Online Webinar

Creating Cultures of Radical Empathy in Libraries
Presenter: Karina Hagelin
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
11:00 am - 12:00 pm EST

Through the lens of trauma-informed librarianship, this webinar will explore how librarians and library workers can create library cultures that center radical empathy as a pathway towards collective wellness, healing, and authenticity. We’ll unpack how LIS work cultures normalize and perpetuate ableism, pushing library workers and librarians who are survivors and/or have experienced trauma out of the field. As a community, we will learn about and discuss how we can be more intentional, authentic, and supportive of ourselves and our colleagues/comrades through a practice of radical empathy.

Topics and themes discussed will include:

• What radical empathy is and how we can practice it in libraries
• Practicing self and collective care in libraries
• How libraries can center radical empathy
• Radical empathy in communication
• Recommended resources and readings

Presenter:  Karina Hagelin

Karina Hagelin is an artist, activist, and librarian who works alongside library workers who are committed to creating cultures that center healing through radical empathy, collective care, and advocacy work. Using their lived experiences as a chronically ill & disabled queer femme survivor, graduate research on trauma, ableism, and collective care, and expertise on trauma-informed librarianship, they lead diverse groups of library workers through engaging, interactive, and informative webinars and workshops to build holistic libraries in which both patrons and staff with a variety of lived experiences feel supported, valued, and able to show up as their whole selves. They received their MLIS from University of Maryland, College Park and most recently worked as an Outreach and Instruction Librarian at Cornell University.