Reading Racial Justice

In the wake of recent racist violence and resulting public demonstrations, many people are asking what they can do next. Educating yourself and your community can always be a part of that work. Here are a list of ebooks available through OSU Libraries that discuss racism, anti-racism, anti-Blackness, prison abolition, and related topics.

How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad

Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race by Derald Wing Sue

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together? And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum

Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Umoja Noble

Golden Gulag: Prisons, Surplus, Crisis, and Opposition in Globalizing California by Ruth Wilson Gilmore

Look, A White! Philosophical Essays on Whiteness by George Yancy

Steeped in the Blood of Racism: Black Power, Law and Order, and the 1970 Shootings at Jackson State College by Nancy K. Bristow

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by adrienne maree brown

Minor Feelings: An Asian-American Reckoning by Cathy Hong Park

For textbook authors

Textbook authors — Remember how all the textbook publishers sent you e-mails saying they had your back and we’re all one big family during the Coronavirus crisis? Hold them to that as you move forward.

All ebooks are not created (or distributed) equally! When we buy ebooks for the library collections, we are licensing that content from the publisher to share with students and faculty. Some ebook licenses allow unlimited users. These are obviously ideal for use in courses. Some require us to limit use to 1 or 3 simultaneous users. Some ebooks do not have institutional licenses at all — the ebooks exist, but libraries are not allowed to buy and lend them.

As an author, you have rights — and you need to talk about them before you sign your contract. If your publisher is willing to create an ebook, ask them to allow institutional licenses and unlimited users.

These rights are in accordance with OSU’s key values of access and equity, especially during times of national crises. And they’ll make your book way more useful for teaching and learning!

Want to know more?

New Equipment!

There are some exciting new things coming to the Circulation Desk! While they may not be available yet for borrowing, items like Makey-Makeys, GoPros, and ergonomic mice are just some of the materials that students will be able to check-out, once safe borrowing policies are in place. Stay tuned for updates on details about these items, and when they will be available for borrowing.

  • International adapters
  • Ergonomic mice
  • Foot-controlled mouse
  • Low-vision keyboard
  • Portable magnifying lamp
  • Tablet (Wacom Bamboo Fun)
  • Raspberry Pi
  • GoPro
  • Drawing Tablet (Wacom Intuos)
  • Arduino
  • Makey-Makey