Ice Ice Baby: Are Librarian Stereotypes Freezing Us out of Instruction?

Authors

Nicole Pagowsky, University of ArizonaFollow
Erica DeFrain, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

ORCID IDs

Erica DeFrain

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

6-3-2014

Citation

Pagowsky, N., & DeFrain, E. (2014). Ice Ice Baby: Are Librarian Stereotypes Freezing Us out of Instruction?. In the Library with the Lead Pipe.

http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2014/ice-ice-baby-2/

Comments

This article was originally published by In the Library with the Lead Pipe.

Copyright (c) 2014 Nicole Pagowsky and Erica DeFrain

Abstract

Why do librarians struggle so much with instruction? Part of the problem is that we have so many facets to consider: pedagogy, campus culture, relationships with faculty, and effectiveness with students. Research on student and faculty perceptions of librarians combined with sociological and psychological research on the magnitude of impression effects prompted us to more thoroughly examine how perceptions of instruction librarians impact successful teaching and learning. In this article, we look at theories of impression formation, the historical feminization of librarianship, and suggestions for next steps that we should take in order to take charge of our image and our instruction.