Soliciting Performance, Hiding Bias: Whiteness and Librarianship

• Main Author: Angela Galvan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: In the Library with the Lead Pipe 2015-06-01
• Series: In the Library with the Lead Pipe
• Subjects: diversity; job market; librarianship; organizational culture
• Online Access: http:///2015/soliciting-performance-hiding-bias-whiteness-and-librarianship/

Despite the growing body of research on our professional demographics and multi-year diversity initiatives, librarianship in the United States remains overwhelmingly white. I suggest the interview process is a series of repetitive gestures designed to mimic and reinforce white middle class values, which ultimately influence the hiring decisions—and relative lack of diversity—of librarianship as a whole. I consider how the whiteness of librarianship may manifest long before the hiring process. By identifying and interrogating the body of white, middle class values inherent to both librarianship and professional job searching, I offer suggestions to encourage an authentically diverse pool of applicants.