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Cited by 187Library Science and AdministrationInformation Science and LibrariesLibrary Science and Information Literacy

Trippin’ Over the Color Line: The Invisibility of Race in Library and Information Studies

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Honma, Todd·2005·InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies
DOI 10.5070/d412000540
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Abstract

The issue of race has been evaded in the field of Library and Information Studies (LIS) in the United States through an unquestioned system of white normativity and liberal multicultural discourse. To counteract these paradigms, this paper draws from various scholarly writings about race and racial formation in order to center race as the primary axis of analysis in the reinterpretation of major theoretical issues in LIS. Beginning with an analysis of the historical construction of libraries as an institution complicit in the production and maintenance of white racial privilege and then turning toward present-day discourses surrounding diversity and multiculturalism, this paper discusses at length the epistemological forms of racism that exist in LIS.

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  • Librarianship is a conflict-averse profession.

    “As a conflict-averse profession, librarianship must begin to recognize conflict as potentially productive, and not only as bare antagonism (Honma, 2005).”

    From In Pursuit of Antiracist Social Justice: Denaturalizing Whiteness in the Academic Library (2015) · cites this paper as Honma, 2005

    In “The Multicultural Intervention: From Politics to Self-Help” (page unavailable), Honma says LIS diversity rhetoric elides race and lacks critical analysis of racism. “Library Ontologies and the Construction of Whiteness” (page unavailable) argues that appeals to neutrality conceal racial exclusion. These passages support avoidance of confronting racial and political tensions, but not the broader characterization of librarianship as conflict-averse in general. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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  • The ideal mission of libraries is perverted by racist structures endemic to American society.

    “the ideal mission of libraries is perverted by racist structures that are endemic to American society.”

    From In Pursuit of Antiracist Social Justice: Denaturalizing Whiteness in the Academic Library (2015) · cites this paper as Honma, 2005

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 42

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Authors
Honma, T.
Corresponding author
Honma, Todd
Venue
InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies
Publisher
California Digital Library (CDL)
Published
2005-06-21
Volume
1
Issue
2
ISSN
1548-3320 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.5070/d412000540
OpenAlex
W1954010862
Cited by
187
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 1
FWCI
8.37
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • InterActions UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies (publishedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Library Science and Administration
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Information Science and Libraries
  • Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Library Science and Information Literacy
Keywords
race, racial formation, white normativity, multiculturalism, diversity, libraries, library history, racial invisibility

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