CritLib Collective with Fobazi Ettarh
Join SCARLA on Tuesday, March 19 at 7pm EST for our CritLib Collective event series, a space where students, faculty, and librarians can gather for informal discussions on important topics related to critical librarianship. For this iteration of our series, we are reading “Vocational Awe and Librarianship: The Lies We Tell Ourselves” by Fobazi Ettarh. You can find the open access article here.
Fobazi Ettarh will be joining us for the meeting to give a short talk about her experiences writing this article and what she has learned since, with time for discussion to follow.
Register for CritLib Collective here. Bring your questions, thoughts, and anecdotes! We are excited for the conversation!
Fobazi M. Ettarh started out in libraries as a school librarian, then was an academic librarian doing mostly public facing roles such as instruction and student success. She is currently in her deferment year for her PhD at University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. In the meantime, she is an independent scholar and consultant for library organizations and training.
Fobazi’s research is concerned with the relationships and tensions between the espoused values of librarianship and the realities present in the experiences of marginalized librarians and library users. In 2018, she coined the term and defined the concept of “vocational awe,” which describes, “the set of ideas, values, and assumptions librarians have about themselves and the profession that result in beliefs that libraries as institutions are inherently good and sacred, and therefore beyond critique.” In her article “Vocational Awe: The Lies We Tell Ourselves,” she describes how vocational awe can lead to burnout and a sense that one’s own self-care is less important than the work being done.
Fobazi Ettarh’s critical work on libraries, labor, and identity has been published in In the Library With the Lead Pipe and edited collections, including the Critical Library Pedagogy Handbook and Knowledge Justice: Disrupting Library and Information Studies through Critical Race Theory. She has given invited talks at numerous professional and scholarly conferences and events, including the Library as Place Symposium, and keynotes at the Association of College and Research Libraries and Library Journal Directors’ Summit.
SCARLA General Interest Meeting & ACRL-NJ Panel Discussion
SCARLA (Student College and Research Libraries Association) is holding a joint General Interest Meeting-Panel Discussion on Tuesday, February 27 at 6:30 pm EST. We invite you to come chat with your fellow MI classmates and help us build programming for the upcoming year!
A Panel Discussion with SCARLA/SC&I Alumni
November 14, 2023, 6pm EST
Join SCARLA (Student College, Academic, and Research Libraries Association) via Zoom on Tuesday, 11/14/23, at 6pm EST for a panel discussion with SCARLA and SC&I alums: Wafa Isfahany, Fobazi Ettarh, Lorin Jackson, and Vanessa Kitzie. Panelists will discuss their professional interests, life after graduation, job searches, and advice for current students. Perfect for SC&I students thinking ahead to graduation, this discussion will be followed by an expansive Q&A session, so be sure to bring your questions!
Register here: http://bit.ly/2023_SCARLA-SCI_Alumni_Panel
BANNED: A Virtual Banned Books Read-Out & Discussions on the Freedom to Read
Thursday, October 5, 2023 at 5:00–6:00 p.m. EST (with optional informal discussion from 6:00-6:30 p.m.)
As part of Banned Book Week, you are invited to BANNED: A Virtual Banned Books Read-Out & Discussions on the Freedom to Read on October 5 at 5:00 pm EST. In addition to “flash-talks” from librarians, SC&I faculty, and Rutgers alumni on censorship and free speech, this virtual open mic-night will also give participants the opportunity to read from, listen to, and celebrate their favorite banned/challenged books. All kinds of texts are welcome, as are all languages! Please note that read-out performances will be limited to 2 minutes each, so choose your excerpt wisely.
Check out the banned books libguide: https://libguides.rutgers.edu/bannedbooks.
Want to participate but don’t know what to read? The ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom has published lists of the most challenged books since 2001, and they can be found HERE.
However, you are not required to do a read-out! Even just tuning in to listen can be a radical act in the celebration of banned books, freedom of speech, and speaking truth to power.
Links
SCARLA General Meeting and Executive Board Elections
SCARLA invites you to their general meeting on Wednesday, March 29 at 7pm. We will be electing officers for our executive board in preparation for the fall semester, and discussing upcoming events. If you are interested in a position, please fill out this form by Monday, March 27. You can read about the positions and requirements here: https://scarla.rutgers.edu/about-the-board/. Join us here: https://bit.ly/SCARLAmarch23. We look forward to seeing you!