1st Edition
Lived Experiences in Librarianship Voices from an Inhospitable Profession
List of figures
List of tables
List of contributors
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Christina Holm, Nashieli Marcano, and Ana Guimaraes
Section One: Identity, Exclusion, and Othering
Chapter 1: It Became the Library: Vocational Envelopment and the Embodied Costs of Library Work
Leah T. Dudak
Chapter 2: Libraries Aren’t for Everyone: Navigating Toxic Organizations as a Neurodivergent Librarian
Julie Jurgens
Chapter 3: Minority Report: Intersectional Barriers for Academic Librarians in the United States
Hannah Lee
Chapter 4: An Introvert Explores Her Place in Academic Librarianship
Mary Snyder Broussard
Chapter 5: Birth-Trauma Informed Librarianship: The Autoethnography of an Academic Librarian Healing from Postpartum PTSD While on the Tenure Track
Brooke H. Duffy
Section Two: Toxic and Maladaptive Workplace Norms
Chapter 6: Forged in Fire: Professional and Personal Recovery after Workplace Trauma
LaTiffany Davis, Jenni Jacobs, and Sarah Kantor
Chapter 7: Quiet Despair: The Impact of Dysfunctional Workplaces on Academic Library Employees
Jenny Meslener, Kayla Gourlay, and Denise Klasen-López
Chapter 8: Addressing Workplace Trauma: Strategies for Maintaining Autonomy and Growth
Michelle E. Jones and Angiah L. Davis
Chapter 9: From Vocational Awe to Sustainable Practice: Organizational Culture, Power, and Early-Career Librarianship
Sunny Chung, Michael Murphy, and Natalie Lau
Section Three: Societal Drivers of Dysfunction
Chapter 10: This Is What Happens When You Are the Only Game in Town: Public Libraries and Social Services
Jessica Jackson
Chapter 11: Burning my draft card into the culture wars: A trans perspective on anti-library activism in the United States
Heath Umbreit (they/them)
Chapter 12: (In)hospitality in the Book Warehouse: Deconstructing the Expectations of a High School Library Media Clerk (and Reimagining Deprofessionalization in School Libraries)
Dani Alexis Ryskamp
Chapter 13: Standards Complaint: ACRL, CUNY, and Faculty Status for Librarians
Michael Kirby
Section Four: Cultivating Communities of Care
Chapter 14: What’s the Tea? The Power of Good Gossip
Alejandro Marquez
Chapter 15: White Tears for the Brown Sister: A Testimonio on Navigating Librarianship
Alejandra S. Méndez Irizarry, Ed.D.
Chapter 16: “Wait, we’re in charge now?”: An Autoethnographic Study of Early Career Librarians Redesigning Hiring During a Staffing Crisis
Tori Lieggi and Ariane Breton
Chapter 17: The Inhospitable Waters of Academic Librarianship Leadership for Women of Color
Valeria E. Molteni
Chapter 18: Overcoming Library Faculty Intransigence
Beth Guay and Patti Cossard
Index
Biography
Christina Holm, MLIS, works in academic libraries where she focuses on supporting students and faculty in their research endeavours. Since joining the library profession over 15 years ago, Christina has been an advocate for library employee well-being and critical investigations of our profession’s norms. She has authored multiple works regarding librarian burnout, workplace wellbeing, and student success.
Nashieli Marcano (PhD, MLIS) coordinates existing digital archival efforts related to her institution’s history and in response to educational and research needs. Nashieli's current scholarly interests include critical librarianship and digital preservation. She brings over 15 years of experience in academic libraries, in areas ranging from doctoral library research support, instruction, and collection development, to outreach, project management, peer mentoring, and cross-campus partnership-building.
Ana B. Guimaraes (MSLIS) is currently working for an academic publishing company, where she serves as a librarian for librarians and part of an Engagement Team whose mission is to support and advocate for libraries. With 20 years of library public services and collection management experience, she is passionate about library resources, process improvement, and promoting employee well-being and the needs of library workers.
