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Article
Librarians’ Views on Critical Theories and Critical Practices
Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian
  • Robert Schroeder, Portland State University
  • Christopher V. Hollister, University at Buffalo
Document Type
Post-Print
Publication Date
5-1-2014
Subjects
  • Library science -- Sociological aspects,
  • Library science -- Philosophy,
  • Research -- Methodology -- Study and teaching
Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate levels of familiarity that librarians have with critical theory, to determine the extent to which it informs professional practices, and to examine how the social justice issues related to critical theory inform the practices of librarians who are unfamiliar with it. A survey found that librarians were versed not only in the critical theory of the Frankfurt School, but also in poststructuralism, feminism, queer theory, critical race theory, and postcolonialism. Many librarians, lacking familiarity with critical theory, were also shown to be concerned with social justice and these issues significantly affect these librarians’ professional practices. Based on these results, the authors propose the plausibility of incorporating more critical theory into library and information science programs.

Description

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an Article published in Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian, May 2014.

Locate the Document

Article is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01639269.2014.912104

DOI
10.1080/01639269.2014.912104
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/11539
Citation Information
Robert Schroeder and Christopher V. Hollister. "Librarians’ Views on Critical Theories and Critical Practices" Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian (2014)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/robert_schroeder/17/