A Discriminating Education on Discrimination

Since we have now begun thinking about discrimination in academic libraries, it is time to dig

deeper and learn about types of discrimination. Most people will assume that discrimination refers to race. Sure, that is one type, but what about age, religion, gender, sexual orientation or ability/disability? In order to foster communication about various types of discrimination I have gathered a few resources to spark converstaion. Here are three: A magazine, a textbook, and an easily readable interpretation of the laws surrounding discrimination.

A MAGAZINE:

The Journal of Information Ethics is published by an independent academic publisher, McFarland & Company, Inc. This semi-annual print magazine is edited by Robert Hauptman and

will cost an academic library $120 per year. While McFarland is a small company, they have a reputation among academic libraries as a niche publisher who focuses on sports and history publications for academic libraries, inlcuding library-focused materials like our chosen magazine. The Journal of Information Ethics was chosen to further the ethical education of our academic library employees because it has a multidisciplinary approach to the study of library ethics. You can find more information about this publication at https://mcfarlandbooks.com/customers/how-to-buy-journals/journal-of-information-ethics/.

A TEXTBOOK:

Choosing a textbook as part of a collection sometimes seems like a dry and boring way to convey information. However, a textbook can allow for precise information presented in a straightforward manner. Readers do not always want to be entertained, sometimes they just want the facts. I have chosen The Oxford Handbook of Workplace Discrimination to fill the role of "providing straightforward information." This textbook is very new, since it was published in

2018, and is edited by Adrienne Colella and Eden King. Both the publisher, Oxford Univeristy Press, Incorporated, and the editors are highly regarded in academia, making this book an excellent fit for our academic library. This resource is a bit pricey, at $156 for a hardback book, but looking at the table of contents really cinched its inclusion in this collection. There are sections on types of discrimination, how it can manifest, and how to reduce discrimination. While this book does not focus specifically on a library setting, on some level a workplace is a workplace. The Oxford Handbook of Workplace Discrimination can be found at https://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Workplace-Discrimination-Library-Psychology/dp/0199363641/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518470301&sr=8-1&keywords=9780199363643.

ONE MORE BOOK:

In an effort to lighten things up a bit, yet still provide a quality resource, I chose You Can't Do That at Work! 100 Legal Mistakes That Managers Make in the Workplace written by Natasha Bowman, JD. Ms. Bowman is a sought-after speaker and well-regarded in her profession as a lawyer and wrote this book to be readable and relatable, yet precise and reliable. At $24.99, this paperback book won't break the bank and it will provide an inside look into the legal aspects of discrimination. This is not clear by the title alone, and the book does not focus solely on

discrimination, but I am again judging a book by its table of contents. Subjects covered are extensive and include, in part, pregnancy, age, retaliation, unions, and equal pay. While this book duplicates some of the topics offered in The Oxford Handbook, it gives a slightly different perspective and covers additional topics. Again, this book can be found on Amazon, at https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Legal-Mistakes-Managers-Workplace/dp/0692880666/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518478693&sr=1-1&keywords=you+can%27t+do+that+at+work.

Two books and a magazine are just a start in what could be quite a large collection of materials on discrimination and ethics. While one would think the core materials should be on ethics, I have found that law and psychology are also appropriates places to find information on the overlap of what is right and wrong. Business is another area where ethics are an important topic

of discussion, and applicable because an academic library is generally run like a business. You have users (customers) and need to provide a service (much like selling a product). Anything interpersonal can easily run into discriminatory issues, so having resources available to define such complications and offer possible solutions will be useful to have on hand.

References

Bowman, Natasha. 2017. You can't do that at work! 100 legal mistakes that managers make in the workplace. Performance ReNEW Leadership Series.

Colella, Adrienne, and Eden King, eds. 2018. The oxford handbook of workplace discrimination. Oxford Library of Psychology.Oxford University Press, Incorporated.

Hauptman, Robert. Journal of Information Ethics.