As we begin the end of summer I am sure we are all planning for next year. I hope you will reach out to me to share any ideas you would like to see as inclusive offerings.
-Sherry
Resources:
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DPLA launches The Banned Book Club to ensure access to banned books: Readers in communities affected by book bans can now access banned books for free via Palace e-reader app.
Continuing Education:
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Disability is Not a Bad Word: Wednesday, August 9, 1:45pm A critical step towards making libraries more equitable, diverse, and inclusive is increasing library staff awareness about disability. Accessibility is more than just wheelchair access and website functionality. Attendees will learn the importance of terminology in disability inclusion and receive strategies to incorporate accessible language into their library cultures.
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Artificial Intelligence: What Is AI and How Can It Benefit Individuals with Vision Loss? Thursday, August 10, 4 p.m. One of the biggest technology topics in 2023 is artificial intelligence or AI. This emerging technology is assisting with web searches and essay writing, and even helping to predict medical conditions. This session will explore exactly what AI is and how it can benefit those of us living with vision loss. Specific products, including the incredibly detailed photo descriptions generated by the Be My Eyes Virtual Assistant, will be demonstrated. To register, contact Jim Denham by Wednesday, August 9 at or (608) 237-8104.
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There’s an App for That?! WI Social Services Apps Wednesday, August 9, 2023, 11:00 am This webinar will feature two apps and a mobile-optimized website to more easily find social services in Wisconsin that can address specific needs ranging from healthcare, childcare, and housing, to judicare (legal needs) and driver’s license restoration from wherever they have an internet connection.
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TTW 2023: LGBTQ-Inclusive Trusteeship: Thursday, August 24, Noon Ray Lockman (they/them) will equip Wisconsin trustees and library directors to be queer- and trans-inclusive advocates for their library communities. Participants will learn helpful language and practical tips before we put our new skills to work by grappling with tough real-world scenarios.
Consumables:
Diverse Holidays in August:
August is International Peace Month and a time to reflect on the First World War. On August 16, 1926, TIME Magazine wrote: “At Rheims, martyred memorial city of World War destruction, 4,000 pacifists from 30 countries assembled last week for the Fifth International Democratic Peace Conference. Nine hundred of the delegates were young Germans, representing almost every German city. At the first session, the present month of August 1926, was proclaimed “international peace month,” the delegates voting to encamp in tents upon the onetime World War battlefields of France through Aug. 29, ‘in order to pursue an intensive study of international peace work.’”
August is also National Black Business Month, celebrating the Black-owned businesses across the country. Black business owners account for about 10 percent of U.S. businesses and about 30 percent of all minority-owned businesses. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, that amounts to approximately two million companies owned by African Americans.
August 9 – International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples: The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is observed on August 9 each year to promote and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples around the world. The date commemorates the first United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations meeting in Geneva in 1982.
August 19 – World Humanitarian Day: This day was designated in memory of the 19 August 2003 bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, killing 22 people, including the chief humanitarian in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. In 2009, the United Nations General Assembly formalized the day as World Humanitarian Day (WHD).
August 23 – International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition: The night of 22 to 23 August 1791, in Santo Domingo (today the Dominican Republic) saw the beginning of the uprising that would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. It is against this background that the UNESCO International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is commemorated on 23 August each year.
August 26 – Women’s Equality Day: which commemorates the August 26, 1920, certification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that gave women the right to vote. Congresswoman Bella Abzug first introduced a proclamation for Women’s Equality Day in 1971. Since that time, every president has published a proclamation recognizing August 26 as Women’s Equality Day.
August 30 – Raksha Bhandhana: Also known as Raksha Bandhan, a celebration of harmony. The tying of the rakhi (woven bracelet) signifies a special bond of unity and affection between two individuals including but not limited to brothers and sisters as well as security and police officers and their communities.
August 30 – Ghost Festival: Known as Zhongyuan Festival in Taoism (also spelled Daoism) and Yulanpen Festival in Buddhism, A day when the living perform rituals to relieve the suffering of the ghosts of those who’ve died, as well as to honor parents and ancestors.
August 31 – International Day for the People of African Descent: The International Day for People of African Descent was celebrated for the first time in 2021. Through this Observance, the United Nations aims to promote the extraordinary contributions of the African diaspora around the world and to eliminate all forms of discrimination against people of African descent.