Barbarians at the Gates of the Public Library is a philosophical and historical analysis of how the rise of consumerism has led to the decline of the original mission of public libraries to sustain and promote democracy through civic education. Through a reading of historical figures such as Plato, Helvetius, Rousseau, and John Stuart Mill, the book shows how democracy and even capitalism were originally believed to depend upon the moral and political education that public libraries (and other institutions of rational public discourse) could provide. But as capitalism developed in the 20th century it evolved into a postmodern consumerism that replaced democracy with consumerism and education with entertainment. Public libraries have mistakenly tried to remain relevant by shadowing the rise of consumerism, but have instead contributed to the rise of a new barbarism and the decline of democracy.

Barbarians at the Gates of the Public Library: How Postmodern Consumer Capitalism Threatens Democracy, Civil Education and the Public Good

Business & Money

Ed D'Angelo

Economics

Library Juice Press

Library Daylight is an eclectic collection of 36 articles about libraries and librarianship published between 1874 and 1922. These items, most of which will be new even to those most well-versed in American library history, cover topics that are hotly discussed today: library education, women's issues, library technology, the image of librarians, copyright, the tension between libraries as educational institutions and libraries as popular centers, the nature of library service, the public sphere, library PR, librarians and political activism, and visions of the future. The sources of these articles include early ALA conference proceedings, early issues of Library Journal and other library periodicals, daily newspapers, and popular magazines. Authors range from still-well-known leaders in the field to anonymous journalists. This will be rewarding reading for anyone interested in how our present-day issues are connected to the library past.

Library Daylight: Traces of Modern Librarianship, 1874-1922

History

Americas

Filomena Magavero was an academic librarian at SUNY Maritime College in the Bronx, New York, where she contended with a level of sexism that defined professional life for female librarians in the mid 20th century. This book is the story of an "everywoman" of academic libraries and a library history from the perspective of a woman in her position at the time. Included are a very useful literature review on women in mid-20th century librarianship and an oral history interview with Mrs. Magavero.

Mrs. Magavero: A History Based on the Life of an Academic Librarian

Biographies & Memoirs

Fitzpatrick, Jane Brodsky

Fitzpatrick, J. B.

Community & Culture

The three papers in this volume were written in the wake of a single policy decision at the Library of Congress: the decision to cease the practice of distinguishing and collating series through the use of distinctive headings maintained in an authority file. These papers examine library policies and organizational structures in light of the literature of ergonomics, high reliability organizations, joint cognitive systems and integrational linguistics. Bade argues that many policies and structures have been designed and implemented on the basis of assumptions about technical possibilities, ignoring entirely the political dimensions of local determination of goals and purposes as well as the lessons from ergonomics, such as the recognition that people are the primary agents of reliability in all technical systems. Looking at various policies for metadata creation and the results of those policies forces the question: is there a responsible human being behind the library web site and catalog, or have we abandoned the responsibilities of thinking and judgment in favor of procedures, algorithms and machines?

Responsible Librarianship: Library Policies for Unreliable Systems

Politics & Social Sciences

Bade, David W.

Social Sciences

Questioning Library Neutrality: Essays from Progressive Librarian presents essays that relate to neutrality in librarianship in a philosophical or practical sense, and sometimes both. They are a selection of essays originally published in Progressive Librarian, the journal of the Progressive Librarians Guild, presented in the chronological order of their appearance there. These essays, some by academics and some by passionate practitioners, offer a set of critiques of the notion of neutrality as it governs professional activity, focusing on the importance of meaningful engagement in the social sphere.

Questioning Library Neutrality: Essays from Progressive Librarian

She Was a Booklegger: Remembering Celeste West is a compilation of reflections and tales from friends and other admirers who were influenced and inspired by this larger than life feminist librarian, lesbian, publisher, and activist. Celeste passed away in San Francisco on January 3, 2008 at the age of 65. She was a pioneering progressive librarian and one of the founders of the Bay Area Reference Center (BARC), Booklegger Press, Synergy [Magazine], and Booklegger Magazine. She was also co-editor of the now classic title Revolting Librarians. From 1989 until 2006, Celeste worked as the library director at the San Francisco Zen Center. She was a radical library worker whose practice challenged established library traditions by encouraging librarians to speak up about the need for systematic change. West initiated questions and challenged assumptions (such as library neutrality) that continue to be central issues examined in critical librarianship today. However, while Celeste released a lot of work to the world as author and editor, not much was ever shared about her as subject. This memorial volume provides a written record for those who wish to learn about this remarkable woman.

She Was a Booklegger: Remembering Celeste West

Psychology is a factor in virtually every aspect of librarianship. Beyond the expected psychological issues inherent in any organization, there are psychological dimensions that are unique to library work. The Psychology of Librarianship addresses both of these: how traditional organizational psychology applies to librarianship, and how library work involves unique psychological situations. The thirteen essays examine topics such as the role of social psychology in information literacy, the problems of stereotypes within the library profession, addictions and the library, and technology anxiety. The Psychology of Librarianship focuses attention on this heretofore neglected aspect of libraries, and provides signposts for future research.

The Psychology of Librarianship

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Psychology & Counseling

Borne of a professional development workshop, Teaching for Justice highlights the commitment and efforts of LIS faculty and instructors who feature social justice theory and strategies in their courses and classroom practices. This book is geared towards LIS instructors who have begun to incorporate social justice into their course content, as well as those who are interested in learning more about how to address social justice in their classrooms. Chapters provide a pedagogical foundation and motivation for teaching social justice in LIS as a stand alone course or as a theme integrated within topical courses that seemingly "have no relationship" to such issues. The experiences and reflections of chapter contributors will prepare readers with strong arguments for the inclusion of social justice in their LIS classroom, curriculum, and school policies, provide an array of practical techniques intended to secure such inclusion, and a instill a sense of confidence for advocating for the incorporation of social justice as a mainstay of LIS education.

Teaching for Justice: Implementing Social Justice in the LIS Classroom

Feminist pedagogy employs strategies such as collaborative learning, valuing experiential knowledge, employing consciousness-raising about sexism and other forms of oppression, and destabilizing the power hierarchies of the traditional classroom. Ultimately, feminist library instruction seeks to empower learners to be both critical thinkers and critical actors who are motivated and prepared to bring about social change. The concept of feminist pedagogy has recently energized current conversations on library instruction, so it is fitting and timely to consider how feminism might intersect with another vital student-centered service the academic library provides: the reference desk. Inspired by the ideas, possibilities, and discussions set in motion by Maria T. Accardi’s Feminist Pedagogy for Library Instruction (2013), this edited collection continues these conversations by considering how feminist strategies and philosophies might reshape, invigorate, and critique approaches to reference services. In short, this collection will provide critical and thought-provoking explorations of how academic librarians might rethink central reference concepts and services, from the reference interview, to the reference collection, to the staffing of the reference desk itself, from a feminist perspective.

The Feminist Reference Desk: Concepts, Critiques, and Conversations (Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies)

Since library instruction’s very beginnings librarians and writing instructors have been natural partners. Library-writing program connections illustrate that both writing and information seeking and use (information literacy) share powerful links: both are central to posing and exploring problems and questions and to seeking informed and creative approaches to them. Thus, at the heart of writing and information literacy are inquiry and critical thinking, which many college educators across disciplines view to be at the center of learning. But despite these intersections, there is still a strong tendency for English composition and library instruction to be taught in relative separation, with the latter frequently being viewed as a course “add-on.” Similarly, conversations about writing and information literacy pedagogy have tended to exist in professional silos. Fortunately, dialogue across our professions has begun to expand at what appears an unprecedented pace, as librarians become increasingly vocal about the need for information literacy to be an integral part of college education and as librarians expand their engagement with learning theories and conceptual frameworks for information literacy. This book is intended to help widen and deepen the conversations between librarians and compositionists. How can we further build and strengthen teaching partnerships that invite students to engage in writing and information seeking and use as processes of inquiry, critical reflection, and meaning making? And what sometimes stands in the way of doing do? Written for both librarians and writing instructors, this publication considers these questions from multiple angles, including through explorations of: <ul>
<li>empirical research on student writing and information literacy development;</li> <li>intersections between and pedagogical implications of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and the WPA Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing;</li> <li>interviews with librarian-compositionists partners about their collaborative experiences;</li> <li>historical, social, cultural, and structural contexts that influence librarians and writing instructors’ work environments and cultures, and ultimately the potential for partnership; and</li> <li>the power of reflective pedagogical praxis.</li> </ul> While considering the possibilities for and challenges to library-writing partnerships from these different vantage points, the author invite readers to continue exploring this area of inquiry in conversations and teaching at and beyond their local institutions. Andrea Baer is an Instructional Services Librarian at the University of West Georgia. She holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Washington and a Masters in Information Sciences from the University of Tennessee. Andrea’s work in libraries and education is deeply informed by her teaching background in writing and literature and by her interests in critical pedagogy and critical inquiry.

Information Literacy and Writing Studies in Conversation: Reenvisioning Library-Writing Program Connections

Literature & Fiction

Baer, Andrea

History & Criticism

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