Core value--November--Inclusiveness

My activity is not one of the ones that was suggested for this Core Value, but I believe it fits well with Inclusiveness.

I recently attended the OASIS annual planning retreat for Board members and staff. I am a Board member with OASIS, our local nonprofit agency which provides shelter, support, and services for those whose lives are touched by domestic violence or sexual assault.

Inclusiveness is integral to the mission of OASIS. People who experience domestic violence or sexual assault--women, children, men, college students--are members of our community. If we support them when they need us--by providing a safe place to stay, or help navigating the legal system, or short-term counseling, or financial assistance--then our community is stronger, safer, and healthier for all of us.

What's my "piece of the pie"?
During our retreat, we did an activity (towards the end) that fostered our sense of inclusiveness as an organization. We were each given a piece of construction paper shaped like a large slice of pizza. Our assignment was to think about what we plan to do to support OASIS in the next 3 to 6 months, write the most important items on our pizza slice, and then discuss them with another person present at the retreat. [The person we talked with could not be the person we had worked with on the previous activity, or the person we talked to during the lunch break.] After discussing what we wrote, some of us modified or added to our list, because the conversation had generated ideas.

Then, we each shared our "piece of the pie" with the whole group. As each slice was shared and discussed, it was taped up on the board at the front of the meeting room.

It was really interesting to see the ways in which ideas were "cross-fertilized," because one person thought of a way to contribute to, or better promote, something another person was doing. I think we all improved our understanding, and value, of the work others were doing--or planning to do. It was fun to watch the "OASIS pizza" grow, piece by piece. We had enough people present, and enough slices, to make two pies! This activity, and the visual evidence that we're all "a piece of the pie," showed us the value of consciously building inclusiveness into our planning activities as an organization. The activity also paralleled the OASIS mission of promoting inclusiveness in our broader community.

My Twitter account

• I set up my Twitter account and posted my first Tweet.
• Here are some of the interests and people I'm following:

1. Suze Orman Show, because I like her down-to-earth advice, enjoy her humor, and admire her contributions to financial literacy.
2. The Dalai Lama's official Twitter page, because his Tweets are inspiring.
3. Kindle Today, a news stream about Amazon's Kindle e-book reader
4. Malinda Maynor Lowery, to keep up with news about the Lumbee Tribe
5. Nouriel Roubini, to keep up with the global financial situation from a perspective that some call realistic and others call "permabear"
6. Political Humor--for fun!
7. New York Public Library, to see how they're using Twitter
8. Kevin S. Clarke, because he Tweets a lot and has a wide range of interests.

• How can libraries use Twitter? There are innumerable possibilities. It's useful for librarians to follow Twitter, even if not posting Tweets that often, to be aware of the possibilities and to engage both work-related and personal interests. We never know what might spark a creative idea. For me, though, moderation is the key. It's so easy to get fascinated by setting up interests and people to follow, and figuring out how it all works, and before I know it, there goes two hours :)