Steve Hargadon: New Dr. Albrecht Library 2.0 Podcast: “DEI and BELONGING”

“I was on a panel with two other folks, and we talked this past week about DEIB. And I had never heard the B for DEIB, I’d heard of, of course, diversity, equity and inclusion, but the B is belonging. And I think that’s such a great phrase. I’ve been thinking about the conversations that we had as part of our work. For the panel discussion we had a pre-meeting where we talked about what we’re going to talk about, and then we had such a great conversation with the people that we were online–I think about 100 or so–talking about this idea of where diversity works, not only from an HR perspective, but from a leadership perspective, as well. 

“I’m really just fascinated by the way that that belonging has become part of the DEI conversation. So of course, when you talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion, a big part of inclusion is making sure people feel valued, appreciated, supported. That we don’t have have discrimination, that we don’t have retaliation, that the phrase inclusion means that people are not exposed to microaggressions. That they’re not exposed to mistreatment, by taxpayers, patrons, customers, colleagues, bosses, vendors, that type of thing. 

“But I really liked the idea of belongingness, to say, not only as part of the diversity conversation, but as part of the new employee conversation when we bring people into the library world. And this idea of belonging to me especially goes back to how we prepare our organizations for new people coming in so that they succeed, and that we create a sense of stability and welcomeness, and the idea that we want to make people glad that they chose to work there, there’s lots of places people can work…”

Coming Up:

DR. STEVE ALBRECHTSince 2000, Dr. Steve Albrecht has trained thousands of library employees in 25+ states, live and online, in service, safety, and security. His programs are fast, entertaining, and provide tools that can be put to use immediately in the library workspace with all types of patrons. In 2015, the ALA published his book, Library Security: Better Communication, Safer Facilities. He is currently writing the sequel, The Safe Library: Keeping Staff and Patrons Secure in a Changing World.

Steve holds a doctoral degree in Business Administration (D.B.A.), an M.A. in Security Management, a B.A. in English, and a B.S. in Psychology. He is board-certified in HR, security management, employee coaching, and threat assessment.

He has written 24 books on business, security, and leadership topics. He lives with seven dogs, two cats, and three chickens.