READCON, also known as a curriculum for library Readiness, Advocacy, and Community Empowerment During Challenging Conditions, is a freely available skill-building program that helps equip library workers with a wide range of “soft skills” to help navigate the current and future realities of library work. The program is intended to empower library workers.
READCON contains six different broad topics for library workers to explore: disrupting censorship, crisis communication, the legal landscape for library workers, civic engagement, conflict communication, and a guide to youth advocacy. Each topic was written by an expert in those topics and includes a wide range of activities meant to help grow those skill sets—short videos, audio lessons, key readings, and more. This robust and timely resource was made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.