Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Developing A Social Justice Mindset In Technical Services, Ione T. Damasco

Ione Damasco

These days, the words "equity," "diversity," and "inclusion" are used throughout libraries. But what do people mean when they use these words? And how do these words manifest in library technical services work? In this talk, participants explored how they can give these words real power when they frame them within a social justice mindset. The program started with an understanding of who participants are as individuals and how they fit into larger systems and structures of societal oppression. They they explored together how their work in technical services can contribute to the dismantling of those systems to ensure a …

Charging The Poor: Criminal Justice Debt & Modern-Day Debtors' Prisons, Neil L. Sobol

Neil L Sobol

Debtors’ prisons should no longer exist. While imprisonment for debt was common in colonial times in the United States, subsequent constitutional provisions, legislation, and court rulings all called for the abolition of incarcerating individuals to collect debt. Despite these prohibitions, individuals who are unable to pay debts are now regularly incarcerated, and the vast majority of them are indigent. In 2015, at least ten lawsuits were filed against municipalities for incarcerating individuals in modern-day debtors’ prisons. Criminal justice debt is the primary source for this imprisonment.

Criminal justice debt includes fines, restitution charges, court costs, and fees. Monetary charges exist …

Building An Ethical Digital Humanities Community: Librarian, Faculty, And Student Collaboration, Roopika Risam, Justin Snow, Susan Edwards

Roopika Risam

This article examines work building a digital humanities community at Salem State’s Berry Library. The initiatives are comprised of a three-pronged approach: laying groundwork to build a DH center, building the DH project Digital Salem as a place-based locus for digital scholarship and launching an undergraduate internship program to explore ethical ways of creating innovative research experiences for undergraduate students. Together, these initiatives constitute an important move toward putting libraries at the center of creating DH opportunities for underserved student populations and a model for building DH at regional comprehensive universities.

Building An Ethical Digital Humanities Community: Librarian, Faculty, And Student Collaboration, Roopika Risam, Justin Snow, Susan Edwards

Justin Snow

This article examines work building a digital humanities community at Salem State’s Berry Library. The initiatives are comprised of a three-pronged approach: laying groundwork to build a DH center, building the DH project Digital Salem as a place-based locus for digital scholarship and launching an undergraduate internship program to explore ethical ways of creating innovative research experiences for undergraduate students. Together, these initiatives constitute an important move toward putting libraries at the center of creating DH opportunities for underserved student populations and a model for building DH at regional comprehensive universities.

Youth Program Evaluation: Furthering Youth Participation In Evaluation Systems, Ariel Vaughan

Ariel Vaughan

Distributive Justice And Equity In Grading: A New Instructor’S Reflections, Molly Malany Sayre

Molly Sayre

The author reflects upon early teaching experiences to identify a conflict between minimal distributive justice, or the distribution of goods that ensures all individuals have an acceptable level of that good (Deutsch, 1985), and grading of students’ assignments. Instead of addressing the unequal distribution of college preparedness among her students, the author’s grading reflected and potentially reinforced educational, racial, and economic inequalities. In agreement with Anastas (2010), an ethic of social justice is recommended for use in social work education. Social work educators can provide greater access to resources (e.g., the instructor’s time) for students experiencing disadvantages that affect their …