Poetry as Knowledge in Librarianship
Inquiry, Identity, and Praxis
Published on 26. May 2026
Book
Hardback
416 pages
978-1-83608-777-9 (ISBN)
Description
Poetry as Knowledge in Librarianship draws on poetry to illustrate its role in library and information science professionals' intertwined personal and professional streams of life journeys.
The edited collection explores the power of poetry as a "voice" in transforming librarians' lives and shaping their motivations, directions, choices, and actions at intertwined personal and professional nexus of intersection from all around the globe. Chapters provide an opportunity for librarians and information professionals worldwide to discuss the use of poetry and its transformational potential within and beyond the academy. The authors draw on the theoretical construct of "voice" as an instrument of self-consciousness, narrative development, storytelling, and discourse analysis.
The edited collection explores the power of poetry as a "voice" in transforming librarians' lives and shaping their motivations, directions, choices, and actions at intertwined personal and professional nexus of intersection from all around the globe. Chapters provide an opportunity for librarians and information professionals worldwide to discuss the use of poetry and its transformational potential within and beyond the academy. The authors draw on the theoretical construct of "voice" as an instrument of self-consciousness, narrative development, storytelling, and discourse analysis.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Bingley
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
750 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83608-777-9 (9781836087779)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Bharat Mehra is Professor and EBSCO Endowed Chair in Social Justice in the School of Library and Information Studies, College of Communication and Information Sciences, at the University of Alabama, USA.
Vanessa Irvin is an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of the Master of Library Science Program in the Department of Interdisciplinary Professions of the College of Education at East Carolina University, USA.
Vanessa Irvin is an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of the Master of Library Science Program in the Department of Interdisciplinary Professions of the College of Education at East Carolina University, USA.
Content
Introduction-When Water Shapes Stone: Poetry as a Transformative Force in Librarianship; Bharat Mehra and Vanessa Irvin
Section One. Poetic Reflections: Identity and Being in Librarianship
Chapter 1. Archival Affect: Understanding Louisville, Kentucky, Through Images and Poems; Emma Beck and Cecilia Durbin
Chapter 2. Poetic Reflections: Navigating Immigration and Embracing Professional Advocacy; Veronica Fu
Chapter 3. Elusivity: A Librarian's Praxis of Memory and Meaning; Vanessa Irvin
Chapter 4. The Cost of Information Consumption Convenience; Michelle E. Jones
Chapter 5. Library Verse: Poetic Reflections on Identity and Advocacy in LIS; Hana Kim
Chapter 6. "Diving into the Wreck": On Archiving and Queer Becoming; Caitlin Matheis
Chapter 7. Audre Lorde, Parable of the Sower and the Poet-Librarian: Ensuring Survival Through Community, Art, and Shared Knowledge; Princess Zuri McCann
Chapter 8. "If Life Gives You Bananas, Make Mango Shake": Poetry to Survive, Resist, Empower, and Transform; Bharat Mehra
Chapter 9. Dudley Randall: Librarian, Poet, Publisher, and Poet-Laureate; Wendy Moore
Chapter 10. Annotations: Five Books that Made Me; Jasmyne Ray
Chapter 11. WIP: A Work in Progress or a Creative Endeavour that Has Stalled; Rebecca Shaw
Chapter 12. Reading in the Stacks: Raising Poet-Librarians in The Poetry Collection at the University at Buffalo; Jessica Shannon Smith
Chapter 13. 'O Time thy Pyramids': Cacophonies, Farragoes, and Incoherencies in Librarianship and Creative Praxis; Christine Walde
Section Two. Poetic Research: Discourse and Becoming in Librarianship
Chapter 14. Poets in the Library: Teenagers as Creators of Poetry; Jennifer Bartell Boykin
Chapter 15. Dwell in Possibility: Using Poetic Inquiry to Reveal the Relational Wellbeing Potential of Shared Reading; Alison Brown
Chapter 16. Poet-in-Residence and Productive Frictions; Tommy Vinh Bui
Chapter 17. Enoch Soames: From Max Beerbohm's Imagination to the British Library; Maria Cristina Piumbato Innocentini Hayashi and Gabriel Jose Innocentini Hayashi
Chapter 18. Connecting Infodemesnes by Poetic Osmosis; K. Lane
Chapter 19. Turning Words into Wisdom: Libraries' Creative Power for Adapting and Thriving in Different Times; Susan McLaine
Chapter 20. Poetic Explorations of Identity Through Education and A/R/Tography: Automatic Writing as a Tool for Research and Visual Artistic Creation; Teresa Colomina Molina and David Lopez-Ruiz
Chapter 21. Healing Through Heritage: Personal Cultural Identity as the Daughter of Immigrants; Vanessa Reyes
Chapter 22. Exploring Practitioner-Researcher Identity: A Personal Narrative Inquiry Through Poetry and Metaphor; Rebecca Scott
Chapter 23. Children's Poetry: A Rich, Untapped Genre for Library Instruction; Sylvia G. Tag
Chapter 24. Poetry as a Strong Document; Tessa Withorn
Section Three. Poetic Knowledge: Inquiry and Praxis in Librarianship
Chapter 25. A Very, Very Particular Library - A Conceptual Kaleidoscope: Between the Creation Laboratory and the Research Labyrinth; Diego Aldasoro
Chapter 26. Poetry as Inquiry: Reflecting on Power and Knowledge in LIS; Sandy Yang
Chapter 27. The Shape of Not Knowing: Intellectual Sympathy, Negative Capability, and Poetic Knowledge in Librarianship; Hailey Siracky
Section One. Poetic Reflections: Identity and Being in Librarianship
Chapter 1. Archival Affect: Understanding Louisville, Kentucky, Through Images and Poems; Emma Beck and Cecilia Durbin
Chapter 2. Poetic Reflections: Navigating Immigration and Embracing Professional Advocacy; Veronica Fu
Chapter 3. Elusivity: A Librarian's Praxis of Memory and Meaning; Vanessa Irvin
Chapter 4. The Cost of Information Consumption Convenience; Michelle E. Jones
Chapter 5. Library Verse: Poetic Reflections on Identity and Advocacy in LIS; Hana Kim
Chapter 6. "Diving into the Wreck": On Archiving and Queer Becoming; Caitlin Matheis
Chapter 7. Audre Lorde, Parable of the Sower and the Poet-Librarian: Ensuring Survival Through Community, Art, and Shared Knowledge; Princess Zuri McCann
Chapter 8. "If Life Gives You Bananas, Make Mango Shake": Poetry to Survive, Resist, Empower, and Transform; Bharat Mehra
Chapter 9. Dudley Randall: Librarian, Poet, Publisher, and Poet-Laureate; Wendy Moore
Chapter 10. Annotations: Five Books that Made Me; Jasmyne Ray
Chapter 11. WIP: A Work in Progress or a Creative Endeavour that Has Stalled; Rebecca Shaw
Chapter 12. Reading in the Stacks: Raising Poet-Librarians in The Poetry Collection at the University at Buffalo; Jessica Shannon Smith
Chapter 13. 'O Time thy Pyramids': Cacophonies, Farragoes, and Incoherencies in Librarianship and Creative Praxis; Christine Walde
Section Two. Poetic Research: Discourse and Becoming in Librarianship
Chapter 14. Poets in the Library: Teenagers as Creators of Poetry; Jennifer Bartell Boykin
Chapter 15. Dwell in Possibility: Using Poetic Inquiry to Reveal the Relational Wellbeing Potential of Shared Reading; Alison Brown
Chapter 16. Poet-in-Residence and Productive Frictions; Tommy Vinh Bui
Chapter 17. Enoch Soames: From Max Beerbohm's Imagination to the British Library; Maria Cristina Piumbato Innocentini Hayashi and Gabriel Jose Innocentini Hayashi
Chapter 18. Connecting Infodemesnes by Poetic Osmosis; K. Lane
Chapter 19. Turning Words into Wisdom: Libraries' Creative Power for Adapting and Thriving in Different Times; Susan McLaine
Chapter 20. Poetic Explorations of Identity Through Education and A/R/Tography: Automatic Writing as a Tool for Research and Visual Artistic Creation; Teresa Colomina Molina and David Lopez-Ruiz
Chapter 21. Healing Through Heritage: Personal Cultural Identity as the Daughter of Immigrants; Vanessa Reyes
Chapter 22. Exploring Practitioner-Researcher Identity: A Personal Narrative Inquiry Through Poetry and Metaphor; Rebecca Scott
Chapter 23. Children's Poetry: A Rich, Untapped Genre for Library Instruction; Sylvia G. Tag
Chapter 24. Poetry as a Strong Document; Tessa Withorn
Section Three. Poetic Knowledge: Inquiry and Praxis in Librarianship
Chapter 25. A Very, Very Particular Library - A Conceptual Kaleidoscope: Between the Creation Laboratory and the Research Labyrinth; Diego Aldasoro
Chapter 26. Poetry as Inquiry: Reflecting on Power and Knowledge in LIS; Sandy Yang
Chapter 27. The Shape of Not Knowing: Intellectual Sympathy, Negative Capability, and Poetic Knowledge in Librarianship; Hailey Siracky