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What and how we research

I know it's constantly stated that science is objective. I constantly emphasise that researchers are human beings and that their backgrounds, experiences and lives influence not only what they research, but also how they do it. That's why diversity in science is important. Yes, science is based on good scientific practice, transparency and reproducibility, but the what and how have degrees of freedom and are shaped by those who do the research.

’[...] But most of the research I do is more focused on sapphics, which would make sense, considering I am one.’ Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever had an openly queer teacher before. ‘That’s so cool,’ I say [...]. ‘Do a lot of professors end up researching things that, uh, also apply to them?’ ‘It depends,’ Fineman says. ‘In some fields, yes; a lot of my colleagues have a personal connection to their work. But not always. In any case, we’re very passionate about what we do.’

Zhao, A. (2024). Dear Wendy. Macmillan USA.

I don't know if I would do research on queer perspectives in library and information science if I wasn't queer myself. I don't know if I would choose a transformative research design if I didn't see inequalities and a need for change. Who we are shapes what we do and how we do it, whether it's in research or anywhere else.

Great Queer Provocation

Queer, recognition-based envy is a pendulum swinging between one’s own wish to unfold freely as an individual, and the overwhelming greed/need to be valued for conforming.

I can feel this quote.

The desire to be completely normal remains unfulfillable in queer existence, and yet it’s a concept that some want to chase after forever—or feel they have to.

The chapter refers to the individual striving to be normal as in conforming to current societal norms, i.e. cis-hetero-allo-normativity. It's an individual urge/need as opposed to being different and striving for a collective normalization of queerness.

The model of a queer, recognition-based envy is the theoretical attempt to explain why certain queer individuals refuse an apparently logical queer solidarity.

Think of those queers who ostracize other queers in an attempt to conform to the society as it is today, instead of striving for normalization for all queers. That's what this chapter is trying to explain.

Recognizing queer others means reducing one’s own capacity to conform to the norm, and reduces the appreciation shown for the subjugation presented.

Goessl, M. J. (2024). Great Queer Provocation: The Seriously Playful Recognition Game. transcript Verlag. https://www.transcript-publishing.com/978-3-8376-7385-2/great-queer-provocation/

The Librarian of Congress

Trump fires Librarian of Congress Hayden, the first woman and first African-American to hold the post

"And when you have a free public library in particular," she said, it was an "opportunity center for people all walks of life, and you are giving them the opportunity to make choices on which information, entertainment and inspiration means the most to them".

Choosing what to read in a library that offers the full range of human experience, writing and expression opens up the world to everyone and opens the way to empathy and to each other. Of course, that's not what the current administration in the United States wants.

The group, American Accountability Foundation, accused Hayden and other library leaders of promoting children’s books with "radical" content and literary material authored by Trump opponents.

We know what the political systems are called that ban democratic opponents and what they have to say.

Associated Press. (2025, Mai 9). Trump abruptly fires librarian of Congress in latest purge of government. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/09/trump-congress-librarian-fired

Grieving, grieving, constantly grieving. I mourn what could have been, what should have been, what will not be, what I cannot save.

Queering Libraries

While libraries have always been queer, libraries have not always been openly queer. And they still aren’t, although we’ve made some small strides.

What do you think it is that makes libraries (openly) queer?

[...] the white cishetallopatriarchy that continues to be the accepted norm in libraries, despite the harm it causes.

What are your thoughts on how we can change this?

Smith-Cruz, S., & Howard, S. A. (Hrsg.). (2024). Grabbing Tea: Queer Conversations on Identity and Libraries. Volume One. Library Juice Press.

My thoughts

What is it that makes libraries (openly) queer?

It's the diversity of collections, the tags and classifications used to make collections accessible, the way collections are presented, the way libraries present themselves, the way libraries and librarians engage in reflection on societal norms as well as their own, and the way they speak out to support and care for the most vulnerable communities they serve. The line between being queer and being openly queer seems to be blurred. For some it's already being open to actively use queer tags. For others, it starts with reflection and open engagement. I certainly lean towards the latter. It's about self-reflection, engagement and using their institutional voices.

How can we change this?

Firstly, you cannot do it alone. Not as a single library, not as a single person. You need a community. You need communities. Not just to make change happen, but to understand what needs to change and how. Secondly, you need to listen to those who raise their voices on issues and aspects where your first reflex is to say that cannot be considered at the moment, or not until other issues or aspects have been addressed. It's not about doing everything at once, it's about adjusting plans, taking into account multi-faceted and multi-layered perspectives, planning ahead together and giving everyone a say. Third, don't let differences of opinion divide your community. Don't let differences of opinion divide your communities. Look at the bigger picture together. Care for all vulnerable communities. We are all human beings.

The Enemy

The Professors Are the Enemy.

So, according to J.D. Vance, I am the enemy. For people like him, education and knowledge are almost as frightening as empathy and compassion.

Fuzzy's January 2025

I listened to three audiobooks this month, which is two more than I usually do. I also read academic books, articles and more, as well as blogs, stories and news online. This has brought a lot of amazing ideas and concepts to my mind and inspired me to write and blog more. It has also made me feel anxious, but the latter is more due to the current state of the world. It's been a January, you know.

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World

This book has so many great quotes that made me think, reflect, scream and cry. Here are some of them in the order I read them, rather than in an organised way alongside my thoughts.

Sáenz, B. A. (2021). Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World. Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers.

They want us to read, but they do not want us to write.

This applies to so many different areas and aspects that it is almost universal. It is even more relevant in the current political climate in far too many countries. It's frightening and it all starts with banning books, restricting access to information and preventing people from gaining knowledge.

I don’t want you to live in the prison of my thoughts. I’m the only one who should be living there.

Ouch. That one hurt.

Happiness. What the hell did that mean? It had to be more than the absence of sadness.

I'd argue that happiness can't exist without sadness being around as well.

A lot of things happened outside the world of words.

Communicating without words is as much an art as communicating with words.

But here we are, we’re in it, this world that does not want us, a world that will never love us, a world that would choose to destroy us rather than make a space for us even though there is more than enough room.

Some people want queer people to disappear, but we're born this way, so there will always be queer people because people are born every day. You cannot make us disappear.

I wonder if people like me ever get to know what peace is like.

Not long ago I was full of hope that we could. I'm not as hopeful anymore.

[...] we will always live between exile and belonging.

Rarely have I read a better depiction of the range of emotions described by many members of the LGBTQIA+ community. The sense of exclusion versus the sense of belonging to a community. And the state of floating between the two.

Sometimes we have to be able to speak for those who can’t. That takes a lot of courage.

I always felt that it was much easier for me to stand up and speak for others than for myself. But it takes courage to do both.

We were both learning words and their meanings, and we were learning that the word 'friendship' wasn’t completely separate from the word 'love.'

Of course it isn't. Platonic love is just as strong and important and meaningful as romantic love.

It’s a beautiful thing to let the people you love see your pain.

It's just so damn hard.

How can we make them change if we’re not allowed to talk?

It's not just about banning books, restricting access to information and preventing people from gaining knowledge. It's also about banning people from expressing themselves, preventing them from telling their stories, and preventing people from passing on empathy and knowledge, because love and empathy are contageous.

Maybe we think that the value of our own freedom is worth less if everybody else has it. And we’re afraid. We’re afraid that, if someone wants what we have, they’re taking something away that belongs to us — and only to us.

Some people certainly think so.

But not everything we need to learn can be found in a book. Or rather, I’ve learned that people are books too.

Have you ever heard of living libraries? This is an amazing description of the idea behind them.

We were in this world, and we were going to fight to stay in it. Because it was ours. And one day the word “exile” would be no more.

Hope.

Hate is an emotional pandemic we have never found a cure for.

Hopelessness.

Do good for its own sake. Do well out of spite. ✨🌈

My new motto for the fascist era.

Knowledge

intellectual work, such as research (the creation of new knowledge) and learning (the creation of new knowledge within oneself)

Jonsson, B., Nunnally, T., & Cuir, G. D. (2001). Unwinding the Clock: Ten Thoughts on Our Relationship to Time (Unabridged Edition). Audio Literature.