Library Life
Featuring an interview with librarian Victoria James, New Books in Library Science, Madison's Notes, and an interview with Gordon Katic.
When you ask librarians what they do, the real answer is “it changes all the time” because they take on so many roles.
In the Stacks with a Librarian
Victoria James is currently an academic STEM librarian at Toronto Metropolitan University Library. Previously, she worked as a public librarian at the New York Public Library, focusing on outreach and community engagement. With an MLIS from the University of British Columbia, Victoria is passionate about equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice in the library.
Q: What made you interested in becoming a librarian?
A: My love for libraries began during my time as an undergraduate student. I had the privilege of working in the Huron Library at Huron University in London, Ontario, Canada. I was the first person in my immediate family to go to university. Still a teenager at the time, I found in the library a place that gave me a sense of home. I enjoyed being surrounded by people who were, like me, discovering new types of knowledge and new stories. That experience helped me realize that I wanted to create spaces where people feel welcome, inspired, and supported in whatever capacity they need.
Q: What is your favorite thing about being a librarian?
A: My favorite thing about being a librarian is the opportunity to give back to a community that has given me so much. Libraries have always been places of growth, inspiration, and support in my life, and now I get to be part of creating that same environment for others. I also love that libraries have something for everyone!
Q: What are the challenges of your work?
A: The challenges of being a librarian are numerous and varied. One major challenge is budget cuts, which limit the resources available to serve our communities. It’s often difficult to maintain programs, collections, and services with shrinking financial support. It requires constant creativity and advocacy to ensure libraries can continue meeting the needs of their patrons. Despite all that they do for their communities, every library that I’ve worked at has experienced the threat of cuts.
Workplace stress and burnout are also major factors, especially in libraries struggling with understaffing or high demands, often because of said cuts. Despite the idyllic image many folks have of libraries, it requires resilience and self-care. One of the most pressing challenges in today's library landscape is censorship. Libraries are increasingly becoming targets of those aiming to limit access to diverse perspectives, especially those related to the LGBTQ+ community. We are seeing a rise in efforts to ban books, restrict access to certain materials, and oppose programming like Drag Story Time—events that celebrate diversity and provide a safe space for children and families. The challenge is not only defending the right of libraries to offer these programs but also creating environments where marginalized communities can feel safe, seen, and represented. Standing up for the right to access these resources is crucial, but it can come with significant personal and professional risks.
This brings me to the challenge of violence in the workplace. Incidents of violence and threats of harm against staff and patrons are increasingly common. I’ve personally experienced this kind of risk, having been stalked at work. I have also had colleagues who have been verbally, physically, and sexually assaulted. We are confronting the harsh reality that we can be vulnerable to acts of aggression, whether from individuals who oppose library programs or from broader societal tensions spilling over into public spaces. The emotional toll of managing these risks, combined with the responsibility of ensuring the safety of others, is significant. It’s a reminder that, while libraries should always be a welcoming and inclusive space for everyone, they must also be places where staff and patrons feel safe.
I do not have the answers to these issues, but I will always advocate for our libraries.
Q: As someone who has worked at different kinds of libraries (public, university, etc.), what are the similarities and differences in your roles at these different types of libraries?
A: There really is a library for everything! Whether it's a public library offering books, programs, and resources for the community; a university library focused on supporting scholarly, research, and creative activities; or a specialized library catering to specific needs like music, art, or social justice resources, libraries truly serve every facet of society. Each one offers unique opportunities to connect people with knowledge, resources, and support. From community-driven initiatives to cutting-edge academic research, libraries are hubs of learning and inspiration.
This is a bit of an aside, but I love how many grassroots “community libraries” are opening. My sister uses many of her neighborhood Little Free Libraries, including a free craft library and a local tool library. There is the Ottawa Trans Library, Out on the Shelves, seed libraries, prison libraries, mobile libraries, game libraries… I could go on.
Q: What do you find exciting in the field of library science now?
A: How dynamic and evolving the profession is. Libraries are constantly changing to meet the needs of their communities that reflect the challenges of our generation, and as a result, my work is equally dynamic and evolving. Having worked on initiatives such as securing library accessibility for LGBTQ+ community members, meeting the information needs of survivors of gender-based violence and harassment, and providing resources for vulnerable populations such as the housing-insecure and the formerly-incarcerated, I know that I get to do this work because of libraries.
Every year, what I look forward to most is working with NYPL’s jail and prison services team on Connections, an annual re-entry resource guide, available to help people coming home after incarceration.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who is an aspiring librarian?
A: I recently attended the Science, Technology, and Engineering Library Leaders in Action (STELLA) Unconference, and this question made me think of a quote I saw on someone’s tote bag, “Library school didn’t teach me _______.” And, it’s true! There is only so much you can learn in such a short amount of time, and you can’t expect library school to have all the answers. Take the classes that make you excited, as well as the ones that are practical, and do a co-op program if you can! I love theory, but getting that hands-on experience will fill in gaps. Find yourself a mentor, join professional associations, and, most importantly, make sure to take care of yourself. Most of my library friends go to therapy or run marathons (or both), and although this is easier said than done, I wish someone had told me this before I hit a wall.
Q: What value do libraries bring to the general public?
A: Libraries offer immense value to our communities by providing free and equal access to information. Public libraries are some of the last places that are entirely free and open to everyone.
Here’s just a short list of programs that many libraries offer: job search and resume assistance, legal aid workshops, recreational clubs, adult education, citizenship classes, maker spaces, storytime, book clubs, movie nights, coding tutorials, financial literacy classes, craft workshops, holiday events, author talks, genealogy workshops, board game nights, language exchange meetups, teen volunteer programs, mindfulness sessions, online courses, digital media workshops, local history talks, environmental education, youth mentorship, re-entry support, GED and college preparation, technical troubleshooting, live concerts, art installations, specialized programs for people with disabilities, sign language classes, career change workshops…
And this is only to name a few! When you ask librarians what they do, the real answer is “it changes all the time,” because they take on so many roles. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to say just how much value libraries bring to our communities.
Q: What is the best way that we can support our local libraries?
Advocate for them! Libraries are often underfunded, and their importance is often overlooked. By supporting library legislation that ensures adequate funding and protections, we can help secure the future of these vital community spaces. Also, visit your local library and get involved if you can. If I may, the Prison Library Support Network (PLSN) is an information-based collective supporting incarcerated people by organizing networks for sharing resources and building capacity for the movement for prison abolition in libraries, archives, and other knowledge-based institutions. It’s a great place to start your volunteering if you’re considering going to library school or just getting started.
Anything else you want to share with our NBN community?
Libraries are NOT neutral. They are powerful spaces that actively support those who are most vulnerable in our communities. Libraries have a responsibility to speak up against inequality and oppression by providing equitable access to resources, advocating for marginalized voices, and fostering inclusion. Neutrality in the face of injustice can perpetuate harm.
Check out Victoria’s picks from our Library Science channel below:
Dave Mac Marquis and Moira Marquis, "Books Through Bars: Stories from the Prison Books Movement"
Stephen Pinfield, "Achieving Global Open Access: The Need for Scientific, Epistemic and Participatory Openness"
And check out the channel on NBN for more great episodes about the questions, challenges, and opportunities in the field of Library Science.
The Future of Political Magazines
On Madison’s Notes, host Laura Laurent spoke with Ramesh Ponnuru about what it’s like to run the magazine National Review. Ramesh offers an overview of his career as a journalist, columnist, and editor, providing a unique perspective on how political magazines have evolved over the past few decades. Particular attention is given to how magazines address the seismic shifts in the American electorate.
Public Education Through Podcasting
Gordon Katic is a journalist, podcast producer, and PhD student at the University of Toronto. The founder of Cited Media, Gordon produces high-quality and deeply-researched podcasts on ideas, intellectuals, and science. Below, read our interview with Gordon, and make sure to check out the latest series he’s produced: The Use & Abuse of Economic Expertise.
Q: What are your favorite scholarly podcasts?
A: I enjoy The Dig, Know Your Enemy, and Current Affairs, just to name a few. They don’t necessarily always have academic guests, but they mostly do. These podcasts cover current events from a very sharp, intellectual vantage point; but they are also very politically-engaged, accessible, and committed to serious public education and political mobilization.
I also listen to podcasts on the NBN regularly, especially in journalism and in science and technology studies.
Q: Which books impacted you most as a student and why?
A: That's very hard to answer. I study journalism, and perhaps the most influential book on my own thinking about the media has been Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman's Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of Mass Media. I read it when I was young and find myself often revisiting the work.
I’ve also found some foundational sociological approaches to the study of news quite formative, especially Herbert J. Gans' Deciding What's News: A Study of CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, Newsweek, and Time and Gaye Tuchman's Making News: A Study in the Construction of Reality. More particularly, I study science journalism. Here, some of the key figures in science studies have been especially influential to me, including Ludwick Fleck and Thomas Kuhn. I also find pragmatist thinkers quite helpful, like Philip Kitcher, Heather Douglas, and of course John Dewey.
Jurgen Habermas' writing too, especially in the Theory of Communicative Action, helped me understand modernity and why people react against modernity. I’m especially interested in public distrust of science and expertise and how we might overcome some of this resistance through a radically deliberative approach. I think Habermas' thinking is poorly understood and unfairly maligned for being too relativistic and naive, but I think it is neither of those things.
I'll also plug the activist group Science for the People, and the collected writings edited by Sigrid Schmalzer, Daniel S. Chard, and Alyssa Botelho, for offering a more Marxist way of thinking about science and science communication. This collection of works, although somewhat contradictory, inform how I approach my studies.
Q: What are the best books you've read this year?
A: I'm making my way through Gay Talese's The Kingdom and the Power: Behind the Scenes at The New York Times: The Institution That Influences the World and learning quite a bit. It’s one of the first detailed, institutional accounts inside a news organization. This book Is not as theoretically rich as the sociologists I cited above, but it has so much more texture. You really get a sense of what elite journalistic spaces are like.
Furthermore, since I’m nearing the end of my PhD, I have also been reading a fair bit of educational philosophy, in the hopes that it will help me write more informed teaching statements. Again, I turn to John Dewey as an inspiration. I have an edited collection of his writing on education that I've read and re-read.
Also, Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed absolutely floored me. All educators should read it. His insistence on thinking dialectically and resolving the contradictions between roles— between educators and students, between oppressors and oppressed, etc.— strikes me as a particularly healthy way to think about one's own place in the world. As an educator, you are not there to fill your students with knowledge. You are there in collaboration to learn together, and to all realize your own shared humanity. It is difficult to describe briefly, and it is challenging to think about how to implement in practice, but Freire offers so much chew on in Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
Q: What's your new series, The Use & Abuse of Economic Expertise about?
A: As the name suggests, it's about how economic expertise is used and abused. More particularly, it's about the relationship between economic experts and policy. We tell stories about basic economic ideas and policy areas— like the idea of GDP, free trade, industrial policy, and more— and how these matters are shaped by values, interests, ideologies, and even by petty bureaucratic squabbles. The series reveals how deeply political and value-laden all economic decision-making is, even though the discipline often portrays itself like it’s physics. It's not; it's extremely messy!
To give just one example, our first story is about the invention of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It reveals how a series of decisions by a small group of people concretized our idea of an 'economy'— an idea we did not really have before the 20th century. The particular version of GDP that came out of this economic research and policy-making was the result of some very particular debates around a small group of people.
(Listen to The Use & Abuse of Economic Expertise here)
Q: What is the most surprising thing you learned producing the series?
A: Two things: the series focussed on how a lot of economic ideas have changed over the years. In particular, there have been sharp shifts in how economists have thought about trade, industrial policy, and, perhaps most of all, income inequality. Other topics we did not cover, like the renewed interest in price controls (see Isabella Weber's work), were quite stunning, too. It revealed to me how responsive the discipline is to public pressure and to political tumult— from the global financial crisis, to inflation, and more. This just reinforces what I said earlier: economic thinking is value-laden, deeply political, and just generally quite messy. For good, and for ill.
A second surprise to me was how many of the economic policy stories we revisited (for example, the passage of NAFTA) ended up being driven not by academic economists but by the business community. It should be no surprise that the business community shapes policy, but I suspected that it would be more indirect; I expected I would be talking about some economist who is funded by a corporate think tank, for instance. Yet, it was often simply investment banker types who went from Wall Street, to government, and then crafted the economic policies.