Examining concepts of power in academic libraries and imagining feminist possibilities

Abstract

Lightning Talk: How do you understand your own power, formal or informal? How do you understand the power dynamic in your workplace, in your department, at different groups and tables? I invite us to consider the layered and sometimes conflicting conceptions of power in a typical North American academic library workplace. Further, I consider how pandemic-related adjustments to ‘how we work’ provided opportunities for greater autonomy while also deepening local hierarchies. I propose that the explorations and interrogations prompted by a critical feminist analysis are among the first steps towards creative and transformative possibilities. By shining a light on dominant narratives and alternative options, I intend to create more space for imagination, dismantling, and rebuilding.