Book Reviews 999 doi:10.5860/crl.76.7.999 The Librarian Stereotype: Deconstructing Perceptions and Presentations of Informa- tion Work. Eds. Nicole Pagowsky and Miriam Rigby for the Association of College and Research Libraries. Chicago: American Library Association, 2014. 312p. Paper, $60.00 (ISBN 978-0-8389-8704-9). “The topic of this book is expansive and at times ventures into risky territory, where authors needed to be bold in order to support their more critical points of view,” write the editors of this inimitable book in the first paragraph of the acknowledgment. If this were not the case, The Librarian Stereotype: Deconstructing Perceptions and Presentations of Information Work would not be nearly as informational and engaging a read as it is. To address myriad librarian stereotypes, the editors filled this book with firsthand experiences, extensive research, and an abundance of diverse information. In fact, the editors definitively state that they “sought out a broad range of chapter topics to tackle many of the issues from a variety of angles.” Starting with a rousing Foreword by the immensely entertaining James V. Carmichael, Jr., this book engages the reader all the way through the superb Afterword by K.R. Roberto, the editor of the equally engaging Radical Cataloging. The layout of this themed book is perfect: 12 chapters of appropriate length covering nearly every conceivable stereotype associated with the world of librarianship. The chapters flow as well as the editors intended them to, via a “scaffolding in concepts” style. Each of the chapters, as well as the Foreword and Afterword, include its own usually quite lengthy list of notes and accompanying bibliography, allowing the reader to delve even deeper into each topic. The editors also include a section with author biographies to round out the book. The first chapter, appropriately titled “Contextualizing Ourselves,” lays out the inspired vision of the editors and their commitment to provide a “strong focus on empirical research and a mix of historical, anthropological, sociological, and literary analysis of the presentation of information professions.” Their intent is to revitalize the conversation surrounding librarian stereotypes and how we all too often go to great lengths to not fit a specific stereotype, thinking that act alone will in some way make a perception fade away. The editors make good use of this chapter to frame the context of the book, addressing everything from clothing to varying types of diversity, from gender equity to heuristics, from hipsters to library anxiety, and more. They round out the first chapter with a short topical blurb about each chapter within the book. The authors of the second chapter take a look at folklore in libraries, focusing on “those tales, jokes, legends and the web content that emphasize librarian concerns over self and public perception of the profession and of library spaces.” The authors cover numerous topics, including indoctrination tales and jokes, cautionary and hero tales, and behavior-governing stories. Chapter 3 focuses on why we are so driven to change librarian stereotypes and whether that interest is even productive. The authors accurately note that, rather than trying to be a convincer to evoke change, “the conver- sation itself needs to be changed.” They also point out that, if we stand for fairness and equality among all people, we can better influence and change stereotypes. The emphasis of chapter 4 is how librarianship is viewed as pink-collar work that equates to a “feminized profession.” While men are certainly a part of librarianship, the author notes how they tend to be ushered into administrative jobs and that the term pink collar “buys into stereotypes that hurt both men and women.” Porn and how librarian stereotypes (the sexy librarian) have been written into it is the focus of chapter 5. The author details the legal wrangling that went on during the obscenity trials related to the publication of such materials and accurately points out how librar- ians were often thrust into a censorship role during those unsettled times. 1000 College & Research Libraries November 2015 Stories of archivist activism and the queer record in Portland, Oregon, are the topic of chapter 6, with the author providing great background about the underlying reasons that precipitated the changing views of archivists. The four reasons behind the change include the changing demographics of archivists, the changing technology landscape, the change in the nature of the work from processing to accessibility, and the rise of the activist archivist. Chapter 7 succinctly points out that, for a profession serving such a diverse community, we are extremely underrepresented in terms of librarians of color. To address this issue, the authors use identity theory to explore the experiences of librarians of color. The authors point out how people tend to find like people more approachable, and that to “consider both racial and ethnic identity is to recognize a more holistic approach to diversity in academic libraries.” Chapter 8 is one of the most creative chapters I have read in a book of this type. The “Cat Lady” stereotype is discussed in this illustrated chapter full of entertaining information about cats, libraries, and the people who love both. Librarians, tattoos, and social imaginaries are the focus of chapter 9. The upswing in the popularity of tattoos makes this topic tremendously timely, and the author provides an excellent analysis covering everything from the visibility of tattoos at work to how tattoos can still carry negative connotations, despite how much more mainstream they are now. The authors of chapter 10 explore the library worker’s professional persona and how the personality types of librarians and the assumptions and stereotypes about personality are not necessarily true. The authors discuss the Myers-Briggs test and how librarians most certainly do represent all personality types, which is important given how diversity of personality types and personas is critical to libraries. This is especially true in light of how we expect our librarians to fill so many different roles in these days of shrinking staffs. The authors of chapter 11 state, “It’s not the stereotype that’s the problem, it’s the obsession with the stereotype.” Their study concluded that the majority of college students prefer to interact with someone most like themselves. Based upon their hypothesis that academic librarians use clothing to influence others, they “looked for evidence of how and why they do so and of whether their clothing choices perpetu- ate the media-generated stereotypes.” The final chapter examines how stereotypes may have an influence on how our students perceive us if they are not familiar with librarians and what the library can provide. One of the biggest ways to deconstruct librarian stereotypes is to have an inclusive institution where diversity is the norm. Considering how diverse our campus communities already are, the library community should exhibit just as much diversity. There has been abundant discussion about librarian stereotypes and how we can change the perceptions related to our field. What makes this book different is that the editors intended this: “To capture images of the general state of affairs for information work and its presentation, as well as multiple microcosms of presentation within the world of librarianship, and to explore these particular topics in greater detail.” In fact, the stated intent of the editors is to revitalize the conversation surrounding librarian stereotypes. It is this reviewer’s opinion that they have done just that, and this volume is highly recommended for collections concerned with deconstructing negative stereo- types in librarianship.—Phill Johnson, Auburn University at Montgomery Library Analytics and Metrics: Using Data to Drive Decisions and Services. Ed. Ben Showers. London, UK: Facet Publishing, 2015. 176p. Paper, $95.00 (ISBN: 978-1- 85604-965-8). Typically when people speak about analytics, it is in reference to business intelligence. One might expect that all major companies are gathering huge amounts of data and doi:10.5860/crl.76.7.1000