Librarian Stereotype Research Articles

Subject librarian definition and duties: Connecting the library and the university

This article reports on a qualitative case study of subject librarians at Brigham Young University's Harold B. Lee Library Subject librarians considered their main purpose to be connecting the people at the university with library resources. People skills are a key to being successful in their positions. Their duties of collection development, reference, instruction, liaison, citizenship, professional development, and scholarship are interrelated and work together in important ways. Subject librarians are satisfied with their jobs and corresponding autonomy. They are concerned about librarian stereotypes and want to overcome the ignorance about their positions. They agree that subject knowledge is important but do not agree on a formal degree standard. This study could be used to help develop and improve SL programs. It could inform hiring decisions and improve the practices of current subject librarians by focusing on the key skills of working with others and subject knowledge.

Public Library and Librarian Stereotypes in The Indonesian Film Kambodja

PurposeThis study aimed to describe the portrayals of a library and librarian in the Indonesian film Kam-bodja based on the suitability of historical facts and cultural aspects and to find out public per-ceptions and stereotypes about the image of librarians.MethodThis qualitative research study used a critical discourse analysis and the dispositive method to-wards the unit of analysis in the form of dialogues and film scene cuts. Data were obtained by watching, selecting dialogues and scenes, and making notes.Results/FindingsIt finds a portrayal of the public library, its operational activities, and worker according to the period 1955-1965 in the film. There are three representations of public libraries found in the film: a library as an information centre, a social place, and a quiet place. There are also three portray-als of librarian in the film: librarian is a female profession, has dominating power over library users, and is quiet and unapproachable.ConclusionThe representations of libraries and librarians in the film show consistency and sustainability in how the media represents libraries and the librarianship profession, which influences public per-ception. Such knowledge continuously reinforced through the media shows that the public still needs to familiarize themselves with libraries and librarianship. The negative image in various media is a challenge that must be faced for the sustainability of this field and is expected to reflect how the public views libraries and their profession.

A mixed‐methods analysis of stereotypical female librarian representation in memes

AbstractThis essay is a mixed‐methods analysis of stereotypical female librarian representation in memes.BackgroundLibrarianship has been a female‐dominated field since the 19th century. Because of the influx of women, the field has been seen as feminized, which means that it was seen in a negative light and less important than other jobs. Feminization led to two predominant female librarian stereotypes: the spinster librarian and the sexy librarian. Under the pretext of humor, internet memes of stereotypical librarians are damaging to women in librarianship.ObjectiveThe purpose of this essay was to explore how female librarians were stereotypically represented in memes and why they were characterized thusly.MethodsQuantitative information concerning how female librarians were represented in memes was compiled through a content analysis, entered into the input form, and tallied using Microsoft Excel. The extent of the representation was also measured through quantitative means by assessing the number of available memes. Finally, the reasons why female librarians were represented as such was explored using a feminist theory framework.ResultsThe memes from the sample stressed certain traits of female librarians such as tight clothing, rigid postures, and stern expressions. The images framed these traits as the most important qualities of female librarians. The sexy librarian stereotype was much more common than the spinster. More importantly, perhaps, was the crossover of representation, which created a new version that blended the spinster and sexy librarian trope. Images must be read in terms of the context; the images in the memes showed mainly objectification and gender stereotyping.ConclusionThe memes from the research sample demonstrated that there was still a significant amount of stereotyping and perpetuation of the feminization of librarianship. Representing female librarians in such a way indicated that her contributions were marginal, that she was only in the library to be objectified. The humorous text of the memes acted as an attempt to make light of the stereotyped imagery, but instead of being ironic and or intellectual, it served to propagate the stereotype. By treating female librarians in this manner, feminization of the profession continued and was maintained in the meme world.

Figuring Embedded Librarianship: An Analysis of the Embedded Journalist Metaphor in the Professional Discourse

In the wake of the COVID pandemic, many academic libraries sought virtual instruction options, like the embedded librarian model, bringing renewed interest to the topic. Debates defining embedded librarianship are plentiful and varied, but a review of the professional literature reveals a commonly used metaphor comparing embedded librarians to embedded journalists. This paper analyses the prevalence of that metaphor in the professional discourse through the lens of cognitive metaphor theory (CMT) to reveal the semantic and pragmatic implications of its use. CMT highlights the power of figurative language to reflect and define professional identities. The metaphor’s militaristic rhetoric counters negative stereotypes of librarians as passive or meek, while the metaphor’s combative rhetoric discloses complex power dynamics between academic librarians and faculty. However, the etymology of ‘embed’ reveals more productive definitions related to geology, computer science, and linguistics. Embracing these multiple definitions will help librarians shape that role in the future.

It's Not Personal, It's Professional: Causes of Academic Librarian Deference Behavior

This mixed-methods study examined the experiences of academic librarians working in higher education, and explored how academic librarians act in response to disciplinary faculty colleagues. The study uncovers the historical context of the library profession, outlining how stereotypes of academic librarians began and how they continue to be destructive across the academy, especially to those in this profession. Even though academic librarians bring critical skillsets and vast experience to academe, findings indicate that academic librarians exhibit deference behavior when working with disciplinary faculty. This is because of existing perceptions they face that indicate they are solely in positions to support disciplinary faculty, and that disciplinary faculty are more esteemed because of credentials (i.e. doctorate), and academic rank and status. Implications for research and practice are outlined to further explore how academic institutions, and library education more broadly can help to dismantle the flawed and inherently problematic systems that contribute to deference behavior in academic librarians.

The Specific Features of Public Relations Maintained by Libraries, Acting as Cultural Institutions

Showing the specificity of the work of the contemporary library, and the variety of its tasks, which go far beyond the lending of books. The specificity of the library’s public relations concerning different aspects of its activity. The internal and external functions of the library’s public relations and their specificity. The significant question of motivating the social environment to use the offer of libraries, and simulta-neously the need to change the negative perception of the library, which discourages part of its poten-tial users from taking advantage of its services. The negative stereotypes of librarians’ work perpetuated in the public consciousness and their harmful character. The need to change the public relations of libra-ries and librarians with a view to improving the realization of the tasks they face. Showing the public relations tools which may serve to change the image of librarians and libraries with particular emphasis on social media. This article is a review article, highlighting selected research on the librarian’s stereo-type and suggesting actions that change the image of librarians and libraries.

Addressing the Dilemma of the Ironic Librarian: Self-Reported Strategies Librarians Use to Enhance Approachability

AbstractAlthough librarians have the goal of helping patrons, one component of the librarian stereotype is that librarians are authoritarian and therefore unapproachable. The stereotype then serves...

Female Librarians Stereotype in the 2000s Indonesian Film

This paper discusses about the research that had examined the female librarian stereotype in Indonesian films, particularly release during the 2000s. Using the paradigm of cultural and media studies, this research examined six Indonesian films portraying female librarian. The units of analysis in this study are those film scenes that were either set in a library or that portrayed female librarians. The method used to analyze the data source is the Critical Discourse Analysis. The results of this study showed that the female librarians were stereotyped in Indonesian films, such as age, dress and hair style. Librarians were depicted as an old woman with the old-fashioned dress and outdated hairstyle. The film’s portrayal of the female librarians were representative of the stereotype in general, i.e. passive, stuffy, and orderly. But on the other hand they were depicted as a friendly, smart, helpful person, and sometimes breaking the rules. Library profession was portrayed traditionally as “library-keeper”, not as someone who plays a role in information and knowledge dissemination.

The Self as Subject: Autoethnographic Research into Identity, Culture, and Academic Librarianship. Anne-Marie Deitering, Robert Schroeder, and Richard Stoddart, eds. Chicago: American Library Association, 2017. 361p. Paper, $70.00 (ISBN 978-0-8389-8892-3).

Much of the professional literature in information and library science focuses on bringing new, sometimes significantly different, perspectives on what is already known. From reference services to information literacy instruction, collection development to patron services, innumerable works have been published with the intention of drawing the attention of the profession on how to enhance the work we do and challenging readers to think about that work differently. Instead of where much of the professional literature focuses upon the activities of librarians, what if the research were to focus upon the librarians themselves, and the general understanding that can be gained from the experiences of individuals? Librarians at varying stages of their respective careers view themselves and the profession differently, and the unique stories they tell may help others better understand their own attitudes about their work. Meanwhile, in recent years the matter of identity, how each of us sees (and defines) ourselves and how we wish to be perceived by others, has become increasingly complex. Matters of racial, ethnic, and sexual identity have moved from something socially constructed toward something much more personally defined. Specific to librarianship, the various and sundry librarian stereotypes are well known, and compounding those stereotypes, at least for academic librarians, is a general lack of knowledge about what we do. At the intersection of these two, disparate spheres is this collaborative effort to illuminate who academic librarians are, and how that impacts their professional endeavors. Using an autoethnographic methodology, they provide a unique and welcome approach to revealing some of the diversity, both professional and personal, to be found among librarians.

Librarian Stereotypes in Children’s Literature: 2001-2015

Librarian Stereotypes in Children’s Literature: 2001-2015

Book Review: Becoming an Embedded Librarian: Making Connections in the Classroom

Reale opens her thin volume with a look at how librarianship has changed, expressing frustration about continued stereotypes of librarians on the sidelines waiting to serve. She defines “embedded librarianship,” narrowing the focus of her study specifically to librarians physically embedded within a classroom, working equally and collaboratively with the subject area professor. Subsequent chapters discuss the value of attending classes as the place where learning actually happens, collaborating with professors and students, and shifting the focus from a passive support role to an active participant in scholarship within the “laboratory” of the classroom. Later chapters provide guidelines for librarians who wish to implement the embedded model, making suggestions for how to establish one’s role and brand, create a teaching style, identify tools, and set goals.

Search Committees: When Members Disagree on the Relative Importance of Candidate Qualifications

ABSTRACTA factor not often mentioned in advice to job hunters is that members of search committees may be looking for different types of candidates even with an agreed upon job description and may also have dissimilar views on the importance of the search. This article describes a role playing exercise that I devised to demonstrate this point in my management class. The five members of the search committee, each representing a librarian stereotype, must decide between two candidates with diametrically opposed skills. Candidates will learn that this factor means that no one set of qualifications may satisfy everyone on the search committee.

Slavoj Žižek, Rex Libris, and the Traumatic Real

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use the work of philosopher Slavoj Žižek to gain insights into representations of the librarian and the library in contemporary popular culture. Design/methodology/approach – A psycho-analytic reading of the comic book series Rex Libris using Slavoj Žižek’s treatment of Jacques Lacan. Findings – Žižek’s approach can provide novel and previously unconsidered insights into the understanding of librarian stereotypes in particular and representations of the library in general. Research limitations/implications – This paper is limited to the representations of the librarian and the library in one comic book series. Its findings need to be generalized to representations in other forms of popular culture. Originality/value – As far as the authors know, this is the only paper that has applied the work of Žižek in the library and information science (LIS) literature. As such, not only are the insights into the representations of librarians and libraries important, this paper also acts as a valuable introduction to the work of Žižek for the LIS community of scholars.

Where Creativity Meets Technology: A Library-led, Multi-disciplinary Online Showcase for Artworks, Creative Writings, and Movies Displayed with 3D and HTML5 Technology

This article introduces the Hong Kong Baptist University's Heritage project (http://heritage.lib.hkbu.edu.hk/), a multi-disciplinary online showcase for curriculum-related creative outputs that were produced by faculty and students of the university. Initiated and led by the University Library, this project was a collaborative effort with six academic departments, synthesizing technology and creativity and bringing great benefits to the institution. The article introduces the project and discusses three major challenges, namely technology, staff motivation, and librarian stereotype. It also presents statistics to show how this project enhanced teaching and learning, encouraged inter-departmental collaboration, enhanced library visibility, contributed to institutional reputation, among other benefits.

New and Noteworthy: Coming to Terms with Librarian Stereotypes and Self-Image

This issue's "New and Noteworthy" column reviews recent titles dealing with the perennial discussion regarding traditional and emerging librarian stereotypes and their effect on librarians' work with patrons.

Re-framing Librarians' Identities and Assumptions around IT

As important aspects of librarianship converge with information technology (IT), the role of librarians is worth considering. Librarians may not be fully engaging with the possibilities of IT because they are only using, rather than creating, information technology. Examining the implications of gender underrepresentation and gendered identities in both fields is a starting point for investigating librarians' relationship with IT. In particular, stereotypes for the female gender and the librarian profession may be an impediment in librarians' involvement in IT. Librarians may self-stereotype themselves out of engaging with IT by identifying strongly with female and librarian stereotypes, which can be considered to be incompatible with IT stereotypes. However, upon closer examination, stereotypes can be shown to be false and those who previously self-stereotyped can adopt more balanced identities, aiding performance. Finding positive role models who do not fit stereotypes may be helpful. Expecting a comprehensive IT education in library school is misguided, but problem-based learning – commonly seen in IT – is one method librarians could adopt. Libraries should prioritize and make allowances for IT skill development and librarians can take advantage of the increasing opportunities for learning about IT.

Gender, Race, and Age of Librarians and Users Have an Impact on the Perceived Approachability of Librarians

Objective – To assess how the age, gender, and race characteristics of library users affect their perceptions of the approachability of reference librarians with similar or different demographic characteristics.
 
 Design – Image rating survey.
 
 Setting – Large, three-campus university system in the United States.
 
 Subjects – There were 449 students, staff, and faculty of different ages, gender, and race.
 
 Methods – In an online survey respondents were presented with images of hypothetical librarians and asked to evaluate their approachability, using a scale from 1 to 10. The images showed librarians with neutral emotional expressions against a standardized, neutral background. The librarians’ age, gender, and race were systematically varied. Only White, African American, and Asian American librarians were shown. Afterwards respondents were asked to identify their own age, gender, race, and status.
 
 Main Results – Respondents perceived female librarians as more approachable than male librarians, maybe due to expectations caused by the female librarian stereotype. They found librarians of their own age group more approachable. African American respondents scored African American librarians as more approachable, whereas Whites expressed no significant variation when rating the approachability of librarians of different races. Thus, African Americans demonstrated strong in-group bias but Whites manifested colour blindness – possibly a strategy to avoid the appearance of racial bias. Asian Americans rated African American librarians lower than White librarians.
 
 Conclusion – This study demonstrates that visible demographic characteristics matter in people’s first impressions of librarians. Findings confirm that diversity initiatives are needed in academic libraries to ensure that all users feel welcome and are encouraged to approach librarians. Regarding gender, programs that deflate the female librarian stereotype may help improve the approachability image of male librarians. Academic libraries should staff the reference desk with individuals covering a wide range of ages, including college-aged interns, whom traditional age students find most approachable. Libraries should also build a racially diverse staff to meet the needs of a racially diverse user population. Since first impressions have lasting effects on the development of social relationships, structural diversity should be a priority for libraries’ diversity programs.

The role of librarians in DAM projects

From information to knowledge to metadata in digital asset management (DAM), a librarian can be key to the success of any content management system. This paper describes two case studies of how librarians are important to DAM and the organisation. It shows how librarians apply traditional and modern skills to empower organisations to leverage their strategic knowledge assets, blowing up librarian stereotypes while positively contributing to the bottom line.

Behind the glasses and beneath the bun: portrayals of librarians in popular cinema and a guide for developing a collection

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the portrayals of librarians in world cinema. In so doing, librarian stereotypes within film may be examined, but also those wishing to develop a collection of films featuring librarians and libraries will have a resource to which they may refer.Design/methodology/approachThe authors approached this study as an annotated bibliography of the films studied. A synopsis of each film is provided as well as analysis of libraries and librarian roles within the context of each film.FindingsFilms from around the world tend to have many similar stereotypes concerning librarians. Whether those stereotypes are necessarily good or bad may lie in the eye of the beholder.Originality/valueAlthough there have been numerous articles written on librarian stereotypes and librarians within literature, there has been relatively little written about librarians within the context of cinema.

The Gentleman Bug by J. Hector

Hector, Julian. The Gentleman Bug. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010. Print. The Gentleman Bug is a charming book written and illustrated by Julian Hector and recommended for children aged 2 to 5. The story takes place in an urban, nineteenth-century locale called the Garden, which is inhabited by bugs, beetles and bees. The setting must be described as pan-European, since the Garden includes both Bugadilly Circus and something resembling the Moulin Rouge. The Gentleman Bug is a bespectacled bibliophile, who teaches a small class of younger bugs from the Garden. He may not be a stylish dresser, but his students are as devoted to him as he is to them. The Gentleman Bug is opposed by a group of four rivals that includes such churlish figures as Boss Beetle and Mayer de Mothschild. These bully bugs poke fun at the Gentleman Bug for his bookish ways. He is content to ignore them until the day the Lady Bug arrives in the Garden. Alas, she is befriended by his rivals, and so the Gentleman Bug attends the Pollen Hill social club dressed to the nines in a bid to win her attention. An embarrassing mishap with a waiter dashes his plans, but the Lady Bug notices the book he drops (surely bringing a book to a formal event is the sign of a hopeless bookworm) and secretly invites him to the opening of a new building – which turns out to be the town library – where she introduces herself as the new librarian. The entire town has assembled to admire the new library, and even Boss Beetle & co. discovers a newfound love of books. Meanwhile, the Gentleman Bug and the Lady Bug become fast friends, reading together on picnics. This is a book about the pleasures of reading and about finding friends who also enjoy reading: surely a fine message to deliver to budding young readers. The deeper lesson is that you will find true friends if you stay true to yourself and your true interests. When the Gentleman Bug's rivals are converted to reading, the book suggests that distractions will fall by the wayside when you find your purpose; either that or else that people who scoff at book lovers just haven't discovered what they are missing yet. The story is told as much through the illustrations as the text. The text is generally brief and understated, while the illustrations contain the specifics of the plot. The interplay between text and image achieves soft, humorous effects: when the protagonist crashes into a waiter, the text reads: "the rest of the evening didn't go quite as planned." Because of the many clever details that the author has included in the illustrations, he clearly expects readers to stop, interpret the pictures, and then take up the text again. He has managed to differentiate a cast of ten named characters, primarily through the illustrations, with the assistance of a guide to the characters printed on the endpapers. All of this will increase the potential for repeat reads. Although the protagonist is a gentleman bug, the book will appeal to female readers too, because the Lady Bug is a strong character and because girls and boys are portrayed as equals, both as readers and in gender roles. For example, the Gentleman Bug's students work together to sew him a suit. Likewise, it is refreshing to see that the Lady Bug is not overly feminized with long lashes or lipstick, for instance. The fact that she is a librarian might strike some as a cliché, but it does not seem out of place given the story, and the portrayal is free of the usual stereotypes of librarians. Finally, the book shows admirable restraint by eschewing a wedding bell ending, showing instead the beginning of a simple friendship between a gentleman and a lady. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: John Huck John is a metadata and cataloguing librarian at the University of Alberta. He holds an undergraduate degree in English literature and maintains a special interest in the spoken word. He is also a classical musician and has sung semi-professionally for many years.