Welcome to Lire!
Library Inclusivity, Rights, and Empowerment
LIRE (French: to read, rhymes with ear) is a network of librarians dedicated to advocating for inclusivity, protecting library users' rights, and empowering communities. We work to ensure libraries remain safe, welcoming spaces where free access to information and diverse perspectives are upheld, while promoting best practices and resisting harmful political influences.
A little bit about us: I am Emily Porter. I am a medical librarian at a local hospital now, but I was the Director of Byron Public Library District for nine years prior. Stephanie Nissen is the Director of the Rockford University Library and was the Director of Oregon Public Library for two years. Between the two of us, we have over 30 years of experience at various library types in a variety of positions.
That doesn’t mean we know it all (or anywhere close)! Stephanie and I both know that there are librarians out there with problems that feel insurmountable, and other librarian with creative solutions. Hopefully, LIRE can connect the two to help navigate these rough waters and provide support and solace.
Every month, our librarian group will have an in-person meeting (somewhere around Rockford, IL) that will focus on a theme. I will send out meeting details via our listserv (directions for subscribing to our listserv can be found here). The theme will be centered around public librarianship, but we are open to discussing any type of library issue. Stephanie and I will bring our own notes and ideas related to the theme, but we mostly want to hear from you! Bring your policies, your links, your expertise, and whatever else you can think of to the meeting. We will reserve the last half hour of every meeting to discuss current issues and member library calls for support.
This newsletter will help you stay informed of the content of the meetings, whether or not you are able to attend. If you aren’t able to attend a meeting, but would like to submit something for the newsletter, please do! These newsletters will be archived, so we can all refer back to our collective notes and suggest updates.
Before we get into the minutes from our first meeting, I wanted to ask everyone to subscribe to our email listserv here. Click on the RAILS ListServ website link to stay connected and up-to-date with LIRE issues amongst our membership.
Introductions completed, on to our first meeting!
If you ever want to contact Stephanie or I with questions or for support, please email us at lirerockford@gmail.com. Once you have subscribed to the listserv, you are also welcome to email the whole group at lirerockford@list.railslibraries.org.