What makes libraries the perfect place for period advocacy? Brooklyn Public Library’s Rakisha Kearns-White will share how she became a period advocate and why she decided the public library was the perfect place for her advocacy. She'll discuss the different positive outcomes of starting this initiative and the many ways menstrual literacy can look in a library. Library workers in public, school, and academic libraries will learn how they can be centers for menstrual literacy and help challenge period poverty. Attendees can also expect to:
Understand what menstrual literacy is, and how it differs from from sex and reproduction education
Learn how to bring stakeholders on board
Know how to locate funding to support menstrual initiatives
About our presenter:
Rakisha Kearns-White is the 2022 recipient of Brooklyn Public Library’s Dr. Lucille C. Thomas Award for Excellence in Librarianship. She is Brooklyn Public Library’s sex positive, BTS-loving, period equity advocate Young Adult Librarian. She has worked for the past 18 years in the Youth Wing at the library’s Central Branch. Her focus over the past five years has been facilitating puberty and sexuality education for teens; advocating for the prevention of compassion fatigue in library workers; and making the public library a welcoming space for all. During 2022, Rakisha has been spreading her message of the importance and appropriateness of teaching Sexuality Education in public libraries.