Critical librarianship in health sciences libraries: an introduction

Authors

  • Jill Barr-Walker ZSFG Library, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
  • Claire Sharifi Gleeson Library, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2019.620

Keywords:

Critical Librarianship, Critlib, Social Justice, Librarianship

Abstract

The Medical Library Association recently announced its commitment to diversity and inclusion. While this is a positive start, critical librarianship takes the crucial concepts of diversity and inclusion one step further by advocating for social justice action and the dismantling of oppressive institutional structures, including white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism. Critical librarianship takes many forms but, at its root, is focused on interrogating and disrupting inequitable systems, including changing racist cataloging rules, creating student-driven information literacy instruction, supporting inclusive and ethical publishing models, and rejecting the notion of libraries as neutral spaces. This article presents examples of the application of critical practice in libraries as well as ideas for applying critical librarianship to the health sciences.

 This article has been approved for the Medical Library Association’s Independent Reading Program.

References

McCann C, Kim SK. Feminist theory reader: local and global perspectives. Abingdon, UK: Routledge; 2013.

Delgado R, Stefancic J. Critical race theory: an introduction. New York, NY: NYU Press; 2017.

Freire P. Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York, NY: Continuum; 1970.

Garcia K. Keeping up with…critical librarianship. Coll Res Libr News. 2015 Feb 27.

Critlib.org. Business, professional, medical, health, & STEM education programs [Internet]. critlib; 27 Feb 2017– [cited 12 Sep 2018]. <http://critlib.org/business-professional-medical-health-stem-education-programs/>.

Medical Library Association. MLA strategic plan: goal 5: diversity and inclusion [Internet].The Association; May 2017 [cited 25 Sep 2018]. <https://www.mlanet.org/page/strategic-plan>.

Epstein B. Newly appointed Diversity Task Force announced. Full Speed Ahead [Internet]. 4 Aug 2017 [cited 9 Sep 2018]. <https://www.mlanet.org/blog/newly-appointed-diversity-task-force>.

National Library of Medicine. Social justice, health equity, and all of us highlight MLA annual meeting. NLM in Focus [Internet]. 13 Jun 2018 [cited 9 Sep 2018]. <https://infocus.nlm.nih.gov/2018/06/13/mla-annual-meeting-2018/>.

US Department of Health and Human Services: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Approved uniform data system (UDS) changes for calendar year 2016 [Internet]. The Department; 22 Mar 2016– [cited 12 Sep 2018]. <https://bphc.hrsa.gov/programrequirements/policies/pal201602.html>.

Foronda C, Baptiste DL, Reinholdt MM, Ousman K. Cultural humility: a concept analysis. J Transcultural Nurs. 2016 May;27(3):210–7.

Drabinski E. Queering the catalog: queer theory and the politics of correction. Libr Q. 2013 Apr 1;83(2):94–111.

Farkas M. Never neutral. Am Libr. 2017 Jan;48(1):70.

Drabinski E. Teaching the radical catalog. In: Robert KR, ed. Radical cataloging: essays at the front. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company; 2008. p. 198–205.

Reidsma M. Algorithmic bias in library discovery systems [Internet]. 11 Mar 2016 [cited 1 Sep 2018]. <https://matthew.reidsrow.com/articles/173>.

Noble SU. Google search: hyper-visibility as a means of rendering black women and girls invisible. Invis Cult. 2013 Oct 29;19:1–23.

Tewell EC. The practice and promise of critical information literacy: academic librarians’ involvement in critical library instruction. Coll Res Libr. 2018 Jan 3;79(1):10–34.

Tsemo BH. Decentering power in pedagogy: from “feminism” to “feminisms.” Fem Stud. 2011;3:696–709.

Accardi MT. Feminist pedagogy for library instruction. Sacramento, CA: Litwin Books; 2013.

Elmborg JK. Teaching at the desk: toward a reference pedagogy. portal: Libr Acad. 2002;2(3):455–64.

Adler K. Radical purpose: the critical reference dialogue at a progressive urban college. Urban Libr J. 2013;19(1):9.

Ladenson S. Feminist reference services: transforming relationships through an ethic of care. In: Accardi MT, ed. The feminist reference desk: concepts, critiques, and conversations. Sacramento, CA: Library Juice Press; 2017.

Howard S. Purposeful and productive care: the feminist ethic of care and the reference desk. In: Accardi MT, ed. The feminist reference desk: concepts, critiques, and conversations. Sacramento, CA: Library Juice Press; 2017.

Chou RL, Pho A. Intersectionality at the reference desk: lived experiences of women of color librarians. In: Accardi MT, ed. The feminist reference desk: concepts, critiques, and conversations. Sacramento, CA: Library Juice Press; 2017.

Gustina M, Guinnee E. Why social justice in the library? Libr J. 2017 Jun 1;142(10):52–5.

The Working Together Project. Community led libraries toolkit [Internet]. The Project; 25 Mar 2008– [cited 12 Sep 2018]. <http://www.librariesincommunities.ca/>. (no longer available).

Hawkins BW, Morris M, Nguyen T, Siegel J, Vardell E. Advancing the conversation: next steps for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) health sciences librarianship. J Med Libr Assoc. 2017 Oct;105(4):316–27. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2017.206.

Carman KL, Dardess P, Maurer M, Sofaer S, Adams K, Bechtel C, Sweeney J. Patient and family engagement: a framework for understanding the elements and developing interventions and policies. Health Aff. 2013 Feb;32(2):223–31.

Barry MJ, Edgman-Levitan S. Shared decision making: the pinnacle of patient-centered care. New Engl J Med. 2012 Mar 1;366(9):780–1.

Charon R. Narrative medicine: honoring the stories of illness. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; 2006.

Roh C, Inefuku HW. Agents of diversity and social justice. In: Smith KL, Dickson KA, eds. Open access and the future of scholarly communication: policy and infrastructure. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; 2016.

Hare S, Evanson C. Information privilege outreach for undergraduate students. Coll Res Libr. 2018;79(6):726–36.

Farmer A. Archiving while Black. Chron High Educ [Internet]. 22 Jul 2018 [cited 26 Feb 2019]. <https://www.chronicle.com/article/Archiving-While-Black/243981>.

Caswell M, Brilmyer G. Identifying and dismantling white supremacy in archives [Internet]. 2016 [cited 12 Sep 2018]. <http://www.gracenbrilmyer.com/dismantling_whiteSupremacy_archives3.pdf>.

Christen K, Cooney C. Digital dynamics across cultures. Vectors: J Cult Technol Dyn Vernac. 2006;2(1).

Mukurtu CMS [Internet]. Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation, Washington State University; 2018 [cited 12 Sep 2018]. <http://mukurtu.org>.

Traditional knowledge (TK) labels [Internet]. Local Contexts; 2018– [cited 2 Oct 2018]. <http://localcontexts.org/tk-labels/>.

Caswell M, Cifor M. From human rights to feminist ethics: radical empathy in the archives. Archivaria. 2016;81(1):23–43.

Washington HA. Medical apartheid: the dark history of medical experimentation on Black Americans from colonial times to the present. New York, NY: Anchor Books; 2008.

PBS American Experience. The Puerto Rico pill trials [Internet]. PBS; 24 Feb 2003 [cited 28 Sep 2018]. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-puerto-rico-pill-trials/>.

Lawrence J. The Indian Health Service and the sterilization of Native American women. Am Indian Q. 2000;24(3):400–19.

Kelly JA, St Lawrence JS, Smith S, Hood HV, Cook DJ. Stigmatization of AIDS patients by physicians. Am J Public Health. 1987 Jul;77(7):789–91.

Robertson T. Update on On Our Backs and Reveal Digital [Internet]. 15 Aug 2016– [cited 2 Oct 2018]. <http://tararobertson.ca/2016/oob-update/>.

Matteson ML, Chittock S, Mease D. In their own words: stories of emotional labor from the library workforce. Libr Q. 2015 Jan 1;85(1):85–105.

Hathcock A. White librarianship in blackface: diversity initiatives in LIS. Libr Lead Pipe. 2015 Oct 7.

Ettarh F. Vocational awe and librarianship: the lies we tell ourselves. Libr Lead Pipe. 2018 Jan 10.

Lew S, Yousefi B. Feminists among us: resistance and advocacy in library leadership. Sacramento, CA: Library Juice Press; 2017.

Lipscomb CE. Race and librarianship: part I [historical notes]. J Med Libr Assoc. 2004 Jul;92(3):299–301.

Lipscomb CE. Race and librarianship: part II [historical notes]. J Med Libr Assoc. 2005 Jul;93(3):308–10.

Corcoran K, Medical Library Association. MLA compensation and benefits survey. The Association; 2013.

Downloads

Published

2019-04-15

Issue

Section

Trends and Techniques