#information professions

[missmickiescorner]

Separate But Equal: Discussions on the Graduate Level Library Science Degree

As someone who is currently enrolled in an ALA-accredited Library Science and Information program, I can say with full confidence that if the degree was not required in order for me to become a librarian, I would not be here.

A little information about me: I’ve worked in a public library for almost four years, I have an undergraduate degree in Book Studies & Multicultural Literature, and within the last few weeks I have not only been automatically disqualified for a Librarian I position because I didn’t have the library specific degree—I have also been told by both my Circulation Services Manager AND my Library Director that they feel I am qualified to be a Librarian or Library Specialist.

You might be asking then, why I would bother with the degree if I’ve been told by the powers that be that I am qualified and well, it’s because qualified or not due to how the classifications are written, I would either need sixyears of work experience in a library setting or the degree…with no experience required at all.

Personally, it’s quite a frustrating predicament to be in but objectively, I think that it highlights the innate inequity and inaccessibility that the requirement of a graduate degree creates, specifically for people of color like myself.

Cheryl Knott, author of Not Free, Not For All: Public Libraries in the Age of Jim Crow, argued that requiring advanced degrees or certifications as an entry point to librarianship is a direct consequence of racist policies that were in play when public libraries were being established at a national level. Noting that due to this requirement (as well as other laws at the time) aspiring Black library professionals who were either not allowed to participate in or simply have access to any level of education, would automatically be considered less capable of performing in their role and therefore relegated to positions in the library that weren’t patron-facing and didn’t allow any meaningful authority. Conversely, she also noted that when aspiring Black professionals would push back against such policies and attempt to gain hands-on experience they were still considered to be less qualified.

Melanie Higgins, Executive Director of the Richland Libraries, stated that removing the M.L.S. / M.L.I.S. requirement was one of the best decisions she ever made, arguing that, “Having an MLIS degree or even prior public library experience doesn’t automatically ensure [having the knowledge to manage a library].” Additionally, when this requirement was removed, the Richland Libraries went from having one branch manager of color to seven—and while there may be a lot of varying and competing factors for why this might have been, it cannot be denied that it might have been a natural consequence of requiring an advanced degree as an entry-level point to the profession when an overwhelming percentage of those holding the degree are white. (Huggins, 2022)

Again, speaking personally, not only have I been told by my Circulation Services Manager and Library Director that I’m qualified to be a Specialist or Librarian; I have also been actively discouraged by people within my library system from getting the degree because the perception is that it is a “waste.” Waste of money and waste of time, because—as I’m always told—“you can just work your way up and chose to either be a S.L.A. (Supervising Library Assistant) or a Specialist and make the same amount of money.” Which is another piece of the library profession puzzle that is often ignored—in a society that is rapidly demanding more and more education from potential job candidates, the library has a very wide entry point.

I cannot speak to libraries in different locations, but within the San Francisco-Bay Area, almost every library system offers the opportunity to a) join employee-protected, union-backed work and b) climb a clearly defined career ladder. While the position titles may change depending on where you are, every library has the equivalent to a Page or an Aide where the only skills you need to be successful is the ability to count and know your alphabet. Everything else—sorting, shifting, shelving, the computer systems—can be taught on the job. It is only for the classification and specific job title of “Librarian” that the degree becomes a factor, which in my opinion constitutes institutional and organizational gatekeeping. Moreover, there is a lot of evidence that points to the M.L.S. / M.L.I.S. requirement being a holdover from Jim Crow era policies that were designed to keep libraries open to some and not to all.

References

Knott, C. (2015). Not free, not for all: Public libraries in the age of Jim Crow. University of Massachusetts Press.

Huggins, M. (2022). MLIS required? rethinking the skills and knowledge necessary for managing in a public library. Journal of Library Administration, 62(6), 840–846. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2022.2102384

[palatinewolfsblog]

“The profession of journalism ought to be

about telling people what they need to know -

not what they want to know.”

Walter Cronkite.

The Art of Gravitas

(for my old Friend @acommonloon ) ...

[dollypopup]

"Colin should have grovelled more!" "Penelope folded too easily"

I think statements like this typically come from people who like Penelope. . .but don't really understand her. And don't really understand just why she cares for Colin, and just why him groveling would not in any way bring her peace.

Penelope and Colin are kindred spirits in their loneliness, in season 3 more than any others. Penelope had lost her friendship with Eloise, and Colin didn't really have a close friend circle to begin with. Except with Pen. Pen was the person he could put the mask down for, could open up to, (in particular with their 'dreams' discussion) and that's why he couldn't even entertain the idea of giving up talking to her in Season 2. She is a vital part of his life, and holds so much significance and importance to him.

I imagine that's what made their silence over his travels especially painful for him. They spent such a long time talking after Season 1, and he even informs her that her letters were so encouraging, that it helped him heal something inside of himself. That if she could see him in a gentle way. . .so could he. (And he repays this, because he is honest to god out here acting and looking at her like she hung the moon in the sky). But without her presence in his life, he spiraled. Didn't feel confident in being who he is, and thus put on his persona more firmly. We know this because he wrote in his journal that "I want to be less needy, less insecure, while still maintaining the core of my vulnerability that makes me who I am". That he misses his family, that he misses home.

And we know, from the books, that Home? Home is Penelope. Penelope is his North Star, is his guiding force, and who I argue he feels he needs. In his very first scene, he looks toward her house, tries to find her in the window. When he does not, he returns to his family. In the outdoor gathering, he looks for her and finds her, eager to talk. He states aloud that he misses her, and I imagine he wrote it, too. Not hearing back from her over the course of his travels was surely something that hurt him, but he doesn't hold any ill will toward her for it, only wants to reconnect again. In fact, the one and only time he brings up how he misses her and that she didn't respond, she makes very clear the reason why: she heard what he said and it hurt her. And he's ashamed of it.

Colin hears her call him cruel, and instead of ruffling his feathers about it, instead of getting upset, instead of having a chip on his shoulder as I feel so many men would about it. . .he understands why she does so.

Penelope is a woman who has been largely treated poorly in her society. She feels unheard, she feels undesired, and in her circumstances, and I can't help but ask myself. . .has anyone ever truly apologized to Penelope for hurting her, before? Her mother? Her sisters? Eloise, likely, but. . .anyone else? And the way Colin did? Because of all the characters in the show, Colin? Colin knows how to apologize. He has a lot of practice in it. And very importantly: Colin, a man of privilege in his society, apologizes. . .predominately to women. To Marina, to his mother, and multiple times to Penelope.

Ultimately, Penelope wants to be heard, Penelope wants to be understood, Penelope wants to feel desired.

And Colin checks every single one of those boxes. He informs he is not who he was before, and then he proves it to her. He hears that he hurt her, and he comments on it directly. An entire night apart, and he comes back to her 'Because I embarrass you' with 'I am most certainly not ashamed of you', replies to her 'I am a laughingstock' with 'you are clever, and warm, and I am proud to call you my good friend'. He hears her proclaim her own insecurities, and empathizes so deeply with her. He listens. He understands. He makes clear that he cares for her, and that she *is* desired. 'You lift my spirits' 'I seek you out at every social assembly'. That she helps him see the world in ways he loves, that he sees HER and how much she has cared for HIM, that she makes him feel appreciated, that he appreciates her, in turn.

And then? Then? He shows her. He tells her, and he shows her. His actions all throughout Season 3 reinforce this apology. He continues looking for her in every corner of every ballroom, he continues complimenting her, he laughs at her jokes and respects her boundaries, he is ever so gentle with her, he listens to her with an attentiveness that no one else has ever given her. To Lady Whistledown? Sure. But to Penelope? Who else in the entirety of that ton has listened to Penelope the way Colin has?

Absolutely no one.

Penelope Featherington ghosts Colin Bridgerton for months with no explanation, and Colin comes back wanting to reach out to her, and she finally tells him why.

And he apologizes. Because he listens. Really, truly listens. And really truly cares.

I need you to understand how rare that is, even nowadays, but especially back then. That Colin is the kind of man who can put his hurt to the side and realize he made a mistake, that he said something callous, and he adores her, and he can't lose her, and he has to see her and make it right.

Because that's why Penelope fell for Colin. Not because he's beautiful, not for his charm, not for his family. But for his heart. Because he shows her kindness in a world that so often disregards her. Because he seeks her out and tries to understand her, truly hears what she has to say and compliments her, says he's sorry and looks at things from her perspective.

Because he saw her when she was invisible.

Penelope Featherington, who grew up in a house that made cruel jabs at her, has Colin Bridgerton come to her and say he regrets what he said, and that he was wrong, and that he understands why she's mad at him. Penelope Featherington who has so rarely had much of anyone tell her that they're sorry for what they said about her, sits before Colin Bridgerton as he professes how much she means to him. That he cannot even spend a full day away from her knowing they're on bad terms with each other without making it right. That he sees how she is hurting and he has to in any way he can amend it. She is lonely, with no one really in her corner at the start of season 3, and she feels like she lost it all, and Colin comes to her and says 'no, I'm here and I appreciate you and you are special to me, please let me in and let me prove it'. Is it any wonder why after she shakes his hand, she stands in the sun, and she feels the warmth of it, she can smile? That she can breathe, again? That she can be truly content for the first time in the season?

Because Penelope Featherington does not want Colin to beg. She knows him. She knows the tender, full heart he hides behind the new cavalier persona. She knows the soft underbelly of Colin Bridgerton.

He never had to grovel. All he had to do was love her. Assuredly. Fervently. Loudly. Unapologetically.

And he does.

[scarefox]

Always a bit fucked up when people in the audience bash on certain character types I and others can relate to due to shared character traits of introverts or due to trauma / mental illness or even neurodivergent symptoms....

It's one thing when characters in the series do that for not knowing the full picture and not understand why that character is so reserved or scared and then misread it (often btw a learning plot point). But we in the audience usually know those details but then reading people still hating on those characters... just tells me you would hate me too.

[whatudottu]

I am endlessly entertained (perhaps that's the wrong word) by the concept that Knock Out was only ever doctor adjacent and just switched from a cosmetic surgeon to a full blown medic during the war, especially since apparently in human medicine you don't have to have a doctorate as a cosmetic surgeon, at minimum only needing their basic initial medical training.

But I've also been thinking of it shattered too, Shattered Glass specifically.

I mean, I could hypothetically keep SG Knock Out as a cosmetic surgeon, but why would a cosmetic surgeon not practice what they preach and at least look a little nice. Going with a literally shattered Knock Out, would you trust a bot that looks like he walked out fresh from a car crash to make your finish shine? Probably not, but he'll do it...

Though, not in the same way one might as a cosmetic surgeon do (beautician?)

If SG!KO is so hellbent on keeping every scar and only really fixing anything if it reduces the integrity of armour (Knock Out may scoff at scuffed paint but he isn't an idiot), what if frankly he's unused to working on anyone that was ever remotely alive, especially himself who would need to be alive to do anything in the first place. A scar here, a scrape there, battle hardened warriors on their deathbed might want to look grand and imposing even in death, no wayward medic is gonna make that body look pristine and perfect just to erase the story of what had happened.

So instead of being a cosmetic surgeon, Shattered Glass Knock Out may have been a mortician, perfectly adept at making a corpse shine without erasing the features the dearly departed so diligently requested, though gussying up a comatose body is a lot more living than he's particularly used to.

Part of what makes this funny (in perhaps a horrifying way) is that Knock Out uh has no history with being a doctor OR as a licensed medical professional; you don't need a to worry about the hippocratic oath if the patient you're working on hasn't been alive for a whole month. What counts as an open wound fresh from stabbing versus an old wound one wears proudly is if there's any live wires or leaking fuel actively compromising the integrity of a bot's frame. Buffing and waxing a living mecha's armour is different when there are still active nanites working their way on and throughout the body giving their vibrant armour colours. Stemming the flow of actual liquid energon versus the congealed clots of cold dead fuel is an entirely different experience than what Knock Out had been doing over and over again before he had to be a medic.

Trial and error, where the errors lead back into KO's expertise, dealing with the dead and following the wishes of the deceased; a new term to agree upon came about with the war, to harvest what can be salvaged and be stored (for as long as they will live) for spare parts.

If baseverse Knock Out was a charming, outgoing, and sociable mech, SG Knock Out isn't used to bodies (patients, mecha) walking around and talking. One of the first time he was fixing a finish, first time using the stuff for the living, he nearly clawed off his own work when the mech made conversation; the ensuing joke of 'having a BREAKDOWN' didn't stop the groan and eye roll from being his next response. He doesn't so much as flinch at a dead looking finish, the kinda grey you look at an immediately associate with a corpse, but he can certainly tell the difference from a hue of nanites and the absence of their activity. At the cordial 'Doctor Knock Out' sent his way, he has to shut himself up correcting them, for as true as he may say he isn't a doctor it isn't particularly assuring for the bot in charge of your medical care states blandly he doesn't have a license; not many do, but saying it aloud doesn't help anyone.

Working during the war KO has accrued a few scars of his own, never makes it the end of the solar cycle with a pristine finish... and not just because he doesn't really care to start the day with a fresh coat. Armour often left dented though repaired when split, face and portions of protoform littered with nicks and cuts and sometimes gaping wounds, sealed shut not with welding but a mesh net he had once used as a mortician for those very same scars, whatever bleeding there long since healed. The missing optic is inconvenient, though not quite as terrible as losing a few parts from his fingers, their delicate work hampered with some missing tips, another near fully gone.

Some of them have stories, others a quick flash. There was a bomb in a body, that took his fingers. There was a welding torch, the light burned his optic. A wound on his side, that was from a lucky shot.

He is his own walking autopsy.

[hamletshoeratio]

The difference in how Hen and Eddie's cheating is treated/being treated by the fandom v how Buck's is... I wonder why...

[moodr1ng]

were all for prison abolition and transformative justice until i say "the man who abused me as a young teen is not in a place where he has access to children or women so i dont want to pursue any judicial action against him, and also i understand that while the abuse he put me through was extreme and awful, he was young, traumatized, endured abused himself, and abusing multiple substances and i dont believe he is the same person he was at the time", at which point everyone looks at me with pity and concern and tells me i dont have to make excuses for him and im allowed to hate him and etc etc. like yeah i do hate him. im capable of thinking past hatred, being reasonable about the situation, and maintaining my political ideals even when it comes to things personal to me, so that when i say "everyone deserves a chance at rehabilitation" i dont conveniently make an exception for the guy who hurt me personally.. anyway.

[ofcowardiceandkings]

busy trying not to let panicking depresso espresso brain take over my life rn

[teamhawkeye]

god give me the strength not to pick a fight with some stupidass troll on ao3-

[gendernewtral]

i dont want to sound gatekeepy but big blogs with massive followings, who are run by people that don’t know anything about a subject, should not be treated as experts bc they looked something up on wikipedia to make a post.

[missmickiescorner]

Chicano Librarianship

I discovered this article in the bibliography of another article called, “Diversity in the workplace,” that I was reading on the American Library Association’s website and the reason I chose to read it is because I realized that this was as close to “multiculturalism” as I was going to get. Unfortunately, due to the history of chattel slavery in the United States, issues of diversity can sometimes come down to Black and white (literally), which is why I wanted to ensure I included a text that showed a different perspective.

Though short in length, this article tackled issues of diversity, accessibility, and representation by speaking (from personal experience) about something called, “The Way Out Project,” wherein a federal grant was provided in order to create four Mexican American/Chicano libraries and seven African American libraries.

(Side note, after reading this article I could find little to no information about “The Way Out Project,” the closest I got was a book called Still Struggling for Equality: American Public Library Services with Minorities, published in 2004. This article was written in 2010 and Martinez ends by saying that she wished that more of the people involved had recorded their experiences with the project because it’s like it never existed to begin with. Which in my opinion is another whitewashing of library history.)

Being that it is about the author’s personal experiences, it is inherently less factual and data-driven in nature, however given how little information there seems to be about “The Way Out Project,” this testimony (I feel) is crucial to aspiring information professionals, looking to learn more about the history of public libraries as it pertains to people and communities of color. Martinez writes about how the grants enabled libraries to hire more Black and Chicano librarians as well as restock their collections with materials that these new librarians’ thought were beneficial to their patrons. She says that this was met with heavy opposition, disrespect, and outright disrespect which is unfortunately to be expected, however, what I’d like to call attention to is Martinez’s arguments and observations on how these librarians of color were using their newfound positions of power in order to transform their communities and change the perception of what librarians could and were allowed to be.

By Martinez’s account, these new librarians set out to be socially active—putting forth the idea of the library profession, building, and professionals not relegating themselves to being hoarders of information but agents of local culture and servers of their communities. Which isn’t to say that these librarians didn’t love books or intellectual endeavors; they just seemed to understand the underlying prejudices that were ingrained into the library as an organization and fought against it in order to be more accessible and inclusive. (Although as another side note, it is wild to me that even as they were attempting to make libraries more diverse and accessible to underrepresented communities, Mexican and Chicano librarians and patrons were forbidden from speaking Spanish within the library, which would make the library inaccessible to a number of patrons).

Some quotes to chew on:

“Our project consisted of a group of librarians from varied backgrounds, and we became advocates for the recruitment of Spanish-speaking, Mexican-American, and African-American librarians, as well as the addition of ethnic resources and collections, community-based programs, and ethnic library decor to establish presence and a welcoming environment for the community.”

“During the three years of ‘The Way Out Project,’ we consistently encountered opposition from library employees, were reprimanded for our decisions by administrators, or were ignored by colleagues for our activist librarian ways. The motivations for our decisions, the books we purchased, the programs we developed, and the meetings we attended were routinely scrutinized, questioned, and opposed by the majority of librarians.”

References

Martinez, E. (2010, November 1). Chicano librarianship. American Libraries Magazine, 41(November/December 2010), 40–43. Retrieved May 10, 2024, from https://web-p-ebscohost-com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=bba370c6-536d-438a-a1d8-df92f8fa2d93%40redis.

[moteldogs]

I love talking to my dad on the phone because he's always telling me to take creatine and sending me links to declassified special ops training manuals. thanks man

[bowser-is-the-best]

mr. bowser? please do not the therapist

WHAT?

[sunshinexlollipops]

I got yelled at by my (to be former) psychiatrist today. one of the things she got upset about was my depression and anxiety getting better. why? bc I improved while off medication.

the American mental "healthcare" system is a fucking joke and I'm not laughing.

[asalescommunity]

A company SHEIN in a small city Magnice, near Wrocław.

A security company works in a correct manner.

A coffee machine doesn`t add a sugar, and it is a disservice in a place where is a canteen.

It can be a message based on a propaganda.

Who is an owner of a company and a manager?

A working staff among people from a country of Ukraine is positive.

The working staff among people from the country of Poland is swearing, and such a behaviour is negative for a society.

At a working place where is an area to sort products is called SORT, and it is a verb.

The verb should provide an instruction from a team leader for employees in a correct manner with a report for a manager.

A communication should be direct and decisive.

In a company an engineer and a programmer can be responsible for a technology service.

A report can be provided from a working shift for a manager because the manager can manage the working shift better.

In Poland CBA had a notorious software, and a remote control.

The remote control can control a function of a technology product, and can disturb a work among employees.

An employee can use a scanner in a correct manner, while the remote control can uncode a code from a label and provide a message that the label was not scanned.

Such a behaviour can disturb a function of a technology in a company and an income will be smaller, and a lot of employees can be fired from a working place based on incorrect words.

In such a situation there is an injustice.

An employee who is feeding a family can work as best as possible, and still be fired from the working place.

In such a case a psychologist should provide an advice, and a verification in a correct manner can be provided based on a technology in order to make all technology products function in the correct manner.

In a scanner words should describe an instruction in the correct manner because the words that are incorrect will lead to a disorder.

A sort section where products are placed in a box, the scanner can sort all products in the correct manner, and a confirmation should be described with a word sorted.

It can be made globally on all scanners.

An engineer with a product designer can design an equipment that is going to be placed beside a line where products can be sorted.

A city where is being used a remote control is negative for a society and the remote control is based on a software when a technology product can be in a control of the other technology product.

In such cities can be proven a theft, and a fraud.

An industry can monitor a function of all technology products providing a verification in a correct manner for an authority, and those whose practice is illegal a consequence can lead to a loss of a licence to represent a profession based on a technology on a market.

An author Piotr Sienkiewicz

+48 721 951 799

[orchres]

my mum is so funny w how reluctant she is to let me go be a grown-up like ma'am are you aware that at my age you already had your first child and you had been employed for 5 years and you were going to quit to start your own business when you were 29? but somehow me skipping forward to the be self-employed part is moving too fast and you must psych me out of the things that I want to do in favour of other opportunities you deem more important because they're happening through your connections? 🤔