Patricia Chavez, Rush University Medical Center
Statement of Concern
During a time when libraries are facing challenges such as budget cuts, censorship, and book bans, it is extremely important for library professionals to stay connected. Organizations like the Illinois Library Association ensure that library professionals are able to share the most recent news, professional guidance, and ideas on ways to fight pushback against libraries. ILA also provides resources to work with policymakers to advocate for libraries and library workers. While the importance of influencing policy on a small scale cannot be denied, it is important to not lose sight of what issues are affecting libraries nationwide. For this reason, the role of Director at Large—ALA Councilor is crucial to making sure that ILA members are aware of and involved in the activities of the American Library Association.
As a member of ILA, I served as co-chair of the Students and New Professionals Forum (SANP). This forum focuses on ensuring that those who are new to the profession are both comfortable with and knowledgeable about the realities of library careers. SANP is especially interested in making librarianship more accessible to members of the BIPOC community, who continue to be severely underrepresented in the library workforce. Doing this work with SANP led me to join the IACRL Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, where I also serve as the IACRL-DEI representative to the RAILS Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Our nation's—and our profession's—issues with racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, and other types of discrimination are inextricably linked to the problems facing libraries today. Without hatred of others, there is no call to ban books acknowledging their experiences, and there is no call to defund the libraries who strive to make their collections more diverse and representative of the communities they serve. I truly believe that DEI work is some of the most important work going on in libraries today and is crucial to the future survival of libraries as we know them.
As an ILA Director at Large, I hope to continue the work I've done at ILA in connecting with others, particularly those new to the profession, to share information and ideas about the current environment in librarianship. I also look forward to representing ILA and its concerns at conferences and to keeping ILA members up-to-date on the work of libraries and library professionals nationwide.
Experience
RUSH University Medical Center
Library Research Information Specialist, 2019-present
DePaul University
Archives Processing Assistant, 2017-2019
University of Chicago
Temporary Crerar Project Assistant, 2016-2017
Lithuanian Archives Project
Archives Intern, 2015-2016
Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture
Archives Intern, 2015
Education
MLIS, Dominican University, 2016
BA, English, University of Iowa, 2013
Professional Memberships and Activities
Illinois Library Association, Member
Students and New Professionals Forum, 2020-present
Co-Manager, 2020-2022
Conference Program Committee, 2021
IACRL Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, 2023-present
IACRL-DEI representative to the RAILS Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee (ex officio)
American Library Association, Member
iREAD Summer Reading Programs
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