Examining patron-perpetrated sexual harassment (PPSH) policy and practice in public libraries

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Allard, Danielle

• SSHRC IG awarded 2024: Drawing on our previous nation-wide surveys on: (1) the PPSH experiences of library workers; and (2) the composition of PPSH related policies and training in Canadian libraries, this new project examines how public libraries can meaningfully address PPSH, a complex problem of gender-based violence that is often minimized by library institutions, the scholarly field of Library and Information Studies (LIS), and LIS education. This research is situated broadly within feminist anti-violence frameworks that make visible and interrogate the feminized and raced nature of library work and its implications and violent consequences. Grounding our work in the firsthand experiences of library workers, we privilege their experiences and perceptions of PPSH over those of the patron, workplace, or profession. This work contributes to the growing body of interdisciplinary research on sexual harassment and front-line workplaces, adding a further site of analysis to examine how gender-based violence manifests in the public sphere. It also contributes to a growing body of work within LIS theorizing ntersectionality within the context of a feminized profession. It informs the roles and responsibilities of LIS educators, preparing current MLIS students for the realities of working in libraries.

• Date created

  2023-09-30

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Insight Grant
  • SSHRC
  • IG
  • Sexual Harassment
  • Libraries
  • Gender-Based Violence
  • Policy
  • Library and Information Science
  • Gender Issues
  • Employment and Labour

• Type of Item

  Research Material

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-zxv6-j945

• License

  ©️Allard, Danielle. All rights reserved other than by permission. This document embargoed to those without UAlberta CCID until 2030.