Transforming our image through a compass of critical librarianship - opening keynote for the annual Wisconsin Association of Academic Libraries Conference (2015), Nicole Pagowsky

1. Transforming
our Image through
a Compass of
Critical Librarianship
WAAL 2015 Opening Keynote
Nicole Pagowsky, MLIS, MS
4.22.2015
#WAAL2015

2. Q: How many
academic
librarians does it
take to change a
lightbulb?

3. A:
CHANGE
?!?!?!?!
From Steiner & Jones, “Academic librarian
self-image in lore: How shared stories
convey professional identity” (p.56) in The
Librarian Stereotype, ACRL Press, 2014
Q: How many
academic
librarians does it
take to change a
lightbulb?

4. Be
Fearless

8. lisafrankfurtschool.tumblr.com

9. Outline
1. Our stereotypes
2. Campus perceptions
3. Critical librarianship
4. Onward

10. Outline
1. Our stereotypes
2. Campus perceptions
3. Critical librarianship
4. Onward

11. Our
Stereotypes:
Image of the
Librarian

16. It is important that librarians assess
the basic meaning of feminization
and give precise attention to their
early history, for the dominance of
women is surely the prevailing
factor in library education, the
image of librarianship and the
professionalization of the field.
--Dee Garrison, 1972, p. 143

21. There is a clear
relationship between the
representation and
treatment of women and
the low status of the
library profession.
--Gary & Marie Radford, 1997, p.262

23. Outline
1. Our stereotypes
2. Campus perceptions
3. Critical librarianship
4. Onward

24. Campus
Perceptions:
Faculty &
Students

26. A Harvard English faculty member’s view
of librarians in Leigh and Sewny, 1960:
“A librarian too often
resembles a headwaiter
showing one to a table in a
large restaurant and too little
resembles an artist having
profound and passionate
views of life, death and
immortality.”

27. Faculty descriptions of
librarians
● Orderly, meticulous
● Conforming, conservative
● Submissive
● Non-social attitudes and
behavior
● Anxious, lack of self-confidence
--Holbrook, 1968 (cited in Church, 2002)

28. Doctor /
nurse
relationship

30. Ithaka
S+R
Survey
2013

32. Within the academy, librarians
generally feel second-class,
even librarians with faculty
status, even librarians with
Ph.Ds. What I really want from
faculty is advocacy and
solidarity, more than kisses.
--Jenna Freedman, 2014

35. Outline
1. Our stereotypes
2. Campus perceptions
3. Critical librarianship
4. Onward

36. Critical
Librarianship

37. Shared humanity,
equity, & social
justice... should be
motivating the work of
librarians now more
than ever.
--Chris Bourg, 2014

39. savedbythe-bellhooks.tumblr.com

40. --Keesing-Styles, 2003, p. 2
Critical
theory or practice (praxis):
Collective action where
individual effort is intimately
linked to the social; focus on
power structures
Critical
thinking:
Aimed at the individual only,
tends to ignore power
structures and influence of
hegemony
Critical...
Critical
librarianship

42. Privilege
Representation
Language
Who creates
the acceptable
norm?

44. #critlib

49. Scientists firmly believe
that as long as they are
not conscious of any bias
or political agenda, they
are neutral and objective,
when in fact they are only
unconscious.
--Marion Namenwirth, 1986 (cited in Schroeder, 2014)

56. The Donut: 3 Spheres
1. The donut hole
2. The donut
3. The air around the
donut
Daniel Hallin on the journalist’s world, 1986

57. The Donut: 3 Spheres
1. The donut hole:
“Sphere of Consensus”
● Unquestionable values
● Inherent
Daniel Hallin on the journalist’s world, 1986

58. The Donut: 3 Spheres
2. The donut:
“Zone of legitimate
controversy”
● Issues up for debate
● “Objective” journalism
● “Reasonable” people’s topics
Daniel Hallin on the journalist’s world, 1986

59. The Donut: 3 Spheres
3. The air around the
donut:
“Sphere of deviance”
● Marginalized topics, voices
● Press as gatekeeper
Daniel Hallin on the journalist’s world, 1986

61. The press does not permit
itself to think politically, but it
does engage in political acts.
Ergo, it is an unthinking
actor, which is not good.
When it is criticized for this it
will reject the criticism out of
hand, which is also not good.
--Jay Rosen, 2009

62. Katy Perry
#LeftistShark
meme, Noam
Chomsky
quotes

63. Outline
1. Our stereotypes
2. Campus perceptions
3. Critical librarianship
4. Onward

64. Onward

67. Technical
services &
collections

73. “Why are
Black people
so…”
Safiya Noble presenting
her research on biased
Google search results

74. Public
services

76. ACRL
Information
Literacy
Framework for
Higher
Education

77. In the simplest terms, we are critical
educators when we compel ourselves
and others to think about power and
privilege, and we are feminist
educators when we dig beneath the
status quo of our content and identify
justice-focused approaches to
engaging learners in a process of safe
/radical-self & system-examination.
--Char Booth, 2014

78. Hiring,
recruitment,
& retention

79. School Library
Journal, 2014

80. lismicroaggressions.tumblr.com

84. Rebranding
from “McDonalds seeks its
fast food soul,”
The New York Times

86. Librarians need to
develop a critical
consciousness about
libraries, by learning to
‘problematize’ the
library.
--James Elmborg, 2006, p. 198

87. Be
Fearless

88. Thank you! Questions?
Nicole Pagowsky
Research & Learning Librarian
University of Arizona
Email - nfp@email.arizona.edu
Twitter - @pumpedlibrarian
(see #critlib, tinyurl.com/critlibx)
WAAL 2015 Conference