In Our Own Voices, Redux: The Faces of Librarianship Today

In the 20-year reboot of Neely and Abif’s 1996 In Our Own Voices, fifteen of the original contributors revisit their stories alongside the fifteen new voices that have been added. This Collective represents a wide range of life and library experiences, gender fluidities, sexualities, races, and other visible, and invisible identities. In addition to reflections on lives and experiences since the 1996 volume, chapters cover the representation of librarians of color in the profession at large, and more specifically, those among them who are still the “only one”; the specter of “us serving them—still;” and migrations from libraries to other information providing professions. These authors reflect on their careers and lives in libraries and other school and workplace settings, as activists, administrators, archivists, library students and information professionals. They share stories of personal and professional abuse, attempts to find and secure gainful employment, navigating the profession, and how they overcame decades of normalized discrimination to complete their educational and career pursuits. They write about the need for support systems, work-life balance, self-care, communities of support, and the importance of mentoring and being mentored. And above all, they persist, and continue to disrupt systems. These essays are from contributors from a variety of libraries and library related environments, and provide answers to questions professionals new to LIS haven’t even asked yet. The inclusion of a new group of librarian his-, her-, and their-stories provides a voice for those currently finding their way through this profession. These essays bring honesty, vulnerability, authenticity, and impactfulness to the “diversity” conversation in libraries and beyond. And more importantly, these voices, from a variety of races, ethnicities, genders and sexualities, matter.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Camila A. Alire Part I: Back in the Day Introduction: The Struggle Renewed by Teresa Y. Neely and Jorge R. López-McKnight Chapter 1: Still Ambiguous After All These Years: Reflections on Diversity in Academic Libraries by Deborah Hollis Part II: They Have Magic Chapter 2: Malore the Explorer: Becoming Global with a Library Touch by Malore I. Brown Chapter 3: The Less Than 1%: Native Librarians in Conversation by Sarah Kostelecky and Lori Townsend Chapter 4: Moving on an Upward: Keeping the Doors of Possibilities Open by Dexter R. Evans Chapter 5: Boundaries of the Body: Finding My(whole)self by Jennifer Brown Chapter 6: Do it For the Culture: My Life as an Archivist by Rachel E. Winston Part III: Strength Chapter 7: You are Not Alone by Joanna Chen Cham Chapter 8: How I Got Over by Evangela Q. Oates Chapter 9: The Jackie Robinson of Library Science: 20 Years Later by Teresa Y. Neely Chapter 10: “The Shoe is Too Small, and Not Made for You!”: Racial ‘Covering’ and the Illusion of Fit by Silvia Lin Hanick Part IV: Leading by Reflection Chapter 11: “While I Have the Floor….” by Mark D. Winston Chapter 12: What Have I Learned From the Past, Present, and Future? by Jose A. Aguiñaga Part V: Family Chapter 13: Like Our Lives Depended on It: Reflections on Embodied Librarianship, Counter-Chapter 14: Spaces, and Throwing Down by Nicholae Cline, Jorge López-McKnight, and Madelyn Shackelford Washington Part VI: Disrupting the System Chapter 15: Uno de Solamente Cuatro: Overcoming Barriers to Minority Recruitment in Appalachia by Monica Garcia Brooks Chapter 16: How Does It Feel to be a Problem? The School-to-Prison Pipeline by Sheree D. White Chapter 17: “...I Shall Become a Collector of Me. And Put Meat on My Soul” by Kimberly Black Part VII: They Persisted Chapter 18: Serving the Sons and Daughters of Mechanics and Farmers in the Crossroads of America by Madelyn Shackelford Washington Chapter 19: Grief in Five Stages: Post Librarian Degree by Leni Matthews Chapter 20: Confessions of a Retired Librarian by Lisa Burwell Chapter 21: Being a Super Token at the American Heritage Center–University of Wyoming by Irlanda E. Jacinto Part VIII: Warrior Women Chapter 22: Shi Shei Iiná Naaltsoos Bá Hooghan: "My Library Life" by Monica Etsitty Dorame Chapter 23: The Skirt Revolution: Speaking Out as a Mexicana Librarian by Jimena Bretón Chapter 24: Reflections of a Long Journey by Mee-Len Hom Chapter 25: What Do I Have to Be? by Tanya Elder Part IX: Bringing Us Home Chapter 26: My America by Ngoc-My Guidarelli Chapter 27: I’m Still Here: An Addendum to A Personal Perspective of Academic Librarianship by Lisa Pillow Chapter 28: How Never to be a Librarian by Zora J. Sampson Chapter 29: Letter to a New Librarian of Color by Sofia Leung Epilogue Chapter 29: Letter to a New Librarian of Color by Sofia Leung

About the Author :
Dr. Teresa Y. Neely is professor of librarianship, and assessment librarian in the College of the University Libraries & Learning Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM. Dr. Neely has worked in academic research libraries for more than 20 years, and is the author or co-author/editor of six books and conference proceedings and has authored/coauthored numerous scholarly peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, conference papers, and a white paper for ACRL. Her research interests include African American and Native American rap and hip-hop lyrics as activist narrative; women and the economic enterprise in the19th century southwest, text and sentiment analysis in social media data. Jorge R. López-McKnight was most recently the First-Year Experience Librarian at the College of the University Libraries & Learning Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM. In that role, he participated in numerous teaching and learning activities with freshman and transfer students to support their growth and educational processes. His research interests include critical race theory and library & information science, educators of color identities and teaching practices, and university/college libraries-high school relationships.

Review :
In Our Own Voices, Redux: The Faces of Librarianship Today is a work that demands to be heard while encouraging those for whom it is specifically written to make themselves heard. It should be read by librarians, library school students, support staff, and administrators. "We See You" is an important phrase in these times, and it is always worth making this message clear. In Our Own Voices, Redux features fearless, heroic contributors share their diverse journeys through powerful voices and thoughtful reflection. Shame on us if in the next twenty years there is not a more positive narrative. Required reading for all, but especially library leaders. An honest, and courageous collection of writing illustrating the significant accomplishments by People of Color in librarianship in the face of structural racism and oppression. The everyday experiences chronicled are a clear indication that despite diversity initiatives and programs, our profession need to better support marginalized workers. What you'll read here are stories most of us can identify with. It is refreshing to see People of Color taking up space in this field, speaking our universal truth to power. Writing our canon. Neely and López-McKnight re-route the historical narrative of our profession, making it broader, deeper, and inclusive. Racism abounds in our profession. Microagressions can not be denied. Put down the “diversity” plan, listen to these voices, and take note of the moments described with an “open access” heart and mind. Our colleagues, with their commitment, passion and skill - survive and thrive, in spite of. Their presence is critical to the vitality and relevancy of librarianship and information management. Up from the mineshaft of authenticity, in their own voices! We must listen, learn, dismantle, and recreate!