October 29 is World Psoriasis Day. I’ve already missed World Arthritis Day (Facebook link), which was October 12th. (I was too busy to write, then, anyway.) I’m going to bullet point out the conclusions I want you to draw from this post, before I get to the post itself. Consider…
I’ve written before about how amazing AdaCamp is. Twice. By now, y’all know it was a huge step in my growth as an intersectional feminist and as a member of the open culture and development communities. I wish there was some way to have everyone go through the Impostor Syndrome…
If you don’t want the responsibility that comes from having power, get off the effing stage. There are so many people who do want it and who will use it well. And if you choose to keep the power, without being responsible, then understand: many of us will turn our backs on you. We won’t come to your talks, follow you on social media, work for your organization, or vote for you when you want to govern our associations—whatever form of power you have been granted, it will fade if you are not responsible. I, for one, am tired of granting power to people who don’t deserve it. I won’t do it anymore, and I hope others will join me in that.
This blog post is a little late. Others have written really evocatively about this subject, already. But, late or not, it feels wrong not to say something. The Ada Initiative is my favorite non-profit (besides perhaps the one I work for? :)). They’re my smile.amazon charity, when I remember to use it. AdaCamp changed my life. And I think sometimes librarians might be inclined to look at the Ada Initiative as “a tech thing,” something not relevant to reference librarians or children’s librarians or school librarians … or really any librarian who doesn’t write code for their job. But Ada doesn’t look at it that way.
I don’t want to go to any more conferences that privilege “liberty” over hospitality. Because I’ve seen that there’s a better way. I get to learn more, from more people, and I also get to teach more at events that are truly inclusive. Why waste my time and money on events that aren’t?
The American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting has got to go. It’s a strain on the organization, where I define “the organization” as both 1) its members and 2) its governance. I’d like to look at both of these facets in this post.
I’ve been rolling this post around in my head for a couple of days, in between attending conference and binge-(re)watching Firefly. It turns out, I have put a lot of time and effort—and, more importantly, thought—into creating and running a WiT group, so I have a lot to say…
