“Cultural competency is the acceptance and respect for difference, a continuous self-assessment regarding culture, an attention to the dynamics of difference, the ongoing development of cultural knowledge.” – Cross et al, 1989

Building cultural competency, as individuals and as organizations, works to ensure our field reflects, represents, and is responsive to the communities with whom we collaborate and serve, and to the responsible stewardship of our collections.

Cross-Cultural Competency Series

This Summer AMIA will offer a cross-cultural competency training series that includes inherent bias, organizational culture, social identity, and inclusive recruitment and hiring practices.

AMIA Institutional Members may register up to ten employees for the full series at one flat rate.

Part I:  Social Identity, Power Dynamics, & Privilege 

This session addresses the role that identity plays in affording power and advantage to some while inciting bias and discrimination for others. Practical steps will be explored for leveraging one’s privilege and power for the benefit of those who have been historically oppressed and marginalized. Cross cultural communication will also be addressed.

Part 2:  Organizational Culture, Bias, Microaggressions & Allyship

This session will introduce the concepts of bias and microaggressions, which are subtle, denigrating messages delivered to members of marginalized groups. The impact of microaggressions on organizational culture, morale, and retention will be explored. Participants will learn intervention strategies and solutions to improve the climate at their institutions.

Part 3:  Inclusive Recruitment and Retention Practices

This session will deconstruct organizational inequities and how they contribute to less inclusive recrutiment and retention practices. Tools and strategies will be explored and participants will learn how to address inequities in hiring and retention and implement best practices in their organizations.

Alanna Aiko Moore (she/her) is the Librarian for Sociology, Ethnic Studies, and Critical Gender Studies at the UC San Diego Library where she works with diverse students and faculty to support research and collection needs. Moore has served on advisory groups including the ALA Task Force for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), the ALA Committee on Diversity (Chair), the Steering Committee for the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color II, and is a Past President of the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), a past Fellow in the ARL Leadership and Career Development Program and a 2003 Spectrum Scholar. She is the current Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Visiting Program Officer for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and the executive director of APALA. Her research interests include EDI and social justice in the profession, microaggressions, intersectionality, and LGBTQ+ identity.