cognitive dissonance

When I speak about trauma-informed/trauma-responsive library services I mention cognitive dissonance when it comes to library security and/or law enforcement presence in libraries. I’m white. Seeing armed cops patrol my public library unsettles me. I’m on the fence about having security guards babysitting empty academic libraries, too.

However, many library workers experience threats, harassment, bullying, and other kinds of violent behavior from those whom they serve. Library workers often want security/law enforcement in the building because that’s not our job.

Interestingly, it WAS. Historically librarians were hired to curate and discipline those who didn’t follow rules. They were hired to enforce white supremacy in the white institutionalized library.

Yet, a lot of library workers’ workflow is interrupted by having to de-escalate situations, curb unacceptable behavior, and surveil the people using their spaces and collections to monitor how well everyone abides by rules.

Many people we support are black and brown people whose bodies and lives are surveilled. They worry about whether they’ll survive a “routine traffic stop.”

Holding two conflicting ideas takes a mental toll on our well-being. Library workers need to feel safe. Library users need to feel safe. Those are similar ideas, but safety means different things to different people.

For some weeks now I’ve thought about the cognitive dissonance felt by prison librarians. Our professional ethics stress the right to information, the freedom of speech, and anti-censorship. Yet, prison librarians must balance those professional ethics with what their employer–a department of corrections, prison, juvenile detention center, etc.–deems a security risk. Information is restricted for prisoners, but SCOTUS guarantees their right to access of the courts, which is usually interpreted as access to a law library.

Seemingly, there isn’t much we can do to resolve cognitive dissonance. Recognizing the conflict and accepting that it’s there is it. That’s part of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Just noticing the conflicting ideas when they pop up, and not judging them. It’s difficult. I want to solve problems, but some days I just notice and let those ideas float on. That’s some improvement over the dismay of learned helplessness, right?