The Free Black Women's Library (Lauren Mesley - Blog Post #11)

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I’m focusing my final report on the Free Black Women’s Library in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, and when I started this week’s course material I was thinking that I wouldn’t have much to say about DEI analysis with their content because their whole thing is that they exist to support Black women—they are the diversity! But watching Rachel Latsko’s video, I realized how much there is to making content that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive, and it gave me lots of ideas. 

I think what the Free Black Women’s Library is doing well is highlighting Black female and nonbinary voices and curating a space where this marginalized group can build community with each other. They have numerous videos on their instagram highlighting books in their collection (which consists only of books written by Black female and nonbinary authors) and plan many of their events around supporting the Black female community. Their Discord server hosts many channels for conversations, some where members can recommend and talk about music and art by Black female and non-binary artists, some where they share information about organizations and community groups that are looking for donations. 

I also think the FBWL has a lot to improve on when it comes to making their content accessible. Latsko makes a point in her video about tailoring content to each platform and this is where I think the Free Black Women's Library social media presence can be strengthened. A point stressed in this section was to not use flyers and posters repurposed as content because screen readers can’t read the flattened text on these images, and FBWL is guilty of doing this often. Not to mention, these flyer posts are also the content that sees the least amount of engagement; people don’t stop their scrolling for flyers!

 

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