Going With the Grain: Embodying the Public Library as Social Reproduction in Marion County Florida
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| Publicado en: | ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (2025) |
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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
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| Acceso en línea: | Citation/Abstract Full Text - PDF |
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| Resumen: | The public library has been a public space in the American imaginary, often depicted as democratic in nature and a benefit to all communities. However, the picture of public libraries today is not as clear; it is in a precarious position with an imminent threat of either funding cuts, privatization, or censorship. In performing an institutional ethnography of the Marion County Library System, I make the argument that the public library is enrolled in the social reproduction of the state, which is contradictory to the public image of the library as promoting social cohesion in a democratic, multi-racial society. The hierarchical framework of the library system works within the broader hierarchy of education; both serve capitalism by creating difference among library workers. Within this hierarchy, those who receive more education—preferably a Master's in library and information science (MLIS)— are granted greater agency over their workday and responsibilities. With an MLIS, as a librarian or administrator, staff can form an individual identity that merges their positionality, their experiences in ‘library school’, and the archetype of a productive or “good” librarian. Those with an MLIS must manage the contradiction of social cohesion in an unequal world through the practice of embodiment, which requires care and emotional labor. I characterize this everyday practice as embodying the library— which involves the merging of librarianship’s historical foundations and library tenets with the lived experiences of librarians. I argue that this embodiment constitutes a form of unpaid labor that librarians undertake. However, it further entrenches the staff in library ideology, which has broader impacts on how their institution either contributes to cultural change or perpetuates oppressive power systems and dominant norms. This can lead to a broader understanding of the role public libraries play in the social reproduction of the state and communities. |
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| ISBN: | 9798293813537 |
| Fuente: | ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global |