Who Cares? The Invisible Work of Our Most Visible Librarians

Abstract

As many in the field of teaching know, student support can sometimes extend beyond the purely academic into the personal and emotional. This phenomenon may be a natural part of pedagogies focused on holistic student support, but it can also have effects on the professionals that perform this kind of care work. This article draws on the personal experiences of one early-career librarian to examine the relationship between social-emotional labor and the largely feminized field of librarianship. It also draws on language from recent instruction librarian job postings to make recommendations about where research in this area may be needed.