Follow Ted on Twitter: @teioh > Isabel...
Ep 2 - Library School and Student Government with Victoria Gomez
September 29, 2019 22:44 - 46 minutes - 39.9 MBWe're thrilled to get to sit down and talk to our friend and classmate, Victoria Gomez. Victoria is an MLIS student at the University of British Columbia, and (among many other things) is the co-president of our student association, LASSA (Library and Archival Studies Student Association). This is a great episode especially for anyone new to the UBC iSchool, thinking about pursuing an MLIS, or interested in student government and community-led work with students. You can find Victoria on Twi...
Ep 1 - Intro
September 26, 2019 03:59 - 23 minutes - 24.3 MBHello! We're Allison and Karen, and this is the introduction to this podcast project about organizing ideas and community organizing. We are two new librarians/archivist figuring things out as we go, including how to piece together a podcast. We go over some personal introductions as well as what we're hoping to cover in the upcoming episodes. (Note: this episode was recorded a few months ago during the summer.) The cover art is done by our friend Andrea Lukic. A transcript is available he...