Critlib Management Leading and Inspiring Through a Social Justice

Critlib, or critical librarianship, is the discussion and application of social justice issues in the library field. Generally, the application of critlib has been focused on information literacy and pedagogy, as well as cataloging, but one important aspect of the discussion that is often overlooked is that of library management. Just like teaching, many librarians are not trained to be managers -- being a good manager is something we learn on the job, though lived experience and professional development. Because critlib is based in both theory and practice, it is not something that is easily stumbled upon, and we must make a conscious effort to self-educate about the ways in which critical theory can be applied to library practices. Critlib is something we continuously work on, both within ourselves and within our communities and libraries, and library management is just one aspect of our work that can be reevaluated through a feminist lens. In this essay, I will discuss ways library management can address microaggressions and create non-discriminatory hiring practices. I encourage readers to recognize the advantages in utilizing collective decision-making processes, and will provide examples of non-hierarchical leadership in action. Finally, I will discuss activism on campus, illustrating some of the ways that academic libraries can engage in social justice work through library programming, advocating for campus-wide policy changes and social justice-oriented trainings, and participating in national activist movements, such as Libraries 4 Black Lives