After a training presentation on dealing with challenging patrons, a young woman who works in our youth services department asked me, “How should I respond when a man says to me, ‘I’m glad I brought my library card today because I’m checking you out?’”

Interesting question: I suppose it depends on the context. If she didn’t mind the comment, then fine. If, however, she found the situation frightening or she felt offended, I suggested that she tell him how what he said made her feel. She needn’t smile or worry about hurting his feelings. Being nice about it will only get her more of the same sort of comments.

The Paralysis of Niceness

“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all,” was the advice given to me by my mother and repeated by other well-meaning women throughout my life. And yet being nice and speaking nicely robbed me of the ability to be self-piloting and strong in the face of challenges and specifically when confronted by unwanted sexual advances.

Not only did I not know how to extricate myself from male advances, I was afraid to do so for fear of insults or worse. When I was able to refuse attention, it was often met with a defensive “Don’t flatter yourself, girl,” reaction. Did I misread the intention? Was I coming across as not nice?

Avoidance was my most utilized strategy. I have no way of knowing what opportunities and experiences I missed because I chose to avoid confrontation. I believed that the environment I was raised in, expected me to consider what other people (men in particular) wanted over what I wanted. For example, many years ago, I was excited to get a job in a photography store located in downtown Austin, Texas. The job didn’t pay well, but I was young and still in college. Having the job located downtown worked out well because I could ride the city bus which had a stop located right next to my apartment. Not having to use my car would enable me to save on gas and parking.

It was evident from the start that riding the bus to my job was not going to work out. Every morning some man, seeing that I was traveling alone, would strike up a conversation, sit next to me, ask me where I worked, etc. As a “nice” girl, I didn’t know how to tell them I wanted to be left alone. Being pleasant while at the same time keeping a social distance was an exhausting way to start the day.

My bus riding days were at an end before I got my first paycheck. I decided to drive after all. If I parked in the free lots, I would have to walk through construction zones and scary areas. So, I parked in the pay lot. A portion of my humble paycheck went to finance harassment-free transportation.

After working at the store for a few weeks, I got a call from another salesperson who worked at one of the other stores in the chain.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked. “Are you married?”

I said, “No.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“No,” I answered, “Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” she chirped.

It didn’t take me long to figure out that she was asking for the young man who did the deliveries between stores. He was a good guy and I enjoyed talking to him, but I didn’t want to go out with him. Now, I’m sure she told him that I was available and once again my niceness put me at a disadvantage. Since I believed that I had no reason to refuse, and because I was a nice person who didn’t want to hurt his feelings, I went out with him a couple of times. I’m sure he became aware that I wasn’t into him, so the invitations ended, and our pleasant chats became awkward. That and the parking costs led to my quitting the job.

A Simple “No” Should Suffice

I have come to recognize that niceness can not only be crippling to the person being nice, but it also leads to inauthentic interactions. I don’t need salespeople or service people to be nice to me. I need them to be courteous and efficient. When I am looking to have my car serviced for example, I want the person I’m dealing with to respectfully listen to what I’m asking, communicate to me clearly, and perform the work we agree to. I believe this is what patrons want from library staff as well.

To the young women who work at the public library that I manage, I stress that they decide who they want to spend time with in their personal life. If they are asked for more personal contact by a male, or anyone else for that matter, and they are not interested, they should not have to refer to a relationship with another man as a reason to turn down the invitation. Saying, “No, I’m married,” or “No, I have a boyfriend,” implies that another man is the only reason you will not accept the proposition and your freewill and choice are not sufficient. It is like saying, “If I weren’t already taken, I’d accept. Please don’t get your feelings hurt.” However, I understand that we live in the real world and I would support any woman’s decision to claim a male attachment if she believes that making that claim will end further discussion and keep her safe.

I’m at an age now where I don’t get the attention I once did. In many ways I’m relieved, but it is ironic that now that I have personal awareness and assertiveness, I don’t really need it. I can, however, advise and look after the young women who work at the library I manage.

My advice to young women working at the library: If you are approached by a man and he asks you out or asks for your phone number and you don’t want to oblige, don’t. Don’t do it. Don’t let him down easy, his feelings are not your responsibility. Your feelings are your responsibility. Be respectful and courteous as you would with any other patron and say, “No.” Or “No, I’m not interested.” Or “No thank you, I’m not interested.” He really has no right to ask for an explanation. He made an offer and you declined it. Done. If he presses you for an explanation, you were right to turn him down because he doesn’t take “no” for an answer and that could manifest in other ways. The bottom line is that you make your own choices, you know what you want, and you chart you own course through life. You should not have to justify your social choices, especially potentially intimate ones.

There is a saying: “You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince.” A psychotherapist friend of mine during the sexually permissive 1980s added what she thought was a pro-feminist addition to it. “You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince, but you only have to kiss him.” What a relief, I thought at the time. Now I would say, “No you don’t. You don’t have to put your lips on anyone you don’t want to and any frog or prince that requires you to do what you don’t want to do does not deserve any attention whatsoever.”

When I was a little girl I reported to my parents that a little boy in my fifth-grade class was being mean to me. They told me that he was being mean to me because he liked me. I don’t think it was true. Nevertheless, the implication was clear: His feelings mattered more than mine. It was okay for him to treat me badly if he desired me and I shouldn’t feel bad about it.

Persistence Isn’t Flattering, Sometimes It’s Stalking

A study published in 2015 in “Communications Research,”¹ found that participants who watched movies in which men’s “persistent pursuit” of women was depicted as romantic—as it so often is in romantic comedies—were more likely to subscribe to stalking myths. The myths being that if the man persists in his pursuit the woman will come around because she didn’t really mean it when she initially refused him.

Men are socialized to be persistent and women are socialized to be flattered by it.² Movies where the men relentlessly pressure women and are rewarded for it include The Graduate, The Heartbreak Kid, Honeymoon in Vegas, 10, Indecent Proposal, There’s Something About Mary, and many more. There are movies where the woman stalks the man too, but in real life the situation is common and far more dangerous for women. Most men are well meaning gentlemen and being admired and desired is not abuse in and of itself. Most refusals and breakups are disappointing and final. Any woman is free to accept invitations as well as decline them without fear. The problem is that persistence is not sexy or attractive, it is scary and for good reason.

Persistence taken to the next level is stalking. One is six women will be stalked in her lifetime. One in nineteen men will be. The most stalking victimization is to persons aged eighteen to twenty-four and most women who are murdered are stalked first.³ Many victims don’t realize the extent to which stalking behavior threatens their safety.

Although stalking is a crime in all fifty states some take it more seriously than others.⁴

Stalking victims are often subject to scrutiny if the situation becomes a legal one.⁵ Women are often asked: “Why didn’t you reject him earlier?” “Why did you meet him for coffee after you said you had broken up?” “Why did you take his calls?”

Support Through Library Policies

Many public libraries have policies against stalking type behavior. At Midland County (TX) Public Libraries our Rules of Conduct for Patrons reads, in part: “Staring at, photographing, or following a patron or staff member in a manner that reasonably can be expected to disturb him or her is prohibited.” It is important that library staff be encouraged to report any behavior that causes fear or appears creepy. Any evidence may be needed as legal proof for the victim’s protection. Better to have too many incident reports than too few.

Public libraries are open to all and because of that we are also accessible to some shady characters. No staff member should be left to exit the building alone,

especially at night. Any patron who appears overly interested in any staff member should be spoken to by management. Just letting the person know they are on the radar, can help put an end to the pursuit. I’ve been surprised at how sitting someone down in the manager’s or director’s office often brings the problem behavior to a halt. It says better than words: “I know what you’re doing, and I don’t like it.”

Stalkers of young females tend to be men with whom the woman has some history.⁶ Often, he is a former boyfriend, or someone with whom she has socialized. Security personnel and management need to be aware if these people show up to the library and hang around their former partner uninvited and unwelcome.

Practice Confrontation Techniques

If our young librarian who the male patron wanted to “check out” was offended or felt uncomfortable by the way she was treated or spoken to, how could she respond? What could she say that would allow her to do her job but also set boundaries? A useful tactic is what library security expert, Steve Albrecht, describes as the “If then . . . ” approach.⁷ A request is stated as a reciprocal agreement, “If I can do (something positive) for you, then will you do (something positive) for me?”

The reverse of the statement also works, “If you don’t . . . then I can’t.” In this case, where a patron made an inappropriate comment I would suggest: “If you want me to help you, then I need you to be respectful and not make comments like that again.” Or “If you don’t stop making comments like that, I can’t help you.”

Sometimes direct interactions such as these will be met with indignation because we all have a moral bias toward ourselves. Even when we know we are wrong, our pride often gets in the way of admitting our mistakes. Nevertheless, stand your ground for no other reason than you deserve to be defended.

I am not suggesting that we should take all comments personally. No doubt the man who made the “check you out” comment to the young library worker makes comments of that nature on a regular basis. He was not singling her out and even if he were, it certainly is no reflection on her. Staff should be encouraged not to take rude behavior personally and to be courteous even in the most trying situations. As a police officer from North Dakota said, “We treat people as ladies and gentlemen, not because they are, but because we are.”⁸

It is imperative that staff understand that asking for help when confronted by difficult patrons does not mean they do not know how to do their jobs, it just means that they have tried their best and it is time to bring in another person.⁹ Having practice sessions with role playing will lower anxiety when difficult situations occur and build confidence when confrontations happen. Like everything else, practice makes better. Encourage staff to give it their best shot first before asking for assistance. There is no need for niceness, if you have the confidence of professional skills and knowledge of the library’s policies.

Niceness requires keeping things on an even keel—not making a fuss.¹⁰ It puts staff at a terrible disadvantage when it comes to confronting unruly behavior. Bullies count on your niceness to get their way. They’ve been rewarded for it in the past. If you know the policies and you have the support of managers and administrators, you won’t be afraid—a little nervous maybe, but not afraid.

Pose and Breathe First

Before confronting an upset patron, I always suggest taking a few seconds to do a power pose. Amy Cuddy has made us aware of how influential physical posture can be. Her studies have demonstrated that posture not only sends a message to the world, it also sends a message to your brain. Taking a few seconds to pose as, say, Superman or Wonder Woman, can help bring hormones to levels that reduce stress and enhance confidence. Pair that with some deep breaths, and you are ready to face the challenge.

Always keep in mind the Universal Truths about Human Interaction:¹¹

• All people want to be treated with dignity and respect.
• All people want to be asked rather than told to do something.
• All people want to be informed as to why they are being asked or ordered to do something.
• All people want to be given options rather than threats.
• All people want to be given a second chance when they make a mistake.

You may meet resistance when confronting objectionable behavior—denial, or an argument—but always opt for the approach that is respectful and enables the patron to save face. Start with a gentle approach first, you can always intensify later if needed.

I recommend that copies of the rules of conduct for patrons be readily available at every service point. If you are confronting a patron who is causing a problem by staring at someone, highlight the part of the policy that addresses staring. Hand the patron the paper with, “Excuse me, sir. We have policies at the library I’d like to show you. If you’ll please read the highlighted area. If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them.”

Most people don’t enjoy direct confrontation and patrons are no exception. I’ve found that the highlighted policy sheet is sufficient warning for most people. Incidentally, this method is especially helpful when dealing with patrons whose body odor is so offensive that it disturbs other people.

Calling Police

If a situation becomes dire, the police may need to get involved. When you ask yourself, “Maybe I should call the police,” you should probably call the police. Trust your intuition. If you suspect that telling the patron that you are going to call the police will trigger a violent reaction, someone else needs to do it. Meet with the staff and create a set of code words and hand signals that will communicate the need for someone to go to a safe place and call law enforcement.12 Cops are not called to escalate situations. They help enforce consequences

for situations and preserve the peace by lowering the emotional temperature. It also sends a message that the library will not tolerate violations of their policies.

Empathize and Set Boundaries

Empathy is an important component of good library service but being aware of another’s feelings does not require that you prioritize the other person’s feelings over your own. Skillful communication requires that we set boundaries. Public libraries should make their behavior policies known to all staff and patrons. Effective policies reduce the need for confrontations in the first place.

For all who are working in libraries, or anywhere with the public, I recommend setting boundaries, mastering good communication skills through practice, knowing the policies, and reporting anything that makes you feel unsafe.

A confrontational situation is no time to be nice. Nice often comes from a fear of displeasing others and not wanting to make trouble. It’s difficult to be courageous if you are preoccupied with how you are being perceived by others.

And remember; be empathetic, be respectful, be professional, be helpful, be patient, be calm, be brave, and be courteous. Be kind, sure. Nice, no.

References

1. Julia R. Lippman, “I Did It Because I Never Stopped Loving You: The Effects of Media Portrayals of Persistent Pursuit of Beliefs About Stalking,” Communication Research 45, no. 3, Feb. 16, 2015, accessed Aug. 15, 2018.
2. Chloe Angyal, “Romantic Comedies Teach Women That Stalking is a Compliment,” Huffpost, Jan. 28, 2016, accessed June 10, 2018..
3. “Quick Guide to Stalking: 16 Important Statistics, and What You Can Do About It,” NCADV Voices, official blog for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Jan. 30, 2017, accessed June 10, 2018.
4. “2017-NCVRW Resource Guide: Stalking Fact Sheet,” National Center for Victims of Crimes, accessed June 10, 2018.
5. Angyal, “Romantic Comedies Teach Women That Stalking is a Compliment.”
6. “Quick Guide to Stalking: 16 Important Statistics, and What You Can Do About It,” NCADV Voices.
7. Steve Albrecht, Library Security: Better Communication, Safer Facilities (Chicago: ALA Editions, 2015): 90-91.
8. George Thompson and Jerry B. Jenkins, Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion (New York: HarperCollins, 2013): x.
9. Albrecht, Library Security, 137.
10. Aziz Gazipura, Not Nice: Stop People Pleasing, Staying Silent, & Feeling Guilty . . . And Start Speaking Up, Saying No, Asking Boldly, and Unapologetically Being Yourself (Portland, OR: Center for Social Confidence, 2017): chapter 4, “Conflict Avoidance.”
11. Thompson and Jenkins, Verbal Judo, 206.
12. Albrecht, Library Security, 73.

Further Reading

Daisy Buchanan, “I’m Tired of Being Kind to Creepy Men In Order to Be Safe,” The Guardian, US edition, Aug. 20, 2015, accessed Aug. 15, 2018.

Amy Cuddy, Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to you Biggest Challenges (New York: Back Bay Books, 2015).

Gavin De Becker, The Gift of Fear: and Other Survival Signals that Protect Us from Violence (New York: Dell Publishing, 1997).

Clementine Ford, “The Only Effective Way to Reject Men,” The Sydney Morning Herald, June 6, 2014, accessed Aug. 15, 2018.

The post Constructive Confrontation: Being Decisive Rather than Nice first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Jensen writes, “Working in a public library means working with the public. Librarians are taught to deal with mental illness. Taught to deal with homelessness. Taught to deal with hard and personal reference issues with dignity and professionalism. But librarians are not taught what to do when they become the victim of harassment.”

This is a key problem in our field today, and one that we must address. Having worked in public libraries since I was 15, I have plenty of stories I could share about being harassed by patrons, as well as colleagues. I suspect many, if not most, public librarians do. I could write about the unwanted physical advance I received from a colleague a few years ago, or the patron who followed me home from work one night. I could write about the middle-aged man who used to compliment me at the circulation desk when I worked evenings as a (barely 18 year-old) college student, or the person who ran my license plate to find out who I was last year. Recently, a conversation came up with some of my colleagues about lying to patrons about our relationship statuses; many of us were guilty of it. I myself have been known to throw on a fake engagement ring when I see certain patrons enter the building. And that is not okay.

Unfortunately, our job duties of being helpful to the public sometimes make us sitting ducks for harassment. As a profession, we could collect hundreds – probably thousands – of similar stories from people across the library industry. But when are we going to do something about it?

As Macbride writes, much workplace training in today’s world focuses on harassment between employees. That certainly exists in libraries – something I unfortunately can personally attest to – but the bigger risk is harassment by the public. Because, she writes, we are often evaluated by management based on our customer service skills, it can make it that much harder to say no to a patron or tell him to stop whatever he’s doing. We’re in the business of making people happy and saying “yes” as much as possible. We want people to like us so they continue to use us. We depend on high rates of patron interaction to remain relevant in today’s world of shrinking budgets and constant questions about our necessity.

So, how as a profession do we address this? I don’t have an easy answer. Neither do Jensen or Macbride. It’s an incredibly complex issue that, until recently, until #MeToo and #TimesUp went mainstream, was taboo to speak about.

The first step is to talk about it. Keep talking about it, even when it makes people uncomfortable. The more aware we are of the problem, the more we can work on fixing it. Due to the nature of working with the public, it’s unlikely to ever go away completely, but perhaps calling more attention to it will make harassers think twice before behaving badly.

Have you been a victim of harassment at your workplace? Have an idea for prevention? Share your story in the comments.

References

^[1] Katie Macbride, “#TimesUp on Harassing Your Public Librarian,” Shondaland, January 31, 2018, https://www.shondaland.com/act/a15876574/timesup-on-harassing-your-public-librarian/

^[2] Kelly Jensen, “The State of Sexual Harassment in the Library,” Book Riot, October 24, 2017, https://bookriot.com/2017/10/24/sexual-harassment-library/

The post Ending Sexual Harassment at the Public Library first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

During the past year, the public discourse on sexual harassment and gender-based abuse of power has shifted. Women’s marches, the social media #MeToo movement, and the public condemnation of high-profile individuals accused of sexual misconduct have disrupted the nation’s previously accepted complacency and led to demands for accountability. While the national focus on sexual harassment represents an elevated platform and increased visibility for (primarily white) women speaking out against gender oppression, it has yet to translate into a mass movement for pay equity, improved workplace conditions, increased access to childcare, reproductive freedom, and an end to violence against and exploitation of women. This is a case where the individual actions are receiving a lot of attention, but we are in danger of missing the deeper institutional and structural drivers of persistent and entrenched gender inequity.

At several points in the flurry of accusations, denials, resignations, and backlash against women speaking out against men who abuse their positions of power in male-dominated fields (media, government, banking, entertainment), I have reflected on how gender dynamics play out within female-dominated professions like librarianship, which has long been viewed as women’s work but within which men, perhaps disproportionately, occupy positions of authority.

As a female supervisor in public libraries, I have sometimes struggled to provide adequate support to frontline library workers dealing with inappropriate behavior from patrons. I have attempted to assert my authority without coming across as aggressive or domineering. At times, I have felt it necessary to mask my compassion or enthusiasm in order to conform to expectations of professionalism that feel rooted in patriarchal values. I have often felt that nagging feeling I believe many professional women experience (and which I am keenly aware of as I write this) of being an imposter, as somehow less qualified than my list of personal and professional accomplishments would indicate. I believe that my experience is not unique. For many women of color, LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others, navigating this minefield of gender and power is more treacherous.

We have learned from the movement to advance racial equity that focusing solely on the actions of individuals denies the reality that the inequity we see represents the natural outcome of a power structure that benefits specific groups, at the expense of others. While we must hold individuals accountable for abuses of power and crimes of hate, we must also look more deeply. It is a tempting oversimplification to divide the world into opposing camps; the misogynists vs. the feminists; the racists vs. the inclusive; the knowledgeable vs. the ignorant; the oppressor vs. the oppressed. Focusing solely on individual abuses of power and dividing people into oppositional categories doesn’t bring us closer to addressing the roots of social oppression, which has been described as “the vast and deep injustices some groups su er as a consequence of the often unconscious assumptions and reactions of well-meaning people in ordinary interactions, media and cultural stereotypes, and structural features of bureaucratic hierarchies and market mechanisms—in short, the normal processes of everyday life.”¹

We all occupy complex identities with shifting degrees of privilege. In our society, power flows through channels defined by structural racism and misogyny. How can we change these vectors of power and influence—the institutions, policies, social norms and conventions that define our daily lives? The solutions to these problems are not one-size-fits-all. As community-based public institutions, libraries have a role to play in addressing oppression within our profession and in the broader community.

As librarians, we celebrate ideals of diversity and equitable access to information. We believe in the importance of individual perspectives and the free ow of knowledge. It is essential that we reflect on how oppression manifests within our profession, and that we insist that our institutions live up to our ideals. In the struggle for racial equity, we talk about the importance of normalizing the conversations, operationalizing the concepts into our work, and organizing with leadership from those most impacted. The same framework holds true for advancing gender equity.

This article is an attempt to raise some of the ways that gender oppression plays out in libraries, analyze how these connect with and reinforce systems of power, and to identify strategies for achieving tangible change. As a librarian, my focus is on asking questions, making connections, and encouraging dialogue within our profession.

Gender Oppression and Libraries

There are several key areas that gender oppression plays out within libraries. Gender-based stereotypes have long plagued our profession, sexual harassment is rampant in our workplaces, and men often advance more quickly than women into leadership positions within our institutions. Hierarchy often creates distance between those in positions of power and the frontline staff who bear the brunt of oppressive encounters with patrons. Policies and procedures often place a burden of enforcement on those in the most vulnerable positions.

Librarian Stereotypes

We all know the stereotype. An older bespectacled white woman sits at a reference desk, finger raised in a shushing gesture. Both the classic librarian stereotype and its flip side, the “sexy librarian” fetish, demonstrate conflict and unease with female authority. Instead of being portrayed as community mobilizers, stewards of complex cultural narratives and an essential link to organized knowledge, librarians are presented as either uptight, unattractive shushing gatekeepers or the objects of sexual fantasy. These stereotypes pave the way for bad behavior. It’s really challenging to object to inappropriate and unwanted attention when to do so only reinforces the stereotype. As Marie Radford and Gary Radford posited in their 1997 article, the librarian stereotype represents a systematic form of marginalization: “The form and the voice of the female librarian is a function of a system of power and rationality that is not of her own making.”² In addition, the presumed whiteness and heteronormativity of the librarian stereotype allows no space for women of color or those who do not conform to traditional gender categories. Gina Schlesselman-Tarango’s examination of the archetype of “Lady Bountiful” speaks to how idealized notions of femininity have also worked in conjunction with white supremacy and patriarchy “to craft a subject fit to perform the work of colonialism in its variegated and feminized forms.”³

Similar stereotypes show up in other female-dominated professions; nurses, secretaries and teachers all share this manifestation of discomfort with female authority. These stereotypes reveal assumptions about “helping professions” and reinforce powerful narratives about gender identity. Women are seen as entering the workforce out of a love for service or intrinsic suitability for the job. Librarians love reading and, reveling in their love of books, can be paid less for their work. Teachers love children and their choice to become educators represents a noble, but voluntary, sacrifice of pay and prestige. Nurses are engaged in a natural caretaking role, one that is aligned with societal expectations of women, and their position is clearly limited by the authority of the doctor who, until quite recently, was almost always male. These broad societal views reinforce and perpetuate the institutional and structural inequities that result in lower wages, longer hours, and dysfunctional gender dynamics in the workplace.

Sexual Harassment in Libraries

As Kelly Jensen described in her 2017 Book Riot blog post, “The State of Sexual Harassment in the Library,” library workers navigate a range of gender-based harassment on a daily basis; unwelcome questions about marital status, comments on personal appearance, unwanted physical contact, stalking, and indecent exposure.⁴ Some of these behaviors are cloaked in the guise of friendliness and represent an abuse of the power a customer or patron holds in a service environment. We live in a society that often equates service with submissiveness, and this is reinforced by the way that women are socialized. In many libraries, behavior policies do not explicitly define or prohibit sexual harassment, racial discrimination, or microaggressions. Frequently, library procedures require that the victims of inappropriate behavior interrupt and address the behavior in the moment. While it is essential that patrons who are abusive or disruptive be confronted and stopped, these policies and procedures need to be supported by a workplace culture that insists on mutual respect and empowers staff to assert themselves.

Consider how harassment played out recently in my library system. A male patron repeatedly made female library workers uncomfortable. As is so often the case, his obnoxious behavior began as relatively minor breaches of social norms that made the women he was targeting feel conflicted between their desire to provide friendly and engaged service, and their need for personal boundaries. His behavior steadily escalated, but he knew how to stay under the radar—moving between library branches so that his pattern would be less obvious. When I became the target of a physical advance, I found myself unable to respond as I should have. Instead of gathering my wits and asserting the library policy that prohibits “physically intimidating or assaultive behavior,” I felt threatened and froze. Afterwards, as I thought about this incident, I had a common reaction: instead of blaming the abuser, I blamed myself. Even I, a library manager and generally assertive woman, had failed to communicate to this man that his behavior was inappropriate. What was worse, a few days later he repeated the behavior with someone else. Ultimately, I worked with colleagues to address his behavior, but that did not prevent me from spending a few days beating myself up about my inability to confront him directly.

Just as we individualize the instances of sexual harassment rather than addressing the underlying power structures, we often also individualize our response. Much mental and emotional energy is spent dealing with feelings of powerlessness and shame. In reflecting on this experience, I am reminded that sexual harassment is not about sex. It is about power. It is about throwing successful, professional women off their game. The socialization that contributes to women questioning their response, rather than asserting their rights, contributes to a culture of silence. This has been the case in libraries for far too long.

Gender Disparities in Library Leadership?

The extent to which gender disparities exist in library leadership is unclear. What we know is this: librarianship is clearly dominated by white women who make less than their male counterparts. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2016 household data indicates that 79.5 percent of librarians are female and 86.3 percent identify as white.⁵ There is documentation of a persistent gender-based wage gap.

In 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the median weekly earnings for women working as librarians were 77 percent of those for men in the same job.⁶ The same report indicates, not surprisingly, that library wage gaps are compounded for people of color: “In general, it appears women of color are subject to both racial and gender disparities, reporting lower than average salaries amongst all women, and lower average salaries than men of color do. These disparities persist even when controlling for years of experience.”⁷

While we know that only one in five librarians is male, and that this proportion has remained relatively stable during the past ten years, there is surprisingly little recent information on the percentage of men occupying leadership positions within libraries.⁸ The most recent relevant information is a 1999 report released by the ALA Office for Research and Statistics on the gender and salary of library directors, which showed that while only 21 percent of public librarians were male, men constituted 35 percent of public library directors.⁹ A similar disparity existed for academic libraries.

Despite the lack of recent and comprehensive data, it is possible to speculate on some of the ways that gender disparities in leadership can contribute to troubling power dynamics in our institutions. Library directors often focus on elements of leadership that involve governance, strategic planning, community relations, and institutional management; delegating personnel management and operations to their deputies. In public libraries, the nature of our work is rapidly changing, the demands for our services are escalating, and we are increasingly affected by cuts in social programs and the need for accessible public space—even as library budgets are static or shrinking. When gender disparities in leadership exist, they can reinforce gender roles by requiring that women take on more of the emotional labor, managing the day-to-day issues that affect institutional culture and staff morale, while men focus on the “big picture.” At the same time, because men are such a minority among librarians, their perspectives may be seen as unique or novel and given more weight. Finally, contemporary hiring practices frequently value non-library related experiences and credentials, which may fast-track male advancement within a female dominated profession.

Strategies for Change

How can library leaders, particularly white and male directors and managers, address gender-based oppression in libraries? What strategies can leadership employ that address both the individual and institutional levels of gender oppression in a way that changes the culture of our organizations?

Breaking the Silence

The current dialogue over women’s experience in the workplace presents an opportunity to normalize conversations about sexual harassment and to empower library staff with training and tools. We desperately need more training materials, such as those developed recently by Waukegan (IL) Public Library’s Katie McLain and Amanda Civitello, to provide strategies for library workers on the frontlines and to help library leaders better understand and address the issues faced by frontline staff.¹⁰ To cultivate a workplace that values and actively fosters respect for all, we need to discuss our experiences with harassment and discrimination openly and safely. As supervisors, we should encourage staff to call out low-level issues and engage in community-building dialogue. There is much to be learned from personal experience and there is power in sharing and reflecting as we move to transformational action within our institutions.

In addition, we need to reframe our thinking on public service so that it is founded within mutual respect and so that librarians, primarily women, can move beyond the institutionalized social conventions that ensure their submission to inappropriate behavior. If staff can view their response to low-level inappropriate conduct as enforcement of a policy, not just a personal reaction, they may be more likely to interrupt the individual who tells them that they have a “sexy voice” on the phone and assert that this conduct is unacceptable.

Policy and Practice

In addition, there are several policy changes that we can make to operationalize our commitment to addressing gender oppression.

1. Insist that library boards pass policies against sexual misconduct, discrimination, and microaggressions in the workplace, as well as strong whistleblower policies, addressing internal abuses of power and instituting protections for frontline library workers.
2. Review reporting processes to ensure that the institution’s performance management structure does not support or maintain abuses of power or dysfunctional gender dynamics. Oversight and accountability need to be paramount in the hierarchy of the institution—reviews of managers and directors should occur on a regular basis and should create space for concerns to be voiced without fear of recrimination, while protecting the rights and reputation of those who may be accused.
3. Reinforce protections for library workers with a clear, explicit and highly visible library behavior policy, and develop a consistent process for enforcement of the policy with clearly stated consequences for violations. Many library policies currently require the individual experiencing the harassment to state the boundary and enforce a consequence in the moment. While library behavior policies need to protect public access to the library, we must develop procedures that provide protection even when library workers can’t gather their inner resources and stand up to the person making them feel uncomfortable.

Organizing to Advance Racial Equity and Social Justice

Another way we can address gender oppression in libraries is by working to advance racial equity,¹¹ defined as “just and fair inclusion into a society in which all, including all racial and ethnic groups, can participate, prosper and reach their full potential.”¹² In this country, racial disparities are deep and pervasive, in libraries and across all our institutions. The frameworks, tools and resources being developed by groups like the Government Alliance on Race & Equity to dismantle structural racism have applications and impact on all other marginalized groups.¹³

It is essential to maintain commitment to racial equity work, even as gender oppression moves into the national spotlight. In some ways, sexual harassment and gender oppression may represent a more comfortable topic for white Americans than demands for racial justice. The need to center race is demonstrated in the rise of the #MeToo movement, which was founded in 2006 by African American activist Tarana Burke but did not receive widespread attention until the slogan was used on social media by high-profile white women.¹⁴ This brings up important questions about the tendency of white women to ignore or minimize abuses faced by women of color. As activist and scholar Rinku Sen points out in her recent blog post on intersectionality as an analysis, “[t]he point of intersectional practice is to look at all . . . possible combinations of privilege and vulnerability, rather than just stopping with the ones that apply to us, whoever we are.”¹⁵ It’s our responsibility to look and listen for multiple perspectives and to create a platform for those who face the most significant barriers to opportunity.

Finally, we must let go of outdated ideas about neutrality when it comes to social justice principles. We must organize alongside our communities to support movements for social justice and human rights. Libraries have always been a public space existing inside an institutional frame. We are a two-sided canvas. One side depicts assimilation, segregation, and cultural dominance. The other side is a patchwork of cultures and communities organizing to share resources and knowledge for mutual benefit. On both sides, we occupy a key role in the sharing of stories and the building of a shared experience. We must take leadership to make our institutions embody the social justice values of dignity, human rights, community wellbeing, solidarity, equity, and belonging.¹⁶

References

1. Iris Young, “Five Faces of Oppression,” Oppression, Privilege, & Resistance, Lisa Heldke and Peg O’Connor, eds. (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2004): 41, accessed Feb. 18, 2018.
2. Marie Radford and Gary Radford, “Power, Knowledge, and Fear: Feminism, Foucault, and the Stereotype of the Female Librarian,” Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy 67, no. 3 (July 1997): 263.
3. Gina Schlesselman-Tarango, “The Legacy of Lady Bountiful: White Women in the Library,” Library Trends (Spring 2016): 667-86 (quote from abstract), accessed Feb. 18, 2018.
4. Kelly Jensen, “The State of Sexual Harassment in the Library,” Book Riot, Oct. 24, 2017, accessed Feb. 15, 2018.
5. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Household Data Annual Averages,” 2016, accessed Feb. 15, 2018.
6. Jennifer Dorning et al., Advocating for Better Salaries Toolkit (Chicago: ALA-APA, Apr. 2014), accessed Feb. 15, 2018.
7. Ibid.
8. Department for Professional Employees AFL-CIO, ”Library Workers: Facts and Figures” (2016), accessed Feb. 16, 2018.
9. Mary Jo Lynch, ALA Office for Research and Statistics, “Library Directors: Gender and Salary” (1999), accessed Feb. 16, 2018.
10. Anne Ford, “Stop Sexual Harassment inYour Library: Protecting Librarians from Inappropriate Patrons,” American Libraries (Nov. 1, 2017), accessed Feb. 16, 2018.
11. GARE Libraries Interest Group, “Libraries Take Action to Advance Racial Equity (Part 1 of 3),” Government Alliance on Race & Equity (Oct. 11, 2017), accessed Feb. 16, 2018.
12. “The Equity Manifesto,” PolicyLink (2015), accessed Feb. 16, 2018, .
13. Government Alliance on Race & Equity, “Tools & Resources,” accessed Feb. 16, 2018.
14. Sandra E. Garcia, “The Woman Who Created #MeToo Long Before Hashtags,” The New York Times (Oct. 20, 2017), accessed Feb. 18, 2018.
15. Rinku Sen, “How to Do Intersectionality,” blog post (Dec. 19, 2017), accessed Feb.
    18, 2018.
16. “Social Work for Social Justice: Ten Principles,” University of St. Thomas School of Social Work (Aug. 2010), accessed Feb. 16, 2018.

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