2015
4
Nov
/
24 Comments
Gendered Expectations for Leadership in Libraries
In Brief Despite significant gains in representation at the administration level, there is still a disparity between the percentage of women in our profession and women as library leaders. Additionally, even when women attain leadership roles, even top positions in libraries, there are still hurdles in the shape of gendered expectations. This article examines the... Read More
2015
21
Oct
A Critical Take on OER Practices: Interrogating Commercialization, Colonialism, and Content
Photo by Flickr user arbyreed (CC BY NC 2.0) In Brief Both Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Access (OA) are becoming more central to many librarians’ work and the core mission of librarianship, in part because of the perceived relationship between openness and social justice. However, in our excitement about the new opportunities afforded... Read More
In Brief: Whiteness—an ideological practice that can extend beyond notions of racial supremacy to other areas of dominance—has permeated every aspect of librarianship, extending even to the initiatives we claim are committed to increasing diversity. This state of affairs, however, need not remain. This article examines the ways in which whiteness controls diversity initiatives in... Read More
2015
23
Sep
Editorial: Summer Reading 2015
Photo by Flickr user Moyan_Brenn of Moyan Brenn Photography (CC BY 2.0) Editors from In The Library With The Lead Pipe are taking a break from our regular schedule to share our summer reading favs. Tell us what you’ve been reading these last few months in the comments! By Editorial Board, Hugh Rundle, Ellie Collier, Annie Pho, Erin Dorney, Bethany Messersmith, Lindsey... Read More
Photo by Flickr user Jen Kim (CC BY 4.0) In Brief Within our field, and more widely, there is a way of thinking that equates effective teaching with effective entertaining. This way of thinking can be referred to as a “discourse of edutainment.” It underpins some of the publications and conversations that encourage librarians to make their teaching... Read More
2015
26
Aug
Archives Alive!: librarian-faculty collaboration and an alternative to the five-page paper
In brief: The short research paper is ubiquitous in undergraduate liberal arts education. But is this assignment type an effective way to assess student learning or writing skills? We argue that it rarely is, and instead serves as an artifact maintained out of instructor familiarity with and unnecessary allegiance to timeworn conceptions of “academia.” As... Read More
2015
12
Aug
New Grads, Meet New Metrics: Why Early Career Librarians Should Care About Altmetrics & Research Impact
In Brief How do academic librarians measure their impact on the field of LIS, particularly in light of eventual career goals related to reappointment, promotion, or tenure? The ambiguity surrounding how to define and measure impact is arguably one of the biggest frustrations that new librarians face, especially if they are interested in producing scholarship... Read More
2015
29
Jul
Why Diversity Matters: A Roundtable Discussion on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Librarianship
In Brief: After presenting together at ACRL 2015 to share research we conducted on race, identity, and diversity in academic librarianship, we reconvene panelists Ione T. Damasco, Cataloger Librarian at the University of Dayton, Isabel Gonzalez-Smith, Undergraduate Experience Librarian at the University of Illinois, Chicago, Dracine Hodges, Head of Acquisitions at Ohio State University, Todd... Read More
2015
1
Jul
Revising Academic Library Governance Handbooks
Original Image by Flickr user Sasquatch 1 (CC BY 2.0), with minimal modification by C. Strunk (10 June 2015). In Brief Regardless of our status (tenure track, non-tenure track, staff, and/or union), academic librarians at colleges and universities may use a handbook or similar document as a framework for self-governance. These handbooks typically cover rank... Read More
Image by Flickr user tweng (CC BY-SA 2.0) In Brief: Despite the growing body of research on our professional demographics and multi-year diversity initiatives, librarianship in the United States remains overwhelmingly white. I suggest the interview process is a series of repetitive gestures designed to mimic and reinforce white middle class values, which ultimately influence... Read More