Fobazi Ettarh Explained

Fobazi Michelle Ettarh is an American academic. She has been librarian at Temple University Libraries,[1] [2] California State University, Dominguez Hills and Rutgers University.[3] [4] Her research focus includes inclusion, equity, and diversity in libraries, and her work led her to coin the term "vocational awe."[5]

Early life and education

Ettarh was born in New Jersey, as the child of a pastor. She attended University of Delaware for undergraduate studies. She later earned a MLS from Rutgers in 2014 while on the school library media track.[6] She also received a certification to be a school librarian in New Jersey.[7] She is a PhD student at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.[8]

Career

In 2016, Ettarh created Killing Me Softly: A Game About Microaggressions, an open-access video game.[9] [10] which allows players to navigate through the life of a character who experiences microaggression.[11]

In May 2017, during a panel presentation held at the University of Southern California, Ettarh first used, and coined, the term "vocational awe".[12] [13] She later defined the term, in a January 2018 article within In The Library With The Lead Pipe, as "the set of ideas, values, and assumptions librarians have about themselves and the profession that result in notions that libraries as institutions are inherently good, sacred notions, and therefore beyond critique."[14] [15] [16] The term was embraced by fellow librarians such as Meredith Farkas, who argued that vocational awe was "common in the helping professions" like librarianship[13] and R. David Lankes of Publishers Weekly as putting the "grand mission" of librarians before the well-being of the workforce.[17]

In September 2018, Ettarh wrote the foreword to the Library Juice Press book Pushing the Margins: Women of Color and Intersectionality in LIS.[18]

In January 2019, as part of an American Libraries piece interviewing "front-line librarians", she argued that "mission creep" was a major problem within librarianship, citing the use of Narcan as an example, and saying that librarians should remain specialists in information, not be "stretched thin" in job responsibilities.[19] She also presented at two conferences in 2019 on the topic of vocational awe, first at the Association of College and Research Libraries Conference in April[20] and at the Library Journal Directors' Summit n November 2019.[21] She also gave the keynote speech at the Minnesota Library Association's Academic and Research Libraries Division (ARLD) Day in 2020[22] and a presentation at the Academic Library Association of Ohio the following year.[23]

When colleges closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States in March 2020, but left on-campus libraries open, she expressed to Teen Vogue that this decision was unfair to the most vulnerable students who lacked access to technology and library services without physically being on campus. She argued that by leaving the libraries as one of the few open spaces on campus, students could potentially expose themselves to a deadly virus in order to succeed academically. Additionally, she pointed out that this decision prioritized the academic success of students over the health and well-being of library workers.[24] In April 2021, she told Cronkite News "it's too soon to be opening up any buildings, but especially library buildings" and "we’re not actually creating equity by opening the library [...] Those who do not have that access have to now weigh the potential for getting a deadly virus against, "I'm preparing for class," or filling out a job application online. It is just showing how inequitable the system is to have to go to a congregation point in order to continue to be successful in society."[25] In March 2022, Ettarh told Library Journal that the pandemic had "brought home the idea that work can’t love you back".[26]

Ettarh presented the keynote speech at the Connecticut Information Literacy Conference in 2022[27] [28] and a keynote presentation at the Lake Superior Libraries Symposium the same year.[29] She also presented on the topic of vocational awe at the Politics of Libraries Conference in March 2022[30] and on the same topic at the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion symposium hosted by the SJSU School of Information.[31] She also was a presenter at the Social Emotional Librarianship conference, co-hosted by Library Journal and School Library Journal in October 2022, on the topic of advocating for yourself and your staff.[32]

Research, librarianship, and influence

Ettarh's research focuses on gap between values of librarianship and the realities for "marginalized librarians and users". She also focuses on inclusion, equity, and diversity in libraries,[33] including social and organizational privilege, and the notion of vocational awe as related to librarians.[34] [35] [36] She is also involved with the We Here community and talks about "creating communities of color" within libraries which support one other. In 2017, she was selected as a ALA Emerging Leader.[37]

Ettarh's article January 2018 In the Library with the Lead Pipe article received an honorable mention in the 2018 Library Juice Paper Contest[38] and appeared on library science course syllabi.[39] Her article was praised for allowing librarians to talk about the profession with "more honesty".[40] Abby Hargreaves of Book Riot argued that there is "staunch reality" in examining the ALA "Library Bill of Rights", saying it deserves a "sense of awe".[41] She also said that vocational awe should be deconstructed and eliminated "in ourselves and in our customers".[42]

The term "vocational awe" has been used by scholars in articles about music librarianship,[43] theological librarianship,[44] early career librarians,[45] preservation,[46] academic librarians,[47] [48] stress and burnout of library workers,[49] higher education,[50] and other topics.[51] The term has also been used by non-librarians. Cartoonist Alison Bechdel described Dykes to Watch Out For protagonist Mo Testa as falling into "the pitfall of vocational awe, believing that her public library job is a religious calling".[52] Writer John Warner proposed a similar term, institutional awe, derived from vocational awe, referring to when no individual sacrifice is "too great in order to preserve the status quo functioning of the institution."[53]

In May 2020, Ettarh was named as a "mover & shaker" by Library Journal.[54] In March 2021, scholar Zahra Osman said that Ettarh, apart from her scholarly work, often spends time giving interviews with MLIS students covering her perspectives on library leadership.[55]

Personal life

Ettarh identified herself as first-generation American, queer, and disabled women of color in a Library Journal profile.[56] She is a self-described "radical librarian",[57] and was living in Newark, New Jersey as of April 2021.

Selected publications

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Martinez . George . Resident of the Month: Fobazi M. Ettarh . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180615080606/https://acrl.ala.org/residency/resident-of-the-month-fobazi-m-ettarh/ . June 15, 2018 . January 15, 2023 . Residency Interest Group . 14 June 2018 . . en-US.
  2. Web site: Former Residents . live . https://archive.today/20230116171818/https://acrl.ala.org/residency/residents/past-residents/ . January 16, 2023 . January 16, 2023 . Residency Interest Group . Association of College and Research Libraries.
  3. Web site: Fobazi Ettarh. Rutgers University Libraries. Rutgers University. en. January 15, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20200925173326/https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/profile/fobazi_ettarh. September 25, 2020. live.
  4. Web site: Swenson . Ali . August 9, 2019 . Librarians facing new tasks say crisis isn't in the catalog . live . https://archive.today/20230116155935/https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/aug/09/librarians-facing-new-tasks-say-crisis-isnt-in-the/ . January 16, 2023 . . Associated Press.
  5. Web site: Bresnahan. Megan. How Policies Portray Students: A Discourse Analysis of Codes of Conduct in Academic Libraries. 2021. University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. University of New Hampshire. See page 5 of this faculty publication.
  6. Web site: Library Journal Names Maggie Murphy '12 a 2020 "Mover and Shaker" . Rutgers School of Information. Rutgers University. June 22, 2020. https://archive.today/20230116155511/https://comminfo.rutgers.edu/news/library-journal-names-maggie-murphy-12-2020-mover-and-shaker. January 16, 2023. live.
  7. Web site: Fobazi M. Ettarh. New Jersey Library Cooperative. January 16, 2023. https://archive.today/20230116150115/https://librarylinknj.org/ce/presenters/fobazi-m-ettarh. January 16, 2023. live.
  8. Web site: Discussing How We Actively Address the Ways Our Institutions are Deeply Rooted in Past and Current Injustices. SPARC. September 18, 2022. January 16, 2023. https://archive.today/20230116172534/https://sparcopen.org/event/discussing-how-we-actively-address-the-ways-our-institutions-are-deeply-rooted-in-past-and-current-injustices/. January 16, 2023. live.
  9. Web site: Fobazi Ettarh. SJSU School of information. 5 October 2020 . San Jose State University. January 15, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20220522171143/https://ischool.sjsu.edu/speaker/fobazi-ettarh. May 22, 2022. live.
  10. Web site: Vocational Awe . dead . https://archive.today/20230116145359/https://library.ohio.gov/services-for-libraries/library-programs-development/critical-conversations/%23VocationalAwe . January 16, 2023 . January 16, 2023 . State Library of Ohio.
  11. Web site: Killing Me Softly: A Game of Microaggressions. CUNY Games Network. Graduate Center, CUNY. August 3, 2016. January 16, 2023. https://archive.today/20230116153225/https://games.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2016/08/03/killing-me-softly-a-game-of-microaggressions/. January 16, 2023. live.
  12. Web site: Accepted proposals. Identity, Agency, and Culture in Academic Libraries Conference. University of Southern California Libraries. en. January 15, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230116025822/https://iacal2016.wixsite.com/iacal2017/accepted-proposals. January 16, 2023. live.
  13. Web site: Farkas. Meredith. Less Is Not More. November 1, 2017. American Libraries Magazine. en-US. January 15, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20221204115920/https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2017/11/01/resilience-less-is-not-more/. December 4, 2022. live.
  14. Web site: Vocational Awe and Librarianship: The Lies We Tell Ourselves. In the Library with the Lead Pipe. 10 January 2018 . en-US. April 1, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20230105002507/https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/vocational-awe/. January 5, 2023. live.
  15. Web site: LaPierre. Suzanne. Resisting "Vocational Awe" During the Pandemic. Public Libraries Online. 27 March 2020 . Public Library Association. en. January 15, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20221001051327/https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2020/03/resisting-vocational-awe-during-the-pandemic/. October 1, 2022. live.
  16. Web site: Decolonizing the public library. September 3, 2019. rabble.ca. en. January 15, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20200420012655/https://rabble.ca/news/2019/09/decolonizing-public-library. April 20, 2020. live.
  17. Web site: Lankes. R. David. Why Libraries Are Committing to Systemic Change. Publishers Weekly. July 10, 2020. January 16, 2023. https://archive.today/20230116140546/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/83817-reclaiming-our-virtue.html. live. January 16, 2023.
  18. Web site: Pushing the Margins. Litwin Books & Library Juice Press. 17 September 2018 . Library Juice Press. en-US. January 15, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20220817063915/https://litwinbooks.com/books/pushing-the-margins/. August 17, 2022. live.
  19. Web site: Other Duties as Assigned. January 2, 2019. American Libraries Magazine. en-US. January 15, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20221115010726/https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2019/01/02/mission-creep-other-duties-as-assigned/. November 15, 2022. live.
  20. Web site: Why Being Bad Is Good. American Libraries Magazine. en-US. January 15, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20210729113146/https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/acrl2019-vocational-awe-why-being-bad-is-good/. July 29, 2021. live.
  21. Web site: Library Journal Directors' Summit. Library Journal. November 2019. January 16, 2023. https://archive.today/20230116170538/https://www.libraryjournal.com/event/directors-summit-2019%23program. January 16, 2023. live.
  22. Web site: Academic and Research Libraries Division (ARLD) Day 2020. Minnesota Library Association. January 15, 2023. https://archive.today/20230116032025/https://www.mnlibraryassociation.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1346276. January 16, 2023. live.
  23. Web site: Event schedule. Academic Library Association of Ohio. January 16, 2021. https://archive.today/20230116170903/https://2021.alaoweb.org/schedule/. January 16, 2023. live.
  24. Web site: College Students Share What Coronavirus Means for Their Schools. Ralph. Kaylen. Teen Vogue. 13 March 2020 . en. January 15, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20220808123258/https://www.teenvogue.com/story/coronavirus-on-campus-students-explain-covid-19-closing-colleges. August 8, 2022. live.
  25. Web site: Alexander. Brianna. Why this 'radical librarian' believes libraries, to address inequity, should keep buildings closed. Chronkite News. Arizona PBS. April 30, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20220705091439/https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2021/04/30/why-this-radical-librarian-believes-libraries-to-address-inequity-should-keep-buildings-closed/. July 5, 2022. live. January 15, 2023.
  26. Web site: Dixon. Jennifer A.. Feeling the Burnout. Library Journal. March 27, 2022. January 16, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20220313171729/https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/Feeling-the-Burnout. March 13, 2022. dead.
  27. Web site: Program Information. Connecticut Information Literacy Conference. January 16, 2023. https://archive.today/20230116154106/https://libguides.southernct.edu/cilc/2022/programinfo. January 16, 2023. live.
  28. Web site: 2022 Connecticut Information Literacy Conference. Connecticut Information Literacy Conference. https://archive.today/20230116165753/https://libguides.southernct.edu/cilc/pastconferences/2022videos. January 16, 2023. January 16, 2023. live.
  29. Web site: Breakout Sessions and Schedule. Lake Superior Libraries Symposium. 14 April 2021 . January 16, 2023. https://archive.today/20230116154454/https://lakesuperiorlibrariessymposium.com/symposia/lsls21-mapping-our-identity/breakout-sessions-and-schedule/. January 16, 2023. live.
  30. Vocational Awe and the "Apoliticism" of Libraries. May 18, 2022. January 16, 2023. Education & Research Archive. University of Alberta Libraries. 10.7939/r3-1ev8-da94 . https://archive.today/20230116162135/https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/2d57b5d8-a755-40eb-aa4a-d7d4f48a4e0c. January 16, 2023. live . Ettarh . Fobazi . Video notes date in March 2022.
  31. Web site: Tokunaga. Eori. Women in Information: Women leaders discuss experiences and expectations. SJSU School of Information. San Jose State University. March 31, 2022. https://archive.today/20230116165112/https://ischool.sjsu.edu/istudent-blog/women-information. January 16, 2023. live.
  32. Web site: Program. Social Emotional Librarianship Conference. Library Journal. January 16, 2023. https://archive.today/20230116170114/https://www.libraryjournal.com/event/social-emotional-librarianship-oct-2022%23program. January 16, 2023. live.
  33. Ep. 2:36 The Perils of Vocational Awe – An Interview with Fobazi Ettarh . The Professor is In . Karen Klensky . April 27, 2021 . January 16, 2023.
  34. Web site: Smith. Elisa. Ukrainian libraries, serving as bomb shelters, continue to prove that libraries are our best hope.. Lit Hub. March 29, 2022. https://archive.today/20230116145824/https://lithub.com/ukrainian-libraries-serving-as-bomb-shelters-continue-to-prove-that-libraries-are-humanitys-best-hope/. January 16, 2023. live.
  35. Web site: Hello Sunshine Clarifies Call for Librarian: "This is a Paid, Part-Time Position". Jensen. Kelly. January 23, 2020. Book Riot. en-US. January 15, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20200125012007/https://bookriot.com/2020/01/23/reese-witherspoon-librarian/. January 25, 2020. live.
  36. Web site: Fobazi Ettarh on the Limits of Vocational Awe. Ideas on Fire. October 23, 2019. January 15, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20221221063022/https://ideasonfire.net/98-fobazi-ettarh/. December 21, 2022. live.
  37. Web site: Emerging Leader Spotlight: Fobazi M. Ettarh. March 13, 2017. Rainbow Round Table News. American Library Association. en-US. January 15, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20220605065431/https://www.glbtrt.ala.org/news/archives/2843. June 5, 2022. live.
  38. Web site: Gracen Brilmyer Wins Sixth Annual Library Juice Paper Contest. October 1, 2018. Litwin Books & Library Juice Press. Library Juice Press. en-US. April 1, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20220523030402/https://litwinbooks.com/gracen-brilmyer-wins-sixth-annual-library-juice-paper-contest/. May 23, 2022. live.
  39. Web site: Vocational Awe and Academic Service. Behre. Jane. February 27, 2020. Hack Library School. en. February 27, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20220629061350/https://hacklibraryschool.com/2020/02/27/vocational-awe-and-academic-service/. June 29, 2022. live.
  40. Web site: Flanigan. Abby. Vocational Awe and Professional Identity. ACRLog. Association of College and Research Libraries. January 12, 2018. January 16, 2023. https://archive.today/20230116141158/https://acrlog.org/2018/01/12/vocational-awe-and-professional-identity/. January 16, 2023. live.
  41. Web site: Hargreaves. Abby. The Library Bill of Rights: What They Are and What They Mean for You. Book Riot. April 20, 2020. January 16, 2023. https://archive.today/20230116141911/https://bookriot.com/library-bill-of-rights/. January 16, 2023. live.
  42. Web site: Hargreaves. Abby. An Invisible Threat: Compassion Fatigue in Libraries. Book Riot. April 20, 2020. January 16, 2023. https://archive.today/20230116142405/https://bookriot.com/compassion-fatigue-in-libraries/. January 16, 2023. live.
  43. Yang . Z. Sylvia . Vickers . Emily . March 2022 . Double the Vocation, Double the Awe: An Examination of Vocational Awe in Music Librarianship . Notes . . 78 . 3 . 340-343, 345-346, 351-352 . 10.1353/not.2022.0004 . 246819616 . January 16, 2023.
  44. Stutzman . Karl . October 27, 2022 . Vocational Awe and Theological Librarianship: The Truths We Might Begin Telling Ourselves . Theological Librarianship . 15 . 2 . 26–29 . 10.31046/tl.v15i2.3067 . 253195376 . January 16, 2023. free .
  45. Agostino . Carli . Cassidy . Melanie . 2019 . Failure to Launch: Feelings of Failure in Early Career Librarians . Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research . . 14 . 1 . 4 . 10.21083/partnership.v14i1.5224 . 196182396 . January 16, 2023. free .
  46. Mattern . Shannon . November 2018 . Maintenance and Care . Places Journal. 2018 . 10.22269/181120 . 188667757 . January 16, 2023. free .
  47. Kendrick . Kaetrena Davis . Damasco . Ione T. . 2019 . Low Morale in Ethnic and Racial Minority Academic Librarians . Library Trends . . 68 . 2 . 0024-2594 . January 16, 2023.
  48. Nothing Happens Unless First a Dream: Demystifying the Academic Library Job Search and Acing the Application Process . Kapel . Scottie . Skene . Elizabeth M. . Jordan . Whitney P. . 2018 . . 367 . Charleston, South Carolina . Charleston Library Conference .
  49. Martin . Jason . 2020 . Workplace Engagement of Librarians and Library Staff . Journal of Library Administration . . 60 . 22–40 . 10.1080/01930826.2019.1671037 . 208114669 . January 16, 2023.
  50. Book: Fitzpatrick, Kathleen . 2021 . Generous Thinking: A Radical Approach to Saving the University . Baltimore, Maryland . . 43,50 . 9781421440057.
  51. Jones . Emily P. . Mani . Nandita S. . Carlson . Rebecca B. . Welker . Carolyn G. . Cawley . Michelle . Yu . Fei . 2021 . Analysis of anti-racism, equity, inclusion and social justice initiatives in library and information science literature . Reference Services Review . . 50 . 1 . 81–101 . 10.1108/RSR-07-2021-0032 . 246720494 . free .
  52. Web site: Alison Bechdel: A Life in Books. American Libraries Magazine. en-US. January 15, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20220524084349/https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/acrl2019-alison-bechdel-life-in-books/. May 24, 2022. live.
  53. Web site: Warner. John. 2 Salaries That Tell a Story. Inside Higher Ed. February 22, 2022. January 16, 2023. https://archive.today/20230116152403/https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-visiting/2-salaries-tell-story. January 16, 2023. live.
  54. Web site: Ettarh. Fobazi. Fobazi Ettarh--Movers & Shakers 2020–Change Agents. May 4, 2020. Library Journal. January 16, 2022. https://archive.today/20230116152605/https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/fobazi-ettarh-movers-shakers-2020%E2%80%93change-agents. January 16, 2023. live.
  55. Book: Osman . Zahra . March 31, 2021 . Owens . Trevor . Wong . Angelina . Collaboration, Empathy & Change: Perspectives on Leadership in Libraries and Archives in 2020 . SocArXi . 223–240 . A Library Freedom Dream: In Conversation With Fobazi Ettarh . 10.31235/osf.io/3gnds . 243581075 .
  56. Web site: Fobazi Ettarh. Library Journal. January 15, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230116025237/https://www.libraryjournal.com/event/fobazi-ettarh. January 16, 2023. live.
  57. Fobazi Ettarh on the Limits of Vocational Awe . Imagine Otherwise by Ideas on Fire . Radio Public . Cathy Hannabach . October 23, 2019 . January 16, 2023.

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