Conceptualizing Occupational Concerns as a Prospective Librarian
As someone preparing for a career in librarianship and archives, I want to be prepared to encounter inevitable ethical issues. In the following case studies we hear from an archivist, librarian, and curator respectively, each offering a glimpse into the political world of librarianship and the ethical issues those in the field most often come in contact with. This study is for anyone curious about the politics of librarianship, how and why some materials ends up in archives over others, the problem with digitization, how to honor user intent, or about any other aspect of this underappreciated profession.
About Me
I'm Karis Blaker, senior at the University of Michigan, soon-to-be BA in English and Women's Studies, prospective librarian and archivist. My path to librarianship showcases the breadth, beauty, and absolute uncertainty of a liberal arts degree.
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My first week on campus, I landed a work study job at a small film department library. I took an Introduction to Women's Studies course my first semester and declared that as my major before the end of my freshman year. Though I started college dead-set on an English degree, which I stuck with, my focus slowly changed over the course of three and a half years.
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I loved being in the library. The environment was somehow both calming and stimulating, and it never felt like work to me. I noticed myself gravitating toward Women's Studies classes with topics on women's and queer histories, and ones that allowed me to work with oral histories and archived materials. In English classes, I realized I was far more interested in learning about writers' lives and the social and historical contexts of their writing than in learning about the texts themselves. A lot of soul searching, and more formal kinds of research too, brought me to the conclusion that a career in which I can examine individual and community stories and expand the historical record to be more inclusive and more accurate is where I need to be.
An Archival code of ethics
with Aprille McKay
Aprille McKay is the Lead Archivist for University Archives at the University of Michigan's Bentley Historical Library. She holds a BA from the University of Virginia, a law degree from the University of Chicago, and an MS from the University of Michigan School of Information. Publications include a collaborative project titled “Data Protection Primer for Higher Education: Environmental Considerations, Culture and Practices,” by EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research (2016), Module 12: Managing Rights and Permissions, part of the Rights in the Digital Era, Trends in Archival Practice series by the Society of American Archivists (2015), and “Genealogists and Records: Preservation, Advocacy and Politics” in Archival Issues (2002). Aprille is involved in her neighborhood theater company The Burns Park Players, and served various roles throughout her involvement there including onstage performer, producer, webmaster, and secretary of the board of directors.
In this audio essay, Karis Blaker and Aprille McKay discuss topics of ethical archiving and librarianship including third-party privacy, donor consent, and representation in archival collections.
The Problem of Prestige
with Maura Seale
Maura Seale is the history librarian at the University of Michigan and was previously at Georgetown University. With Karen P. Nicholson, she recently coedited The Politics of Theory and the Practice of Critical Librarianship. Other recent scholarly work includes "Who Killed the World? White Masculinity and the Technocratic Library of the Future," in Topographies of Whiteness: Mapping Whiteness in Library and Information Science; and "Behavioral Expectations for the Mommy Librarian: The Successful Reference Transaction as Emotional Labor," in The Feminist Reference Desk: Concepts, Critiques, and Conversations. She has also written about critical pedagogy, race and gender, critical theory, political economy, and labor in librarianship. Maura received an M.S.I and B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.A. from the University of Minnesota. She is a native Detroiter and avid dance student, loves to travel, and spends entirely too much time reading internet advice columns. She welcomes comments @mauraseale on Twitter.
Karis Blaker and Maura Seale talk about the problem of prestige in librarianship, including themes of feminization and inclusivity, as well as the process of writing about critical librarianship.
Archiving Activism
with Julie Herrada
Julie Herrada is the Curator of the Labadie Collection in the Special Collection Research Center at the University of Michigan’s Hatcher Graduate Library. She served as Assistant Curator for the collection from 1994 until she was appointed Curator in 2000. She received her library and archival training from Wayne State University. Julie is the daughter and granddaughter of labor union activists. She has worked for many causes including womens' rights to clean and safe abortion, prison abolition, environmental justice, antiwar efforts, and against capital punishment. She joined the Detroit anarchist movement in the 1980s, which was a political awakening for her, teaching her the value of community and mutual aid.
Karis Blaker and Julie Herrada discuss the history of the Labadie Collection at the University of Michigan's Special Collections Research Center, what it means to archive activism and to collect controversial materials, and the complications the digital age poses for access.