Understanding the Librarian Identity

Abstract

This chapter presents an inquiry-based method for public librarian professional development for the purpose of assuring a more social-justice agency for librarians at work. The research reveals how gathering public librarians into inquiry-based reading groups created space for librarians to collectively question and interrogate their professional identity as constructed via their daily professional practices. Given that public librarians often confront social issues enacted in the public sphere, this research shows how a collective space to unpack and process professional experiences can be an act of professional empathy of care as an impetus to avoid professional apathy and burnout. Librarian inquiry groups formed on both coasts of the United States reveal that collective sharing of professional experiences, especially when framed around the context of reading (i.e., a book club or an online resource group), confirms a common librarian identity that involves similar concerns, intentions, and goals. When librarian professional development is approached collectively, collaboratively, and consistently in real time (in-person or online), a socially constructed agency of justice is curated for the librarian such that they can work with the reading public with a heightened sense of clarity for ensuring the best quality of information services and care.