In this article, I extend the argument for open-ended exploratory, anthropologically informed, qualitative work in libraries that Andrew Asher and I began with “Ethnographish” (2016) and further explore and explain the paucity of open-ended exploration in library assessment and engagement work with...

The Labour of Austerity : Absurdity, Performative Resistance, and Cultural Transformation

Textual materials

Nora Almeida (2020)

Textual materials

This essay explores the social-psychic toll of prolonged austerity on academic librarians and the range of strategies that have (or could) serve as tools of resistance. Using a combination of theoretical analysis and autoethnography, I examine the emotional impact of bottomless and invisible labour...

The Coin of Love and Virtue: Academic Libraries and Value in a Global Pandemic

Textual materials

Maura Seale et al. (2020)

Textual materials

In September 2010, the Association of College and Research Libraries released The Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report. The spread of the novel coronavirus and the resulting global pandemic has raised questions about the concept of value in academic libraries. How...

Now You See It, Now You Don't : The Disappearing Collection of Western University's D.B Weldon Library

Textual materials

Alec Mullender et al. (2020)

Textual materials

The mass culling of libraries' print collections has often been questioned by librarians and library users, yet it has become more common in recent decades. Despite several high-profile controversies, the removal and subsequent disposal of large portions of physical collections are still seen by man...

The Antinomies of Academic Freedom : Reason, Trans Rights, and Constituent Power

Textual materials

Sam Popowich (2020)

Textual materials

This article challenges the dominant conception of academic freedom by critiquing the liberal philosophy that underpins it. The article uses recent issues around trans rights in both public and academic librarianship to show how the dominant liberal conception of academic freedom supports transphobi...

“Ruthless Criticism of All that Exists”: Marxism, Technology, and Library Work

Books and book chapters

Sam Popowich (Sep 14, 2017)

Books and book chapters