As distributed via listservs:
Ruth Kitchin Tillman (Penn State Libraries) and Sandy Rodriguez (University of Missouri—Kansas City University Libraries) invite current and recent grant-funded workers in libraries, archives, and museums (LAM) positions to self-nominate as participants for the IMLS-funded Collective Responsibility: National Forum on Labor Practices for Grant-Funded Digital Positions LG-73-18-0236. The term “digital” is used broadly, as 21st century LAM work is almost necessarily digital in some way and much digital work in the field is advanced through grant funding. Only work which has no digital aspect, presence, or component is excluded. You may learn more about the project at http://imlslaborforum.org/
Use the following Qualtrics link to nominate yourself as a participant: https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0ps6lzVGiMyul2R
The self-nomination period will close on November 30, 2018. We encourage you to forward this information to eligible colleagues who may be interested in participation.
More information:
The project will run from October 1, 2018, to March 30, 2020, with two 1.5 day meetings of up to forty participants. The first meeting, Experience, will focus on the development of a systematic understanding of the experiences of grant-funded laborers, preceded by a broad survey and resulting in a white paper. It will occur in April 2019, in Pittsburgh, PA. Practices, the second meeting, will directly follow the Digital Library Federation Forum in Tampa, FL, October 2019. This meeting provides an opportunity for funder and institutional participants to share and reflect on current practices; to collaborate with each other and workers on developing actionable outcomes, which may vary by institution and funder type; and to publish more generalized best practices.
Participants’ travel and accommodation to both forums will be funded, as will 5 meals, coffee, and snacks during the 1.5-day meetings. Grant funding will also be available for childcare accommodations at each meeting in order to facilitate participation of attendees whose attendance might otherwise be unfeasible.
Prospective participants will be asked to provide contact information, answer questions about the positions held and their interests in engaging with these forums, and given the opportunity to provide optional demographic data in order to assist the PIs in minimizing gaps in the representation of marginalized and underrepresented communities within LAM. A copy of the form as a PDF is linked here: https://laborforum.diglib.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2018/10/Collective_Responsibility_Participant_Self-Nomination.pdf
The form should take approximately 30 minutes or less to complete, depending upon how the participant responds to an open-ended question.
If you have any questions, you may contact Ruth Kitchin Tillman at rkt6@psu.edu or 814-867-1038 or Sandy Rodriguez at rodriguezsan@umkc.edu or 816-235-2229.