Article Note: Caring in First Year Library One-Shot Instruction

I picked this up to read in my quest to keep up with the literature in library instruction. Here are some takeaways and notes I want to remember from the article, with a bit of comment. 

• Author's main argument: "an academic librarian providing one-shot instruction sessions to first-year students is uniquely positioned to enact a feminist ethic of care in the classroom" (96). A key is to think of the session as the start on an open librarian and student relationship.
  
• The author further argues that the instruction session is a first impression for first year students and a way to inspire a relationship with the librarian and the library. This is a big reason why here in our library we promote our other services during instruction sessions, especially availability of appointments for research consultations with a librarian. 
• I'd give this article some bonus points for mentioning bell hooks and her work. To be honest, if you are writing about feminism and education, odds are good you have to bring up bell hooks.
• Author making reference to O'Keefe: "Studies have shown that a sense of connectedness and feeling cared for can have dramatic impact on student retention rates and ensuring that students perform to the best of their abilities; that sense of connectedness can come from a caring relationship with just one key person in the student's institution" (qtd. in 97). This is also why our librarians strive to demystify academia, make transparent assumptions that professors often take for granted and fail or neglect to explain to students. On a side note, I may need to check the literature for anything on this demystifying process; I am sure there is something out there, yet for us here seems like just something we do. 
  
• Citation for the reference: O'Keefe, P. (2013). "A sense of belonging: Improving student retention." College Student Journal, 47 (4): 605-613.
• Defining feminist pedagogy, from Crabtree, et.al.: "Feminist pedagogy is marked by a desire to break down the classroom hierarchy that traditionally puts the teacher in a position of power over the students, favoring instead an egalitarian community of learners who respect individuals and differences" (97).
•  Citation for the reference: Crabtree, R.D., Sapp, D.A., and Licona, A.C. (eds.). (2009). Feminist pedagogy: Looking back to move forward. The Johns Hopkins Press. 
• Though the author argues that our classrooms may be places of radical possibilities, I do have to question that. Just how much "freedom" do we really have given certain faculty demands and other restrictions? 
• The author highlights that the one-on-one reference consultation is a good fit for a caring relationship to develop. We often find here that we are better able to care for and help our students in consultations. In addition, the feedback from post consultation surveys we do as part of our assessment process tend to be positive. 
• A tip: "It is important to show availability outside the classroom for a future encounter" (100). We certainly do this. I even keep late hours for consultations. 
• The author probably needs to work on limits and boundaries given that she "gives students her email address and cell number and asks them to email/call/text anytime" (100). I give my students my email address, but that is it. They do not get my cell, and I do not think a librarian should be giving out their personal cell number. Heck, in previous workplaces some of the female librarians had to be concerned about stalking to the point they did not even want their full names on name tags. So no, not giving out my cell. Besides, as much as my current employer loves the idea of 24/7 availability, reality is workers including me do have lives outside of work that do not include our students. Healthy boundaries need to be enforced. Besides, there is no reference question that would require an emergency call at 3am for instance. 
• A big part of the reason I choose to work in a small college: "What if our first-year students came to the library for the first time and discovered there a librarian who knew their names, was interested in their research assignment and its relation to their lives, reflected carefully and responded to their expressed needs, was knowledgeable and credible, indicated wide availability outside of the library session, and sought further and deeper relationships with them as individuals?" (101-102). That is basically a lot of what my colleagues and I do here. The small college setting does make it a bit easier. 
• To be honest, a lot of this material is not so much "feminist" caring. It is just plain caring, making an effort to know the students. The article could have left out the feminist theory at the start of the article, and this would still work. 

 

Citation for the article: Leah Morin, "The First-Year Library Instruction One-Shot: A Place for Caring." Communications in Information Literacy 15.1 (2021): 95-103. 

Some additional items from the references list I may want to look at: 

Accardi, M.T. (2013). Feminist Pedagogy for Library Instruction. Library Juice Press. 

Kumbier, A., Drabinkski, and M.T. Accardi, (2010). Critical Library Instruction: Theories and Methods. Library Juice Press.  

I already read and reviewed bell hooks book Teaching to Transgress (link to review and reading notes part one and part two).