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

In Brief Over the course of a year, I conducted a diversity audit of part of the general nonfiction collection, specifically the psychology section (BFs) at the Charles C. Myers Library at the University of Dubuque in Dubuque, Iowa. In total I audited 1,075 books using questionnaires I developed to collect data on the science...

In Brief It is inevitable that public librarians interact with mentally ill patrons daily. We do our best to help find information and connect patrons to resources, where appropriate. What is missing from these conversations is that mentally ill librarians exist too. We often mask our own mental health struggles for the sake of helping...

In Brief While a Master’s in Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree is typically necessary to become an academic librarian, practical experiences such as internships, practicums, and apprenticeships are essential in gaining employment post-graduation. Providing paid opportunities where LIS students participate in and contribute to meaningful mentorship, training, and work experience is critical to improving...

In Brief Library guides can help librarians provide information to their patrons regarding their library resources, services, and tools. Despite their perceived usefulness, there is little discussion in designing library guides pedagogically by following a set of assessment standards for a quality-checked review. Instructional designers regularly use vetted assessment standards and a peer review process...

In Brief by Keahi Adolpho and Stephen G. Krueger Trans and gender diverse people are present in all areas of library work. We use libraries of all types, as members of the public, as students, as researchers. Though as of this writing the most recent public demographics from the American Library Association do not count...

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...

Conducting a Diversity Audit in an Academic Library on the Psychology, Non-Fiction Collection

What’s Missing in Conversations about Libraries and Mental Illness

Not Business as Usual: Incorporating LIS Student Perspectives in the Apprenticeship Hiring Process

Using a Proposed Library Guide Assessment Standards Rubric and a Peer Review Process to Pedagogically Improve Library Guides: A Case Study

Decistifying trans and gender diverse inclusion in library work: A literature review

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