Lived Experiences in Librarianship : Voices from an Inhospitable Profession

This book presents the lived experiences of library workers in evocative and vulnerable accounts of the inhospitable norms within librarianship in the globalized 21st century. Rigorously researched, this book promotes critical examinations of librarianship and solidarity among library workers. The nature of library work is constantly being transformed by forces in our environmental landscape such as war, reduced budgets, global pandemics, mass-disinformation, censorship demands, social work-based job functions, and shifting understandings of what it means to be a librarian.

Amid this tumult, librarians are engaging both themselves and their communities in the transformation of libraries. Central to this monograph is the idea that individuals can find validation and paths to recovery through voicing our lived experiences. Lived Experiences in Librarianship gives library workers the space to self-advocate and find paths to recovery from dysfunctional library workplaces by cultivating positive norms for future workers.

Through inclusive and embodied qualitative research methods (e.g., autoethnography, autobiography, storytelling, reflection) and theoretical lenses (e.g., emotional labor, critical race theory, anti-oppression, decolonial feminism, intersectionality) this book will present a shared and holistic understanding of dysfunctional library structures. This book will appeal to library sciences practitioners who are interested in understanding the professional and personal challenges faced by their peers. Readers may find value in comparing their experiences with other workers and they may find value in the insights into the shared challenges and unique circumstances of library workers.