The Roundtable for Ethnic and Minority Concerns (REMCo) pays homage to Hip Hop through the exploration of its impact on librarianship. Join our session, Blackademia and Hip-Hop Culture, for a dynamic conversation amongst library scholars and Hip-Hop enthusiasts as they delve into how the music has influenced community engagement and outreach to reach larger audiences, bring awareness to library programming, and make organic connections with their communities. Featured Librarians from interviews: Forest Foster, Vivette White, Carlos Grooms, Candace Jacobs, Jonathan Jones, Billy Allen, Marcellaus Joiner. Background and Rationale: Hip-hop, as a cultural movement, has extended far beyond music to become a powerful tool for education, social commentary, and community building. Libraries, as hubs of knowledge and culture, have increasingly embraced Hip Hop to engage youth, diversify programming, and promote literacy. This documentary series will showcase how librarians across North Carolina have incorporated elements of Hip Hop-including DJing, MCing, graffiti art, breakdancing, and knowledge sharing-to connect with diverse communities. Format: This will be a 45-minute panel presentation that will include various short clips from REMCo interviews, followed by a facilitated panel discussion featuring library scholars. The session will encourage dialogue about the power of Hip-Hop to engage participants, promote social justice, and support lifelong learning. Intended Audience: This presentation will appeal to librarians, educators, youth program coordinators, and cultural workers interested in rejuvenating their outreach strategies, including intentional connections with underserved populations by, and exploring innovative approaches to literacy and cultural engagement. Conclusion: Blackademia and Hip-Hop Culture will not only highlight the dynamic relationship between Hip Hop and libraries but also inspire the library community to embrace this influential cultural movement as a means of empowerment, education, and creative expression.
Public libraries have long served as essential community hubs, providing access to information, resources, and support for diverse populations. As society becomes more aware of the challenges faced by justice-impacted individuals, libraries have a growing role in supporting successful reentry. This panel will explore how libraries can collaborate with state agencies, reentry councils, and community organizations to provide vital services that help individuals transition back into society. Led by the State Library of North Carolina, this panel will bring together representatives from the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (DAC) Reentry and Rehabilitation Division, a local reentry council, a justice-impacted individual who has directly experienced the reentry process, and a social worker embedded in a North Carolina county library system. The discussion will explore how libraries can build partnerships with correctional and reentry organizations, develop targeted programming, and serve as accessible and welcoming spaces for individuals returning to their communities. Panelists will share insights on reentry needs and ways to integrate reentry services into library programming. The session will highlight the importance of information access, digital equity, and community partnerships in reducing recidivism and promoting long-term success. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of the reentry landscape, the needs of justice-impacted individuals, and practical steps to create or enhance library services that contribute to successful reintegration into society.
Read Free NC is an initative of the Intellectual Freedom Committee Helpline to support NC librarians and library workers deal with attacks on the Freedom to Read. The website features a blog that highlights issues at various libraries across the state and sheds light on how different scenarios are being handled. This panel discussion will invite several library workers from these libraries being featured and let them share more on what they are facing and how their situations were handled. We think this is more important now than ever with censorship efforts on the rise. Librarians and library workers should be able to be a resource in these trying times and we want people to know that there is a resource for them with ReadFreeNC.org.
Entering a difficult job market fresh out of library school can feel like being dropped into a foreign land. In our panel discussion, we will share how our LIS education prepared us for library jobs, but also how choosing a specialization such as business or pursuing generalist roles impacted the way we approached networking, selecting mentors, and finding career opportunities. Library school may have started us on the path, but finding mentorship within these specialties is where we found our true sense of direction in navigating the academic and professional space. We are going to further discuss how it led us to making professional connections through workshops and conferences as library students and early career librarians. These experiences have proven valuable to our panel as Ben acquired a business liaison position six months after graduation and Elizabeth became an instruction and research services librarian prior to graduation. We also plan to dive into what it has been like adapting to the current political and economic uncertainty surrounding higher education and academic spaces while starting off our careers. This panel will offer insights to library school students and seasoned professionals looking to support new librarians. In addition to answering questions moderated by Nancy Lovas (Entrepreneurship & Business Librarian at UNC Chapel Hill), there will be time set aside at the end to respond to questions from the audience and hear from them about their own experiences with mentoring, difficult job markets, and uncertainty for the academic space.
Librarians are no longer just caretakers of books-they're digital architects, advocates, marketers, and community leaders. In this session, we'll explore how the librarians behind the Read Free NC website took on new roles to create a platform that supports library workers facing censorship and promotes intellectual freedom in North Carolina. Through the process of designing and promoting the website, we'll highlight the innovative ways librarians are adapting to meet the demands of advocacy and community outreach. From website design and blog writing to social media marketing and grassroots advocacy, librarians are leading the charge in defending the right to read. Attendees will learn how to leverage digital tools to build platforms that support advocacy efforts and enhance their libraries' public presence. We'll discuss strategies for stepping into new roles, overcoming challenges, and turning digital projects into powerful engines for change. This session is perfect for librarians looking to expand their skill sets and make an impact beyond traditional library services.
From day-to-day operations at a branch to large-scale collaborations across an organization; the outcomes of group efforts are influenced by two things: project management, and team dynamics. Panelists will discuss experiences with a variety of projects and teams, and share what they have learned about best practices and effective methods to help teams set themselves up for success. Some focus areas for this discussion include: communication methods, identifying strengths, creating timelines, building accountability, finding common objectives, defining resource and informational needs, fostering healthy dynamics, measurable goal-setting, identifying deliverables, delegation, division of labor, and tracking progress. This session will include a Q&A portion with panelists.
