2024
10
Jan
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3 Comments
Chronically Honest: An Autoethnographic Paper on the Experiences of a Disabled Librarian
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... Read More
2023
7
Dec
Breaking down hierarchies: Student-led peer information programs
This article will review the processes that two Student Success and Engagement Librarians undertook in order to embed social justice tenets into their management of peer consulting/teaching programs at two different institutions. While there has been much discussion of the reasons for and ways to implement peer consulting/teaching programs, less focus has been given to how to operate such programs from a place of equity and care. This is why two managing librarians worked collaboratively with student workers to embed social justice theories into a new and already existing peer consultation program. In this article, the authors will discuss not just what critical and justice theory was utilized to foster an environment of trust and engagement, but also how the programs operated day-to-day within such frameworks.
2023
26
Oct
Empathy at Work
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... Read More
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... Read More
2023
27
Sep
Librarians’ Roles in Supporting Students’ Mental Health through Teaching Practices
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... Read More
2023
23
Aug
Dominant COVID Narratives and Implications for Information Literacy Education in the “Post-Pandemic” United States
In Brief Over the past three+ years that COVID-19 has changed everyday life across the globe, people around the world have been tasked with making sense of new, evolving, and often conflicting information, including public messaging that is frequently confusing and shaped by political agendas and interests. Conflicting narratives about the COVID-19 pandemic, including dominant... Read More
From the lens of a new Online Educational Resources (OER) Librarian embarking on an OER initiative at an R1 university I reflect on creating and implementing an English OER textbook and curriculum at a community college. To add my voice to the literature on OER creation, I use an autoethnographic method of writing and research. Autoethnography makes use of personal experience to describe, analyze, and interpret cultural works and experiences. I discuss how my personal and professional experience influences my approach to supporting OER creators, and I reflect on my experience as an OER creator from the intersection of being both Latinx and a working class woman working at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) situated in a majority-minority state in the United States. This paper acknowledges the invisible labor embedded within OER creation and suggests ways to support historically marginalized creators. It also includes recommendations for program-level changes that can be made to support OER creators.
2023
1
Mar
A Genealogy of Open
by Betsy Yoon Abstract/In Brief The term open has become a familiar part of library and education practice and discourse, with open source software being a common referent. However, the conditions surrounding the emergence of the open source movement are not well understood within librarianship. After identifying capitalism and neoliberalism as structures that shape library... Read More
By Diana Castillo and Kelly McElroy In Brief After many years of declining union membership, there is growing interest and effort to unionize workers in many sectors within the United States. While many library workers have long been covered by public sector unions, significant wins in higher education have included our own unionization as faculty... Read More
2022
10
Aug
Dispelling the Myth of Library Anxiety and Embracing Academic Discomfort
By Kelleen Maluski and Symphony Bruce In Brief Countless articles, essays, studies, and conference presentations have been devoted to library anxiety and defining, analyzing, and reviewing behaviors of our users that are seen as “abnormal” or “counterintuitive” to using our services. However, there is not much critique of library anxiety as a concept and it... Read More