[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Seeking volunteers to address potential Code of Conduct violations at Evergreen conferences

[Jane Sandberg]

Hi Kathy,

Thanks for sending this out -- it is great to see the eg community
taking this seriously.  I'd be happy to help out with this.  I don't
have a counseling background, but I do feel pretty well equipped to
de-escalate situations and support folks who are experiencing crises.
I have taken a lot of workshops on active listening and have a Mental
Health First Aid certification, and would be really looking forward to
this training as well.

This will be my first Evergreen conference, though, so I know you may
be looking for folks who are more seasoned members of the community.
Let me know either way. :-)

Best,

    -Jane

On Wed, Jan 14, 2015 at 3:45 PM, Kathy Lussier <klussier at masslnc.org> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Last March, the Evergreen Oversight Board approved a Code of Conduct for
> Evergreen events - http://evergreen-ils.org/code-of-conduct/.
>
> Since that time, the Board has been working on developing procedures for
> handling potential Code of Conduct reports if they should occur. These
> procedures are still a work in progress, but the procedures do call for
> trained safety staffers to be available at conferences to handle incident
> reports.
>
> The role of the safety staffers is to meet with the reporter of the incident
> to gather all relevant details, meet with the alleged harasser, work with a
> team that includes somebody from the conference planning team as well as a
> rep from the Board to determine what action should be taken, and to
> communicate those final actions to the people involved in the incident.
>
> The Oversight Board is committed to providing training to volunteers, to
> developing a clear set of procedures on how such incidents should be
> handled, and to assisting these volunteers in any way they can.
>
> The qualities we are looking for in volunteers are people who listen well,
> are approachable and are non-judgmental. Discretion is also an important
> quality for any volunteer. We would be particularly interested in finding
> people who have a background in counseling or something similar. It also is
> important that volunteers are people who are regular Evergreen conference
> attendees.
>
> If you are interested in helping out or just have questions about the role,
> feel free to contact me. Also, if you know somebody in the community who
> possesses the above qualities, please encourage them to get in touch with
> me. Sometimes, it's easier to see those qualities in others than it is to
> see them in yourself. :)
>
> I think the Code of Conduct is important for creating a welcoming
> environment for all people in the community, regardless of gender, sexual
> orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion.
> However, if we don't have strong procedures for Code of Conduct complaints
> and volunteers dedicated to ensuring that complaints are handled fairly and
> quickly, the Code of Conduct will have no meaning. My hope is that we never
> have an incident that warrants putting the procedures into action, but if
> there is an incident, we want trained people to respond to it appropriately.
>
> I know we have a great community out there, so I hope to hear from some of
> you that you are interested in helping to maintain a safe and welcoming
> community.
>
> Thank you!
> Kathy
>
> --
> Kathy Lussier
> Project Coordinator
> Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative
> (508) 343-0128
> klussier at masslnc.org
> Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier
>



-- 
Jane Sandberg
Electronic Resources Librarian
Linn-Benton Community College
sandbej at linnbenton.edu / 541-917-4655