Burden of ‘approachability’ in librarianship

In thinking about librarian stereotypes, and factors that can influence patrons’ user-success and confidence: Pagowsky and Rigby (2014) suggest these factors can include “approachability, identity, warmth, openness, and body language of the librarian” (pg. 7), suggesting that “even active users, who are already in a library with research questions, carry preconceived notions that might hinder or help their access to information, depending on what they encounter and how librarians presents themselves” (Pagowsky and Rigby, 2014, p. 7).

This passage is interesting to me for the emotional labor and the emotional intelligence it seems to demand of librarians. It isn’t enough to be good at our jobs; we have to project a certain aura that makes us “approachable.” But this aura of “approachability” may be something that we have little control over. There may also be variables in a potential patron’s life that we don’t even know about, a past experience or trauma that led to them forming a negative impression and caused them to prematurely judge us based upon our appearance.

The authors later write that “In thinking about who is and is not considered a ‘librarian,’ a lack of privilege conflicts with choice regarding one’s ability to ignore stereotypes and others’ perceptions” (Pagowsky and Rigby, 2014, p. 14). When reading this passage, I reflected again on the need for patrons to view a librarian as “approachable.” If, as the authors advise, “We risk losing the engagement of potential lifelong users of libraries if we fail to present ourselves as welcoming, accessible, engaged, and savvy” (pg. 7), then we do not have the privilege to ignore stereotypes and perceptions. In my case, add to that an autistic pressure to “mask” neurodivergent identities, but with an additional disadvantage of not being able to accurately gauge how others might perceive me.

References:
Pagowsky, N., & Rigby, M. (2014). Contextualizing ourselves: The identity politics of the librarian stereotype. ACRL Press.