Librarianship & Stereotyping
This article originally appeared in thge Herald of July 2010
Librarians do rock...and party too!!!
Firstly I would like to say I'm proud to be a Librarian and I love the L sign. Thank you for the weekly feature 'the Arena with Hildegarde', and would like to register that I'm a keen follower since the day colleagues' mentioned 'kuti anga ari Librarian' and the rest is history. So all along I've been pondering on how to formally approach Tendai to push and advocate the cause of us librarians. Coincidentally on the day of publication of the article "Librarians: Censors or info organizers?" two most important ZimLA branch elections were taking place in Mashonaland and Matebeleland the very same afternoon and what a refreshing and inspirational precursor in our association's revival quest. For the record ZimLA had been dormant for the last six or so years.
Now to the article itself, Hildegarde raises very pertinent issues which I feel needs further elaboration and currently the focus areas of ZimLA. I will concentrate on the issue of image, as you rightly pointed out we are still regarded in the traditional sense not only as the wo/man behind the desk stamping books but just some lackey fellow putting back books on the shelves. The stereo-typing is even worse at family level (extended family included), my case for example everyone wondered why I chose to be a Librarian and breaking with tradition of becoming a Teacher, the norm in our clan. The last two years of my college years had to finance my own tuition fees, no one was interested in investing in a Librarian. With determination within two years of being employed by a UN agency I bought my first ‘jalopy’ which my father and family members have never achieved in their lifetime. I was labeled a fraudster and had to put a big sticker on my windscreen labeled ‘thug lyfe’ to their appeasement. I quitely moved to the ‘suburbs’ with my small family put my first daughter at prestigious private school, travel abroad on business became the norm and it finally dawned on them that Librianship was a better option than teaching. Interestingly two of my siblings saw the light at the end of the tunnel and followed in my footprints, one is currently employed by the largest Zimbabwean University as a senior library assistant and the other currently undertaking diploma studies in LIS/RAM. The respect that I command now in family circles is unbelievable because I’ve stood up and defended who I am and what I’m capable of achieving as a LIBRARIAN.
On a more professional note stereo typing is real especially considering our profession and would like to take a contemporary and historical view. Quoting largely from Chikwanha Lawrence (2010) paper 'Igniting the image of information professional: Key concepts and the role of the Zimbabwe Library Association'
Many contemporary theorists define stereotypes as characteristics that are descriptive of, attributed to, or associated with members of social groups or categories. Ashmore and Del Boca (1981) defined stereotypes as a set of beliefs about the personal attributes of a group of people. According to McCauley et al. (1980), stereotypes are those generalizations about a class of people that distinguish them from others. Stereotype ideas are created during the perception process when the observer forms fixed and oversimplified ideas or images of a particular group or class of people (Scott and Marshall, 2005), and these images are often unreal and biased (Colman, 2001). Stereotypes can be found that are associated with nations, ethnic groups, social classes, religions, and professions. One major consequence of stereotyping is that it results in an identity threat known as 'devaluation.' Identity devaluation occurs when negative attributions about your social identity group undermine key constituents' perceptions of your competence, character, or commitment. Stereotyping poses obstacles for creating a positive professional image.
Stereotypes can be positive, negative or mixed, and are applied indiscriminately to all members of a group, without allowing for individual differences. Although stereotypes contain some truth, these are often generalized and biased, and yet are accepted as a 'reality'. Stereotypes are often distorted, in that they exaggerate and universalize some of the characteristics of some of the members of the stereotyped group (Worchel et al., 2000). Understanding of stereotypes is important because people treat members of the other groups based on their stereotyped views (Swim et al., 1989) and interact, at least initially, with the stereotype rather than with the true person. This results in many individual injustices, sice only some persons in the group fully fit the stereotype.
Stereotypes of Librarians
Studies conducted on perceptions and stereotypes associated with librarians clearly show continuity, and there is no clue of improvement in their image. An early study by Leigh and Sewny (1960) suggested no single distinctive image of librarians, but rather, a number of different images ranging from scholarly and resourceful professional to a timid, plain-looking, middle-aged female stamping cards and collecting pennies for overdue books. Hernon and Pastine (1977) studied the perceptions of full-time students at the University of Nebraska of the educational role of academic librarians. The study suggested the existence of stereotype images and misconceptions. A librarian was described as a little old lady behind the desk, checking out or shelving books, filing cards, and keeping the library in order. Cowell (1980) described the popular image of the librarian as a fussy old woman, myopic and repressed, brandishing or perhaps cowering behind a date-stamp, and surrounded by an array of notices which forbid virtually every human activity. Goulding et al. (1999, p.15) painted the image of a librarian as "particularly shy, introvert, insecure, strict, punctual and dull", at the same time described as "reliable, serious and selfless". Peresie and Alexander (2005, p.28) observed that the media and authors of fiction portray a librarian as a "spinster, cold, stern, timid, shy" but "intelligent, well-informed, and helpful". A major positive stereotype of librarians that emerges from academia is that many people have used words such as, 'helpful', 'efficient', 'pleasant', 'polite', or 'friendly' to describe librarians.
Popular stereotypes of librarians
in addition to the academic papers cited above, there are some prevalent stereotypes that society has of librarians and information professionals. It is very important to understand these stereotypes as they have a huge bearing on the professional image of librarians. These are some of the stereotypes of librarians that one can across in popular literature.
a) The Crone/Old Maid
She's an elderly, white woman, wearing pince-nez glasses and a bun. She's decidedly unfashionable, with high collars, ruffles, and sensible shoes. She also has a pencil; usually it's sticking out of her bun.
b) The Enforcer
Another stereotype presents the librarian as rule-bound and oppressive, someone whose job consists of shushing patrons, stamping books, and preventing from using the library. She's uptight, stern, and only thinks of the rules.
c) Representative of Civilization and Culture
Another popular depiction shows librarians presented as cultured and refined. This more appealing stereotype suggests that librarians are not just keepers of knowledge but actually know the location and contents of every book in the library.
d) Intellectual
The librarian is often seen as an intellectual, a person of superior learning who is simply smarter than the people around her. It’s a burden we all have to bear.
e) Uneducated Clerk
This stereotype views librarians as performers of visibly clerical tasks such as circulation, reference checking, and shelving because either they have very little professional education or none at all.
As Tracy Green notes, the general image of librarians is a negative stereotype of either unapproachable, authoritarian characters or weak, incompetent hideaways, doing no more than shelving or stamping books, while saying 'shush', is hardly surprising that this would prove a barrier to people seeing the usefulness of librarians. The issue of stereotyping is very pertinent and one question it leads to is that do the stereotypes reinforce low status or does low status create the stereotype? That's very hard to say. What is clear is that librarians have felt that they have not been recognized as professionals by their clientele or by the world at large. Sensitivity over the image question may stem from this basic feeling.
Currently in Zimbabwe, regionally and globally a rebranding revolution and new evolving roles of information practitioners is massively taking place for instance we now have digital librarians, Infoprenuers, knowledge managers. The major emphasis is now on convergence, inclusiveness and synergies amongst the various offshoots of library information science (LIS) such as records and archival management (RAM) and other professions like journalism. I very much agree with you that LIS is a specialized field; we have been organizing knowledge since the days of Ranganathan but today all and sundry are obsessed with knowledge management which can earn someone a doctorate but would not be amused to be referred to as a Librarian.
Further the image of information practitioners can be enhanced by critically looking at issues such as the role played professional associations in professional development, social responsibilities, advocacy, appropriate LIS/RAM curriculum offered in the various tertiary institutions, social networking, collaborations with like minded individuals, institutions and organizations in order to establish sustainable
partnerships.
Creating a positive professional image
In the increasingly diverse, twenty-first century workplace, people face a number of complex challenges to creating a positive professional image. As stated earlier, you must realize that if you aren’t managing your own professional image, someone else is. It is only wise to add your voice in framing others' theories about who you are and what you can accomplish. Many authors give long lists of things that librarians can do to make the public like them better: change the way we dress, deliver better service, be more assertive, get more involved in the community and how they can fight negative stereotypes through physical appearance, professional goals and societal interactions. It is pertinent to reflect on what individual professionals can do to replace these negative perceptions with positive ones. One starting-point is to ask some key questions about personal style at work: how do I come across? how do I behave?, how do I sound?, what is my image profile?, who is my audience? In doing so a checklist of what is an appropriate image for a professional and what to avoid is compiled. These question are very pertinent as their answers enable one to build a profile of professional image which essentially revolve around linked elements of professional competency, appearance, body language, communication style, professional presence and reputation.
In concluding, I want to urge librarians or information professionals to be acquainted with the concept of soft skills, which is basically a sociological term relating to a person's cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that characterize relationships with other people. Soft skills complement hard skills which are occupational requirements
Librarians do rock...and party too!!!
Firstly I would like to say I'm proud to be a Librarian and I love the L sign. Thank you for the weekly feature 'the Arena with Hildegarde', and would like to register that I'm a keen follower since the day colleagues' mentioned 'kuti anga ari Librarian' and the rest is history. So all along I've been pondering on how to formally approach Tendai to push and advocate the cause of us librarians. Coincidentally on the day of publication of the article "Librarians: Censors or info organizers?" two most important ZimLA branch elections were taking place in Mashonaland and Matebeleland the very same afternoon and what a refreshing and inspirational precursor in our association's revival quest. For the record ZimLA had been dormant for the last six or so years.
Now to the article itself, Hildegarde raises very pertinent issues which I feel needs further elaboration and currently the focus areas of ZimLA. I will concentrate on the issue of image, as you rightly pointed out we are still regarded in the traditional sense not only as the wo/man behind the desk stamping books but just some lackey fellow putting back books on the shelves. The stereo-typing is even worse at family level (extended family included), my case for example everyone wondered why I chose to be a Librarian and breaking with tradition of becoming a Teacher, the norm in our clan. The last two years of my college years had to finance my own tuition fees, no one was interested in investing in a Librarian. With determination within two years of being employed by a UN agency I bought my first ‘jalopy’ which my father and family members have never achieved in their lifetime. I was labeled a fraudster and had to put a big sticker on my windscreen labeled ‘thug lyfe’ to their appeasement. I quitely moved to the ‘suburbs’ with my small family put my first daughter at prestigious private school, travel abroad on business became the norm and it finally dawned on them that Librianship was a better option than teaching. Interestingly two of my siblings saw the light at the end of the tunnel and followed in my footprints, one is currently employed by the largest Zimbabwean University as a senior library assistant and the other currently undertaking diploma studies in LIS/RAM. The respect that I command now in family circles is unbelievable because I’ve stood up and defended who I am and what I’m capable of achieving as a LIBRARIAN.
On a more professional note stereo typing is real especially considering our profession and would like to take a contemporary and historical view. Quoting largely from Chikwanha Lawrence (2010) paper 'Igniting the image of information professional: Key concepts and the role of the Zimbabwe Library Association'
Many contemporary theorists define stereotypes as characteristics that are descriptive of, attributed to, or associated with members of social groups or categories. Ashmore and Del Boca (1981) defined stereotypes as a set of beliefs about the personal attributes of a group of people. According to McCauley et al. (1980), stereotypes are those generalizations about a class of people that distinguish them from others. Stereotype ideas are created during the perception process when the observer forms fixed and oversimplified ideas or images of a particular group or class of people (Scott and Marshall, 2005), and these images are often unreal and biased (Colman, 2001). Stereotypes can be found that are associated with nations, ethnic groups, social classes, religions, and professions. One major consequence of stereotyping is that it results in an identity threat known as 'devaluation.' Identity devaluation occurs when negative attributions about your social identity group undermine key constituents' perceptions of your competence, character, or commitment. Stereotyping poses obstacles for creating a positive professional image.
Stereotypes can be positive, negative or mixed, and are applied indiscriminately to all members of a group, without allowing for individual differences. Although stereotypes contain some truth, these are often generalized and biased, and yet are accepted as a 'reality'. Stereotypes are often distorted, in that they exaggerate and universalize some of the characteristics of some of the members of the stereotyped group (Worchel et al., 2000). Understanding of stereotypes is important because people treat members of the other groups based on their stereotyped views (Swim et al., 1989) and interact, at least initially, with the stereotype rather than with the true person. This results in many individual injustices, sice only some persons in the group fully fit the stereotype.
Stereotypes of Librarians
Studies conducted on perceptions and stereotypes associated with librarians clearly show continuity, and there is no clue of improvement in their image. An early study by Leigh and Sewny (1960) suggested no single distinctive image of librarians, but rather, a number of different images ranging from scholarly and resourceful professional to a timid, plain-looking, middle-aged female stamping cards and collecting pennies for overdue books. Hernon and Pastine (1977) studied the perceptions of full-time students at the University of Nebraska of the educational role of academic librarians. The study suggested the existence of stereotype images and misconceptions. A librarian was described as a little old lady behind the desk, checking out or shelving books, filing cards, and keeping the library in order. Cowell (1980) described the popular image of the librarian as a fussy old woman, myopic and repressed, brandishing or perhaps cowering behind a date-stamp, and surrounded by an array of notices which forbid virtually every human activity. Goulding et al. (1999, p.15) painted the image of a librarian as "particularly shy, introvert, insecure, strict, punctual and dull", at the same time described as "reliable, serious and selfless". Peresie and Alexander (2005, p.28) observed that the media and authors of fiction portray a librarian as a "spinster, cold, stern, timid, shy" but "intelligent, well-informed, and helpful". A major positive stereotype of librarians that emerges from academia is that many people have used words such as, 'helpful', 'efficient', 'pleasant', 'polite', or 'friendly' to describe librarians.
Popular stereotypes of librarians
in addition to the academic papers cited above, there are some prevalent stereotypes that society has of librarians and information professionals. It is very important to understand these stereotypes as they have a huge bearing on the professional image of librarians. These are some of the stereotypes of librarians that one can across in popular literature.
a) The Crone/Old Maid
She's an elderly, white woman, wearing pince-nez glasses and a bun. She's decidedly unfashionable, with high collars, ruffles, and sensible shoes. She also has a pencil; usually it's sticking out of her bun.
b) The Enforcer
Another stereotype presents the librarian as rule-bound and oppressive, someone whose job consists of shushing patrons, stamping books, and preventing from using the library. She's uptight, stern, and only thinks of the rules.
c) Representative of Civilization and Culture
Another popular depiction shows librarians presented as cultured and refined. This more appealing stereotype suggests that librarians are not just keepers of knowledge but actually know the location and contents of every book in the library.
d) Intellectual
The librarian is often seen as an intellectual, a person of superior learning who is simply smarter than the people around her. It’s a burden we all have to bear.
e) Uneducated Clerk
This stereotype views librarians as performers of visibly clerical tasks such as circulation, reference checking, and shelving because either they have very little professional education or none at all.
As Tracy Green notes, the general image of librarians is a negative stereotype of either unapproachable, authoritarian characters or weak, incompetent hideaways, doing no more than shelving or stamping books, while saying 'shush', is hardly surprising that this would prove a barrier to people seeing the usefulness of librarians. The issue of stereotyping is very pertinent and one question it leads to is that do the stereotypes reinforce low status or does low status create the stereotype? That's very hard to say. What is clear is that librarians have felt that they have not been recognized as professionals by their clientele or by the world at large. Sensitivity over the image question may stem from this basic feeling.
Currently in Zimbabwe, regionally and globally a rebranding revolution and new evolving roles of information practitioners is massively taking place for instance we now have digital librarians, Infoprenuers, knowledge managers. The major emphasis is now on convergence, inclusiveness and synergies amongst the various offshoots of library information science (LIS) such as records and archival management (RAM) and other professions like journalism. I very much agree with you that LIS is a specialized field; we have been organizing knowledge since the days of Ranganathan but today all and sundry are obsessed with knowledge management which can earn someone a doctorate but would not be amused to be referred to as a Librarian.
Further the image of information practitioners can be enhanced by critically looking at issues such as the role played professional associations in professional development, social responsibilities, advocacy, appropriate LIS/RAM curriculum offered in the various tertiary institutions, social networking, collaborations with like minded individuals, institutions and organizations in order to establish sustainable
partnerships.
Creating a positive professional image
In the increasingly diverse, twenty-first century workplace, people face a number of complex challenges to creating a positive professional image. As stated earlier, you must realize that if you aren’t managing your own professional image, someone else is. It is only wise to add your voice in framing others' theories about who you are and what you can accomplish. Many authors give long lists of things that librarians can do to make the public like them better: change the way we dress, deliver better service, be more assertive, get more involved in the community and how they can fight negative stereotypes through physical appearance, professional goals and societal interactions. It is pertinent to reflect on what individual professionals can do to replace these negative perceptions with positive ones. One starting-point is to ask some key questions about personal style at work: how do I come across? how do I behave?, how do I sound?, what is my image profile?, who is my audience? In doing so a checklist of what is an appropriate image for a professional and what to avoid is compiled. These question are very pertinent as their answers enable one to build a profile of professional image which essentially revolve around linked elements of professional competency, appearance, body language, communication style, professional presence and reputation.
In concluding, I want to urge librarians or information professionals to be acquainted with the concept of soft skills, which is basically a sociological term relating to a person's cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that characterize relationships with other people. Soft skills complement hard skills which are occupational requirements
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