Widdersheim, McCleary – Gender
& Sexuality, Self-Identity, and Libraries: Readers’ Advisory as a
Technique for Creative (Dis)Assembly
Using theories of
gender, sexuality, and identity to describe ways of constructing more inclusive
Readers’ Advisories, Widdersheim and McCleary discuss the tensions in providing
service to LGBTQ+ young adults. The authors advocate for a method called
creative (dis)assembly, which outlines how librarians can create spaces with
their readers’ advisories that allow for young readers to assemble their sexual
and gender identities on their own terms rather than having it defined for them
by the library or the librarian. Widdersheim and McCleary also articulate ways
in which critical theory can be utilized to conceive of new ways to engage with
young readers and be advocates for them in ways that dismiss structural gender
binarism and heteronormativity.
Beard – Rethinking the Book
This article explores
different ways of imagining Reader’s Advisory that goes beyond book
description. David Beard and Kate Vo Thi-Beard raise different theories as to
why adults read different genres of fiction or non-fiction. Ultimately, they
raise their case that Reader’s Advisory should be based on why readers read
instead of what readers read. Including books about fandom blogs and ComicCon
next to a display on sci-fi books puts the burden on the librarian on figuring
out the best way to engage readers rather than putting the burden on the reader
to figure out what kind of books to read based purely on genre or elemental
description.
Meredith – Using AR Tools to
Enhance Children’s Library Services
Responding to the
potential uses of augmented reality (AR) technologies in the library, Tamara Meredith
highlights how AR can be highly beneficial for children’s services to mitigate
misunderstandings between young users and librarians. Meredith specifically
addresses how AR could benefit reader’s advisory experiences by having
AR-capable devices like smartphones scan the covers of books and display
information. However, she also acknowledges the technology has the capacity to
overload the cognitive senses of young children, while also being an expensive
technology for libraries to implement and patrons to utilize.
--
For
this week’s class, I searched and selected three readings about different ways
of thinking about reader’s advisory, each relating to a type of library that is
more inclusive, considerate, and revolutionary. Whether it is engaging with new
technologies or embracing terminologies that recognize and celebrate difference,
librarians have the potential to transform reader’s advisory (RA) into a
service that benefits users in far-reaching ways. These readings showed the
extensive thought librarians and other information professionals have given to
rethinking how activities in libraries, like RA, are conducted. This is
especially true in Meredith’s article, which examines augmented reality technologies
for reader’s advisory for children. She highlights one of the potential uses to
combat inadequate staffing at a library that serves children:
Another area of reader’s
advisory for children that is negatively impacted by insufficient library
staffing (or limited time) is that of finding read-alikes—materials with
similar themes or emotional content. [1]
With
smartphones as an intermediary, children can interact with materials in a way
that can recommend new books for them to read, a boon for an age group
developing the skills of literacy. Utilizing new technologies for the benefit
of the user is one of the ways in which libraries can use reader’s advisory to
achieve a technological revolutionary means of engagement.
Librarians
can also be considerate to the reasons and desires of the user, as Beard and
Thi-Beard mention in their article on rethinking readers’ advisory and making
it more about why readers read the books they do as opposed to what readers
read. Going beyond simple description, Beard and Thi-Beard advocate for pulling
in a diverse set of books in anticipation of what a reader might want to
accomplish with their reading, whether it is an action-based inspiration or an
identity-based inspiration. When thinking of readers’ advisory book displays,
the authors suggest using “the idea that reading enables action and fosters
social affiliation to pull books together on the endcap.” [2] Taking the time to
imagine how readers process the knowledge contained in their materials and
using that as inspiration for readers’ advisory creates an environment where
the library can be seen as a considerate subject in relation to its users.
Lastly, the Widdersheim and McCleary article
provided a template for how to imagine a more inclusive library that relies on
liberatory pedagogy instead of repressive systems that rely on sexual, gendered
paradigms. Recreating readers’ advisory in a manner that does not enforce
gender binarism or heteronormativity requires a disruptive mode of thinking,
which in this case, Widdersheim and McCleary label as disjuncitonal advisory. As
they describe it:
“Disjunctional advisory forgets past practices in which gender and
sexuality were identities to be managed and sorted out by librarians making
recommendations. As a countertechnique to the hegemonic machines of
self-assembly, disjunctional advisory attempts to dissociate the library and
reading practices from the dominant technologies that regulate gender and
sexuality.” [3]
Instead
of providing readers’ advisory that is reductive and oppressive, such as
recommending “boys’ books” and “girls’ books” to young adults, librarians can
practice disassociating from those modes of thinking and encourage the reading
of materials in a liberatory manner. By acknowledging the power of recommending
materials to queer young adults, and thereby playing a part in (dis)assembling
their identity, librarians can start to make more informed choices that will
ultimately lead to building a more inclusive library.
[1]
Meredith, Tamara R. "Using Augmented Reality Tools to Enhance Children’s
Library Services." Technology, Knowledge and Learning 20, no. 1 (2014):
p.73.
[2]
Beard, David and Kate Vo Thi-Beard. "Rethinking the Book: New Theories for
Readers' Advisory." Reference & User Services Quarterly 47, no. 4
(2008): p. 334.
[3]
Widdersheim, Michael M., and Melissa
A. Mccleary. "Gender and Sexuality, Self-Identity, and Libraries: Readers’
Advisory as a Technique for Creative (Dis)Assembly." Library Trends 64,
no. 4 (2016): p. 730.
