Dear Internet,
Today is Christmas Eve. Ho. Ho. Ho.
This morning our sewer mains are going to be rooted as they have been backed up since the weekend due to combination of weather and 90 year old pipes. When we had to do this several years ago, it was due to the previous owner had flushed every period pad and tampon she ever used down the toilets, and after years of this behaviour, the cotton from the aforementioned turned into bricks which clogged the drains. Good times! While the plumber is doing his work, we’re going on our clean / bake / food prep extravaganza for dinner on Wednesday and upcoming mother-in-law visit. Hopefully at some point put up our damn tree. I still have yet to do cards this year, which I should be cracking on this weekend.
There has been so much going on in the #libtechgender world and will continue to grow, I thought it would be a grand idea to start annotating the articles in a roundup post to publish once a month. This also gives me incentive to keep the #libtechgender page up to date , so it’s a win-win situation. The articles below are ordered as I find them, while on the landing page they are in chronological order, newest at the top, since many of them are responses to the other pieces. As always, if you find mistakes / recommendations, leave them in the comments or drop me a line.
P.S. If you’re heading to Midwinter, Andromeda Yelton will be paneling with lots of awesome people on Challenges of gender issues in technology librarianship. Hie thee on January 25 to the Pennsylvania Convention Center 201 C at 4:30PM!
- #libtechgender: the dangers of a single story by Andromeda Yelton
Andromeda deftly discusses an ever present but hardly addressed issue: there are more than one side to a story and we need to start taking that into consideration. This piece was written in response to Cecily Walker’s piece listed below on intersectionality and privilege. - On Privilege, Intersectionality, and the Librarian Image by Cecily Walker
I have to fangirl on Cecily here for a moment, so bear with me. She’s one of the few people who, I think, can adroitly discuss difficult topics elegantly and in such a manner that makes engagement on said topics totally accessible AND non-scary. Cecily is a ballerina in comparison to my bull in a china shop of approaches. In this piece, Cecily responds to Andy Woodworth’s A Libraryland Festivus, which then is followed up by the response from Andromeda above. - Calling In: A Less Disposable Way Of Holding Each Other Accountable by Cecily Walker
Referencing the article of the same name by Ngọc Loan Trần (which is also a great read), this short piece is powerful in remembering our own perceptions and keeping ourselves in check. - Arguing for inclusivity by Coral Sheldon-Hess
Coral is one of the few public pushers (in the library tech world) for Codes of Conduct/Anti-Harassment statements for cons, meetings, groups, etc etc. This piece is a good walk through addressing concerns with CoC and giving more insight into why we should have them. Coral has also provided oodles of links to lots of information regarding CoCs in and out of the library world, such as the Storify that began ALA’s work on getting one in place. - #LibTechGender, Intersectionality, and Backup by Coral Sheldon-Hess
Another great piece by Coral on inclusivity and the Backup Ribbon Project! - Are we talking enough about gender bias and discrimination in the library profession? by Jennifer Vinopal
Jennifer is on the advisory committee of the upcoming Leadership, Technology, and Gender Summit that is taking place in March, 2014. This is a launch pad post to start generating literature for research and she’s also put together a ever growing Zotero library of links to support the project. - We’ve come a short way … and don’t even think about calling me “baby” by Chris Bourg
Chris offers up several quotes that are dated and not so dated to answer the question if we really have come a long way, baby. - #libtechgender: my world and hers by Jason Griffey
Jason offers up his response on being a male feminist in 2013 in response to another excellent post by Andromeda Yelton - #libtechgender: ALA’s Code of Conduct (Mainly) by Kate Kosturski
Kate is another fabulous person who does a great job on summing up the ALA Code of Conduct, our Internet Librarian panel, and other related matters. - thanks to #libtechwomen by Eric Phetteplace
A shoutout to #libtechwomen on becoming more inclusive with language. - Why the “had daughter, became feminist” narrative doesn’t work for me by Chris Bourg
Chris brings up some very valid, to me, points on why we should not necessarily be celebrating when a man becomes a born-again feminist. Very thoughtful read. - Libraries need a feminist agenda…but which one? by Lane Wilkinson
A long, but insightful, look at agendas, feminism, and history of both. Gives a lot to chew on. - Gender and Presenting as Professional by Nina de Jesus
I’ve only recently met Nina, but I really like what I’ve read by her. This very real, no holds barred look at being trans* in not just the work place, but also in libraryland is in response to Andy’s post as asked by Cecily.
