From Lady Bountiful to Librarian Cute: Tracing Race and Gender in LIS
Channel: SJSU School of Information
Date: 2023-01-06

Podcast Link: https://bit.ly/3GnyO8u

Abstract:
Through a discussion of her “The Legacy of Lady Bountiful: White Women in the Library” (2016) and “How Cute! Race, Gender, and Neutrality in Libraries” (2017), Gina Schlesselman-Tarango will trace some of the political work that is performed at the intersections of whiteness and gender in libraries, demonstrating how that which surfaces in our field is illustrative and often in service of larger racial projects. She will end with reflections on what whiteness studies can offer to LIS and where they might fall short.

Biography:
Gina Schlesselman-Tarango (she/her) is a Librarian and Associate Professor at Des Moines University where she is responsible for teaching and research services and coordinates a graduate peer associate program. Her research interests include gender and race in librarianship, critical library pedagogy, and information labor as it relates to reproductive health. She lives in Iowa with her partner, child, cats, and chickens.