In the Library with the Lead Pipe – An open access, peer reviewed journal

In Brief: Although the academic libraries profession recognizes that retention is a complex and important issue, especially for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and supporting BIPOC librarians, the library literature largely avoids defining or providing a measurement for retention at all. In this paper we propose an original nuanced definition of retention. We...

In Brief: Despite a growing pool of research in library and information science (LIS) authored by autistic librarians (see Lawrence, 2013; Tumlin, 2019), the vast majority of LIS research about autistic students in academic libraries continues to portray autism as a tragedy that students must overcome, a common trope that the autistic community has long...

In Brief At the Diverse BookFinder (DBF), we work to move the diverse books discussion beyond increasing the number of books (see Aronson et al.) to a deeper consideration of how Black and Indigenous people and People of Color (BIPOC) are represented within diverse books. To accomplish this change, we’ve cataloged and analyzed thousands of...

By Lorelei Rutledge, Erika Church, and Devan Church Image: “As I Am”. Mixed media on paper. By Melissa L. Gygi. (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) In Brief In her 2020 memoir, activist Aubrey Gordon describes the frequent cruelty she experiences because of her body shape and size, explaining that “there is a minefield of abuse reserved for...

By Nikki Andersen In Brief Through autoethnographic reflection and examination of theoretical literature, this article explores my experiences of disability while working in the academic library and information science (LIS) field. Most of the current literature on disability and librarianship focuses on serving students or patrons with disabilities, whereas the experiences of being a disabled...

In Brief The purpose of this article is to center the experiences of librarians of color in academic libraries through a discussion of microaggressions and pandemic experiences of racial exclusion. Design/methodology/approach. It draws on a synthesis of the literature of microaggressions and the psychology of perspective taking to introduce a method to encourage empathy for...

By Anna White In Brief There has been more literature about academic librarians saying ‘no’ in the last decade than in previous time periods. However, much of the existing work discusses how academic librarians might say ‘no’ to optional activities, such as serving on an extra committee or taking on an additional research project. As...

In Brief Mental health and well-being is of increasing concern on college campuses. Grounded in feminist pedagogy and an ethic of care, this study asks what roles instruction librarians perceive themselves as having in supporting student mental health and what strategies they use in the classroom to address student affect and emotions. By sharing survey...

Not All Staying is the Same: Unpacking Retention and Turnover in Academic Libraries

Autistic Students and Academic Library Research: Recommendations for a Neurodiversity-Informed Approach

Forming and Sustaining a Community of Practice for Volunteer-Based EDI Work

Addressing Weight Stigma in Libraries to Promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Chronically Honest: An Autoethnographic Paper on the Experiences of a Disabled Librarian

Empathy at Work

Let ‘No’ be ‘No’: When Librarians say ‘No’ to Instruction Opportunities

Librarians’ Roles in Supporting Students’ Mental Health through Teaching Practices