Christina J. Steffy, Leesport resident and Schuylkill Valley High School graduate, has released her first book, Librarians & Stereotypes: So, Now What?
While other books have been written on the topic of librarians and stereotypes, most stop at explaining what stereotypes exist; most also examine stereotypes solely through the lens of librarianship. Steffy’s book uses that prior body of a knowledge as a starting point to answer the question, “So, now what do we do with this information?”
Librarians & Stereotypes: So, Now What? examines librarianship through communication, gender, psychology, anthropology and cultural studies theories to begin to get to the root of why certain librarian stereotypes exist today and whether or not it’s possible to change some of these stereotypes. It also looks at what stereotypes librarians think exist about the field today; how librarians present themselves; and whether or not this is changing, and consequently helping or hurting, the profession, as well as what public perceptions exist about librarianship as opposed to just what the media tells us about librarianship. An overview of stereotypes presented in the literature is provided; however, the point of this book is to go beyond simply rehashing what stereotypes are there to look at how we can use knowledge of the current stereotypes and knowledge from other disciplines to change some of these stereotypes. The book also looks at the possible impossibility of changing certain stereotypes, and possible repercussions our actions, or lack thereof, with regard to stereotypes, may have on the future of the profession. Finally, tips are offered to help librarians begin combat stereotypes.
The book is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites.
In addition to writing this book, Steffy is the manager of library support services at Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences, Lancaster. She is also a freelance writer. Steffy graduated from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, with a Master of Library and Information Science in 2011. She also earned a B.A. English/Professional Writing in 2009 and a B.A. Speech Communications in 2006 from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Steffy is a 2002 Schuylkill Valley High School graduate.
For more information about Steffy and her book, you can contact her directly at cjsteffy@gmail.com or e-mail david@cravepress.com.
