As data increasingly becomes key to driving policy design, programs, and decision-making, many communities continue to be marginalized and/or underrepresented in datasets. As the COVID pandemic has further revealed, critical data on race, ethnicity, gender, and other intersectional factors is not widely available, rendering many programs and actions insufficient to equitably address the realities of many communities. Inclusive data processes are central to building more equitable responses, not just during COVID, but generally to address the systemic barriers impacting diverse communities. Libraries can be important catalysts in these efforts and continue to promote and contribute to equitable change in their communities. In this webinar, public library staff will 1) explore concepts of inclusive data and knowledge democracy, 2) discuss different roles public libraries could play in supporting the creation of more inclusive data, and 3) learn tools to assess who is and is not represented in data, and identify different social, cultural, and economic factors that could affect this lack of representation.

About the presenters: Maria Garrido, Principal Research Scientist and Chris Rothschild, Senior Research Scientist are from the Technology & Social Change Group, Information School, University of Washington.

Register @ RRLC