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In this episode, Kaetrena Davis Kendrick—an award-winning librarian, researcher, and the 2024–2025 Follett Chair at Dominican University—joins the hosts. Kendrick, renowned for her research on the topic of low-morale in libraries, sheds light on the systemic systems and structures that enable these environments and how BIPOC library workers and administrators grapple with this.

Together, the trio explore enabling systems, problematic behaviors, and the emotional toll of library work—while also discussing pathways to healing through collective care, glimmer gathering, and workplace empathy. Kaetrena offers practical takeaways and inspiring book recommendations for those working toward more inclusive and supportive library cultures.

Hosts: LaRee Dominguez & Brittany Young

Date of recording: May 29, 2025

Mentioned in this episode: https://renewalslis.com

Book recommendations:

Critical Hope by Kari Grain

My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem

Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away by Annie Duke

Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey

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In this episode, the remarkable Heidi Estrada & Sophie Kenney discuss RAILS BIPOC Library Workers Group and RAILS BIPOC Library Workers Mentorship Program—two inclusive programs for library professionals in Illinois that foster support and mitigate racial disparities. More specifically, RAILS BIPOC Library Workers Group aims to foster connection, share resources and discuss specific experiences in a safe, welcome, and open space for all library workers who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color.

Hosts: LaRee Dominguez & Roxanne M. Renteria
Date of recording: December 9, 2024

Mentioned in this episode:

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We are joined in this episode by Oregon State University Associate Professor and Special Collections and Archives Research Center (SCARC) Curator, Natalia Fernández.

How can academic archives confront harmful narratives and create more inclusive records? Fernández shares how SCARC'S Antiracist Description Activities project is challenging biased language, improving finding aids and ensuring collections are represented with dignity, non-prejudice and accuracy.

Date of Interview: February 6, 2025

Hosts: Joan Vigil & Brittany Young