Adventures in Library Instruction on LW!
The origin of the relationship between Rachel Borchardt, Jason Puckett, and Anna Van Scoyoc starts out like a bad romance novel. The three unexpectedly came together in 2006 while working at Emory University — only to be torn apart after a single year together. Through pregnancies, job changes, and database interface upgrades, the three reunited in 2009 as co-producers of the library podcast, Adventures in Library Instruction. Today they sit down and take some time to answer those burning questions about wardrobe and instruction.
Librarian Wardrobe: What is your library’s dress code like? What do you and your coworkers typically wear?
Jason: We don’t have a dress code as such; we have informal guidelines with a good bit of leeway as to how we follow them. I have some colleagues who wear jeans and t-shirts every day. I usually wear slacks and a buttoned shirt (during the summer I rotate through my collection of bowling shirts). Often sneakers if my pants are casual enough to get away with it.
Rachel: I’ve never officially asked, but I don’t think we have anything more than some general suggestions - the wardrobe options run the gamut from full suits to shorts and flip flips (incidentally, it’s the same person in the option that wears both of those - most of us fall in the middle). I definitely stray to the casual side - jeans and a button down shirt or sweater.
Anna: I think we used to bust out the camera when/if Rachel came to work wearing a skirt, didn’t we? My day-to-day professional attire really is no different than something I might wear to a party. More times than not, I could go straight from work to meet a friend for dinner, baseball game, demonstration, poetry slam, whatever.
Rachel: Yup. I also Tweeted the first time I wore heels to work in 2009.
Jason: We also have casual Fridays. I try to keep my Fridays unscheduled (or at least without any desk time) so I can wear jeans and t-shirts. Often one of my amusing and witty librarian-related t-shirts.
Anna: No jeans allowed in my library system. There are a few days throughout the year where the County will sponsor a “Jeans for Day.” County employees can pay a certain amount of money to wear jeans for that particular day.
Rachel: PAY to wear jeans? Yikes. :(
Anna: It’s for a good cause, Rachel! :P
LW: How do you usually dress for instruction sessions? Does it differ from how you otherwise dress for work?
Rachel: I try to look one notch better than the students. For me, this usually means slacks instead of jeans. I maintain that feeling comfortable is way more important than looking as professional as possible, though this is probably just rationalization on my part.
Anna: I tend to dress up (i.e., a skirt, heels, etc.) for classes. The people attending sessions I facilitate tend to be older, and I think I’m (in a sense) trying to appear professional (which makes me knowledgeable??? Well, that doesn’t make any sense — but I guess attitude/confidence is part of the instruction experience). Also, I’ve been doing more and more instructional sessions outside of my own branch, so I feel as if I should dress up a bit more to appropriately “represent the County.”
Jason: I don’t wear anything special for instruction sessions. I avoid jeans just because I feel like I’m representing the library to our “public” and want to look like a grownup. …oh. Except that I just remembered that sometimes I wear a Green Lantern ring to teach.
Anna: As long as you look like a grown up, Jason, I think the Green Lantern ring is fine.
Jason: I can fake being a grownup pretty well at this point.
LW: Do you find you dress differently for different types of classes? (Undergraduates vs. graduates as an example for academic, or maybe the Facebook course vs. something like an employment search workshop for public.) If yes, do you do this just for yourself or are you intentionally conveying an image to your students? One instruction librarian I know dresses down for classes to make the atmosphere more relaxed and so students can relate to her better — what do you think about that?
Rachel: I think I actually make more of an effort to look presentable for undergraduates, so that they can clearly distinguish me as an educator. I don’t mind if graduate students see me as more of an equal!
Jason: No, I don’t think I’ve ever made that fine a distinction. When I’m teaching for undergrads I’ve usually got a faculty member there too!
Anna: It doesn’t matter if it’s “Picniking with the Best of Them” or “Tweet your Job Search;” I just “dress up.”
LW: Do you dress a lot differently now than you did when you first started out in librarianship?
Anna: Not a whole lot different. Maybe a *bit* more relaxed/casual than when I started back in 2001. One of the reasons I wanted to be a librarian was because I knew I wouldn’t have to get an entirely separate “professional wardrobe.” And…goodness — how could we afford fancy clothes on our salaries????
Jason: Anna, you’re not wearing Dolce & Gabbanna on the reference desk? … Okay, so actually I used to wear a tie on days when I was teaching. I was insecure and I felt that looking more professional helped my confidence and authority a bit. Now I’m much more relaxed about the whole thing. I never wear ties except sometimes for search committee interview days.
Anna: No, Jason, I don’t — just look at the pictures I’ve submitted. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear a tie, and you were on my search committee! I remember thinking, “nice bowling shirt.”
Jason: You liar! I did *not* wear a bowling shirt to a search committee. I’m way too effing classy.
Rachel: Haha. Jason totally used to dress up to do instruction! I could usually tell when he had a class. :) I actually did dress much nicer when I was doing an internship at a medical library - slacks, nice shoes. But I’ve been in jeans since then - I even came to Anna asking for wardrobe tips when I first started working. :)
Anna: I knew Rachel was new to the profession if she was asking *me* for wardrobe advice. Clothes and Anna have never really gelled. I used to try to copy off people I admired in former jobs (very Single White Female-ish). And okay, Jason, maybe it was during the PHONE INTERVIEW, and I thought, “I bet that guy’s wearing a bowling shirt….”
Rachel: I was totally asking because you were the only person that consistently wore jeans, and it gave me hope.
LW: Any other ideas or tips on what to wear or style as an instructor?
Anna: I try to go for comfort — yet, I always end up wearing heels. They help boost my confidence (see #2 above).
Jason:Yeah, that’s why I end up wearing heels too. Oh, #1 tip: check your fly before students get there. It’s never happened to me, but I’ve seen it. Not pretty.
Rachel: Personally, I go for what I’m comfortable in, because that’s what gives me confidence. I’d be way too worried about tripping if I wore heels!
Photos:
Rachel: I had a meeting with faculty I’d never met before, so.. slacks. And the same shoes I always wear. Rachel is the Science Librarian at American University in Washington, DC.
Jason is the Communications Librarian at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA.
Anna: My picture is entitled, “Circ Duty vs. Instruction”. Anna is a part-time Reference Librarian at county public library system in Central NJ.
