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The Call is Coming From Inside of the House
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Continue reading →: The Call is Coming From Inside of the HouseI presented at my state’s annual library conference recently with two amazing colleagues, Becky Spratford and Alea Perez. The title of our session was The Call is Coming From Inside the House: How White Librarianship Protects Itself and Hinders Belonging. Alea initiated the idea and contacted me and Becky, and…
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We’re like a family here!
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Continue reading →: We’re like a family here!Dysfunctional Family Dynamics: Don’t Talk, Don’t Trust, Don’t Feel Whenever a workplace says “We’re like a family here!” they’re not lying….they are just leaving out the crucial word dysfunctional. I’ve had the bad luck of almost exclusively working in dysfunctional libraries. Having grown up in an abusive, dysfunctional home, I…
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Men in Libraries
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Continue reading →: Men in LibrariesDuring the interview: Wow, you’re a musician? That’s great. The kids will love it! During a performance review: “Employee’s musical ability intimidates their coworkers.” Employee who isn’t married but has cats and friends and, indeed, a FAMILY: Why do I work two night shifts and everyone else in the department…
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Scope Creepin’
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Continue reading →: Scope Creepin’(Sing the title to the tune of Jive Talkin’) What is a library? Webster’s dictionary defines a library as– Ha no I’m not doing that. That’s tired. WIRED let’s talk about what libraries are NOT: Throughout my career, I’ve given several talks about scope creep in librarianship. Before Twitter died,…
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I Would Prefer Not To
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Continue reading →: I Would Prefer Not ToIn college, for one of my literature classes, I had to write a paper on the novel Moby-Dick. Being the person I was, I waited and waited to decided on a topic, until it was the night before the paper was due, and in a frantic fever I churned out…
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Libraries Aren’t for Everyone
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Continue reading →: Libraries Aren’t for EveryoneBut you don’t have to take my word for it (although I could tell you some real upsetting stories.) Talk to anyone who is not white, cis-het, able-bodied, and neurotypical how they feel about libraries, either as a user or an employee. No matter how many posters you put up,…
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Who Else Is Tired?
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Continue reading →: Who Else Is Tired?Heading into Big Beautiful Women Bath and Body Works Banned Books Week (🤮) this year is extra rough. All of my previous hatred of this campaign still seethes deep in my heart, but after four years of dealing with real challenges and the people who make those challenges, my rage…
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The Freedom to Be Totally Ignorant
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Continue reading →: The Freedom to Be Totally Ignorant“I’m not afraid anymore so go for it.” — Jane Elliot The Oprah episode above aired in 1992. Jane Elliott first did her blue eyes/brown eyes experiment the day after MLK was assassinated. (Note, that transcript contains offensive racial terms.) (If you’re not familiar, in brief, Jane did a lesson…
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Teens, Trauma, and the Future of Libraries
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Continue reading →: Teens, Trauma, and the Future of LibrariesImagine if a library closed its doors from 3-5 p.m. every day, which just happens to be when the Senior Center across the street lets out for leisure time, and heading to the library was a popular activity. Now those seniors need to go somewhere else during that time. Imagine…
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Nice White Librarians
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Continue reading →: Nice White LibrariansMuch like neutrality, niceness* is a quality that I believe causes more harm than good, in almost every situation, but especially in workplaces, and especially libraries. Librarianship is rife with nice white lady librarians. They dominate the profession and thereby the professional culture. And boy, few things are more terrible…
Hello,
I’m Julie
I’ve worked with children and their families for over twenty years. I’m a storyteller, librarian, musician, and advocate. I’m passionate about early childhood education, inclusion, and ethical leadership. These are my stories.
Hi, Miss Julie 