RCL Blog

Happy Women's History Month! As March comes to a close, this blog post provides RCL's resources created by or centering women and scholarship to consider when reflecting on this historical month within the context of libraries.  

Rebecca Crown Library Resources:

With our recent website updates, we have implemented "collections," which are curated lists of books and DVDs related to a specific topic! Check out our Women's History Month collection with 147 items for your consideration. 

Within our 161 journals categorized under "Women's Studies" are the following publications: 

Feminist Encounters: A Journal of Critical Studies in Culture and Politics (Open Access):

"Feminist Encounters provides a forum for feminist theorists, scholars, and activists to communicate with each other, to better educate ourselves on international issues and thus promote more global understanding, and to enhance our critical tools for fighting for human rights" - About Journal page.

Feminist Theory:

"Feminist Theory is an international peer-reviewed journal that advances key contemporary debates within feminist theory and feminist theoretical praxis." - Aims and Scope page.

International Feminist Journal of Politics: 

"International Feminist Journal of Politics (IFJP) is the leading source of cutting-edge research at the intersection of global politics, feminist, gender, and queer scholarship, and activism. Developed and led by a global team of prominent feminist scholars, this journal brings together some of the most influential figures in the field to build a global community of critical and engaged writers and readers. It also seeks to provide a platform for voices from around the world that have not found genuinely open spaces for expression and engagement." - Journal website.

Women in Libraries:

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in 2022, 82.2% of U.S. librarians were women. 78.5% of library assistants were women, which exceeds the average 73.3% of "women employed in all education and library professions" (Barrows). This is a continuation of a longstanding trend. In 1995, women were 83.9% of librarians.

"Librarianship was not always a female-dominated occupation," Gretchen Keer wrote for the American Libraries Association in 2015. "Middle-class white women in the United States began entering “genteel” professions such as librarianship only in the late 19th century. It was much later that women of other races and ethnicities were given entry into the profession. The earliest librarians in America were educated white men from established families in New England." When white women entered the profession in the 1880s, the "female librarian" stereotype rose. The proportion of women in librarianship "rose from 20 percent in 1870 to 75 percent in 1900" (Maack). By then, the "passive, submissive, and plain librarian stereotype we recognize today had emerged" (Keer). 

Marie and Gary Radford addressed this in 1997, stating, “There is a clear relationship between the representation and treatment of women and the low status of the library profession" (262). They quote Barbara Ivy, writing in 1985 that the field is a "feminized profession" that is " female-dominated in numbers, but male-dominated in organizational control, having a shallow bureaucratic hierarchy and rigid promotion schemes" (Radford, 262). In 2020, Rutledge stated, "Although 83 percent of librarians are women, only 58 percent of management positions in ARL (Association of Research Libraries) libraries are held by women" (1). 

Keer writes of the 1880s, "Women were hired to take over the less desirable aspects of librarianship and were paid low wages because they had no leverage. Administrators endeavored to hire women because they were better educated than men attracted to the profession and were unable to demand comparable wages." As this process of "feminization" continued, by the end of the 1920s, "90% of librarians were female," with the vast majority of those librarians being white women. Keer explains that from the 1960s through the late 1970s, "gender-predicting personality tests were administered as entrance requirements for both library school admission and employment." Newmyer's article from 1976 confirms this, stating that there is a recurrence in "piece after piece of library literature of adjectives from the Masculinity-Femininity Scales of the CPI or the GAMIN describing the traits of the librarian's allegedly "female" personality (feminine, meek, weak, gentle, helpful, dependent)" (53). This language, Newmyer argues, convinced the profession that the librarian personality is "so well documented, so scientifically incontrovertible, that re-testing is not even necessary" (53). 

The convergence of whiteness and womanhood is clear in the conclusion of the "scientific" idea of the library worker from the 60s and 70s. The presumption of meekness, maternal traits, purity, quietness, and other heavily racially coded attributes in the white female librarian archetype continues to this day. As the Radfords argued, we "must overcome the stereotype of the library worker as the selfless, dedicated and devoted worker, who is in the profession to do good and who will accept any pittance of pay" (261). Working within a "feminized" profession must mean keeping alert to the ways vocational awe manifests to reproduce the values of white supremacist, heteronormative, and patriarchal systems. 

With the issues of the female librarian stereotype in mind, it is worth celebrating the many women who have made incredible progress in the library field. Enjoy utilizing Rebecca Crown Library's material this month while thinking of the many women who have been stereotyped as "shushing spinster[s] complete with bun" (Radford, 253) who created the infrastructure for libraries that we continue to build upon. With awareness, responsibility, and genuine dedication to social justice, we will see increased diversity and equity in both realities and representations of library work. 

For more reading, look to the 2017 syllabus created by Steve Brantley titled "Gendered Information: Library labor as “women’s work” and classification as a system of oppression."

Works Cited & Consulted:

Barrows, Katie. “Library Professionals: Facts, Figures, and Union Membership - Department for Professional Employees, AFL.” CIO, Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO, 24 Jan. 2024, www.dpeaflcio.org/factsheets/library-professionals-facts-and-figures#_ftn22.

“Employed Persons by Detailed Occupation, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023, www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.pdf.

Howard, Heather, et al. “The gender wage gap in Research Libraries.” College & Research Libraries, vol. 81, no. 4, 2020, p. 662, https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.81.4.662.

Maack, Mary Niles. “Toward a history of women in librarianship: A critical analysis with suggestions for further research.” Professional and White-Collar Employments, 31 Dec. 1993, pp. 472–493, https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110976380.472.

Newmyer, Jody. “The Image Problem of the Librarian: Femininity and Social Control.” The Journal of Library History (1974-1987), vol. 11, no. 1, 1976, pp. 44–67. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25540671. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.

Pagowsky, Nicole, and Miriam Rigby. The Librarian Stereotype: Deconstructing Perceptions and Presentations of Information Work. Association of College and Research Libraries, A Division of the American Library Association, 2014. https://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/publications/booksanddigitalresources/booksmonographs/stereotype_Prelim.pdf

Radford, Marie L., and Gary P. Radford. “Power, knowledge, and fear: Feminism, Foucault, and the stereotype of the female librarian.” The Library Quarterly, vol. 67, no. 3, July 1997, pp. 250–266, https://doi.org/10.1086/629951.

Rutledge, Lorelei. "Leveling Up: Women Academic Librarians’ Career Progression in Management Positions." College & Research Libraries [Online], 81.7 (2020): 1143. Web. https://crl.acrl.org/index.php/crl/article/view/24675/32496. 19 Mar. 2024

Schlesselman-Tarango, Gina. “The legacy of Lady Bountiful: White Women in the library.” Library Trends, vol. 64, no. 4, 2016, pp. 667–686, https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2016.0015.

“The Stereotype Stereotype.” American Libraries Magazine, 23 May 2018, americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2015/10/30/the-stereotype-stereotype/#:~:text=Administrators%20endeavored%20to%20hire%20women,1930%20librarianship%20was%2090%25%20female.

Growing up Irish Catholic, my experience with Saint Patrick’s Day is different from most Americans. While many people in the United States view the holiday as an excuse to dress up in crazy green clothing and enjoy a few (or more) drinks, my family’s celebrations centered around gratefulness, pride in our lineage and our culture, and listening to my grandma tell tales of Saint Patrick. My grandmother loved the symbolism of the shamrock almost as much as how Saint Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland. As I got older, I started to wonder how these legends came about, and how much truth was in them.

Weirdly enough, Saint Patrick was actually born in Britain, to a Roman family who occupied the area and was kidnapped by Irish tribal raiders when he was still a teenager. The raiders brought him to their homeland and enslaved him for six years until he was finally able to escape, making his return to Britain to study Christianity. After many years of study, Saint Patrick felt it was his calling to return to Ireland, despite his previous enslavement, to spread Christianity among the pagan tribes. His mission was largely successful, as he understood, and wisely preserved, the social structure of the country by converting the people tribe by tribe. According to some legends, he used the three leaves of a shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity, a legend which became an iconic symbol for Ireland. Some articles also mention how Saint Patrick allegedly drove all the snakes out of Ireland, likely a metaphor for banishing “demonic” pagan beliefs in place of Christianity among the Irish people. Strange as the legend may be, by the time he died, Saint Patrick had successfully denounced harmful slavery practices, unjust taxations on the poor, and Ireland as a country was almost entirely Christian.

Saint Patrick’s Day is slightly less frenzied when celebrated in Ireland in comparison to the United States, since instead of massive parades and rowdy parties, most people attend Mass, wear shamrocks on their clothes, and spread the blessings of Saint Patrick with one another. Because Saint Patrick’s Day occurs during Lent, the holiday is often seen as a reprieve from the deprivations of the period preceding Easter.

If you want to learn more about Irish culture and history, check out some of these resources below:

The Saint Patrick Myth

Saint Patrick Retold: The Legend and History of Ireland’s Patron Saint

Consuming St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day – Reference

The Troubles in Ireland – Reference

All information derived from Credo Reference Source.

When receiving my internship at the Rebecca Crown Library, which is a combination of all of the previously mentioned settings, I had to ask myself, which Black trope, stereotype, or cliche would I be viewed as by my peers. The conclusion I reached was one not included in the initial trope list, but is still highly prevalent, and that is the role of “Diversity Hire”. One of the biggest fears some minorities face when they receive a job in a white setting is that they will be viewed as the diversity hire. The diversity hire is an individual who is hired to make a workplace appear to be more diverse and "with the times" than it actually is. Because of this, the change that diversity hiring is supposed to enact is typically performative and surface level. Oftentimes the person in this position is expected to educate the space by taking on the emotional burden of humanizing their community. This is done by leading uncomfortable conversations, taking on all diversity work, shutting down tone deaf comments, being overly pleasant when dealing with adversaries, and more. This belief also extends to cultures outside of what the diversity hire may be a part. This responsibility of being all knowing is typically not put on people who are not outwardly considered diversity hires. 

People tend to view a “diversity hire” as someone receiving a handout because they are not white, not recognizing the burdens or high expectations involved. In reality, a diversity hire is someone who was offered the job after implicit bias was removed. Very rarely does the thought occur to some people that minorities are deserving and qualified for the role for which they applied. There is an unspoken feeling or belief that they were hired because of their "ism" and not in spite of it. Particular aspects of a person, such as race, age, race, class, religion, ability, and so on, are not things you can hide or disclose post-employment. So, the societal and cultural stereotypes regarding each of these traits are at the forefront of one's mind, whether consciously or unconsciously. This results in people being disqualified based on stereotypes that trump whatever ability that person may have. There is not enough representation to counteract the prejudices that dictate how minorities are seen, therefore eliminating them from many opportunities that they deserve. While diversity hiring is supposed to combat this, it is distorted into a personal attack where people are thought to be hired based upon their physical identity over their skill set or background in their field of work. In actuality, diversity hiring is the difference between opportunity and access. Opportunity is a moment of chance, while access is merely someone permitting you to succeed. At the end of the day, diversity hiring is not just an opportunity for jobs to hire enough minorities to fill a quota or prove a mission statement, but to remove societal barriers that prevent people from having access to spaces that they are fully entitled to.

Now, while I had silently come to the conclusion that I am most likely a diversity hire, I had viewed this as a positive thing. A sign that inclusion is becoming more prevalent in the workforce and one's merit is not disrupted by one's implicit bias. It was merely me getting the chance to be in a position that I have demonstrated the proper skills and potential for success. I was hired because societal barriers that would have prevented me from being there were removed. What I did not expect when considering my position of diversity hire, was to be called out for it in a public setting and in the most incorrect manner possible. It is hard enough for most marginalized people to get a seat at the table much less a foot in the door. So being asked by a white person in a position of power to recount out loud in front of an audience of other white people, any and every moment in time I may have been held back or disadvantaged because of the color of my skin felt coded and triggering. It did not help that the person asking this was coming from the perspective that ALL Black people must have a story to tell that they are entitled to hearing. Being put in this position is past the point of embarrassing, it is humiliating. 

This feeling of othering was only reinforced when the person in question used my hiring and existence in a white space as a personal triumph of the library.  As though me being there was their accomplishment and not one of my own. As if just the act of hiring me has solved any racial disparity that this institution faces and proven to the outside world that they are the epitome of diversity. When minorities are not in a position of service to white institutions or people, they are still expected to perform. I must provide in detail all the reasons I “made” it here and my counterparts did not. I have to explain the historical absence of minorities in society as if it were not due to the fact that my ancestors never had the right to be in this position, and people today are rarely given the chance to be. And then to experience a person in a position of power toting around the concept of diversity hiring as a personal triumph of the institution over the person themselves is hard to experience. 

Librarianship overall suffers from a diversity problem with a rough estimate placing white people in 83% of the roles. Representation is important because it helps prevent instances like this from happening by humanizing people that exist in marginalized communities. Having well-rounded diverse portrayals of marginalized communities on and off screen allows for people to be seen as individuals who have an identity that is completely separate from playing a role in assistance to white people and/or institutions. Diversity hiring should be treated as an active method to combat discrimination rather than the final step.

Work Cited

Anderson, E. (2015). “The White Space.” Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 1(1), 10–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332649214561306 

Changing the racial demographics of librarians - Ithaka S+R. (2023, June 28). Ithaka S+R. https://sr.ithaka.org/publications/changing-the-racial-demographics-of-librarians/ 

Hansen, L. (2024, January 2). The Complete Guide to Diversity Hiring in 2024. TechnologyAdvice. https://technologyadvice.com/blog/human-resources/diversity-hiring/ 
Nittle, N. K. (2021, March 6). 5 Common Black stereotypes in TV and film. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/common-black-stereotypes-in-tv-film-2834653