Browsing by Author "Galasso, Meg"

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Confronting anti-fat bias to create more inclusive libraries
(ALA Editions, 2025) Galasso, Meg
Anti-fat bias, or the negative assumptions and beliefs about fat people that lead to discriminatory behaviors and policies, is increasingly acknowledged as pervasive and harmful in a wide range of settings, including workplaces, medical offices, schools, religious institutions, personal relationships, and, yes, libraries. This chapter will illuminate and invite you to challenge the ways in which the stigmatization of fat people is made manifest in librarianship: how we manage and evaluate library workers, construct our physical spaces, conceptualize our collections and services, develop programming, and relate to one another. Informed by existing scholarship, a recent study with public-facing fat librarians, and the author’s own experience as a fat woman working in libraries, the questions and recommendations that follow aim to create libraries that are more welcoming and inclusive for all workers and users, especially those in fat bodies.
Fatness and libraries: Amplifying the voices of fat librarians in DEIA work
(2023-10-19) Galasso, Meg
View presentation recording: https://iu.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/t/1_aplse1pp/374468552 This presentation, recorded on October 19, 2023, was part of the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) Region 6 Speaker Spotlight Series. Originally posted on YouTube by the Network of the National Library of Medicine, this video was removed from the platform in early 2025, likely due to mandates from the Trump administration that seek to end, silence, and bury work that seeks to promote and encourage diversity, equity, and inclusion. Neither the presenter nor the organizer of this series were notified of the video's removal. This recording begins shortly after the original introduction which included information about the NNLM Region 6 Speaker Series. The primary speaker and presenter is Meg Galasso, and the speaker heard and referred to during the Q&A portion is Bobbi L. Newman. As of fall 2024, Meg Galasso is now Associate Librarian for History, Jewish Studies, and Religious Studies at Indiana University Bloomington. Galasso, M. (2023, October 19). Fatness and libraries: Amplifying the voices of fat librarians in DEIA work. NNLM Region 6 Speakers Spotlight Series.
Fatness and the Future of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Librarianship
(2023-03-16) Galasso, Meg
Galasso, M. (2023). Fatness and the future of equity, diversity, and inclusion in librarianship. ACRL 2023 Conference Proceedings, 170-180. https://www.ala.org/acrl/conferences/acrl2023/papers
Friendly, radical, ambivalent: Fat librarians and professional identity
(2025-05-14) Galasso, Meg
This session explores the ways in which fatness informs the professional identities of librarians who do public-facing work based on interviews with an intentionally diverse sample of thirty-one fat librarians from a range of institution types in the United States. While some findings from this study have been reported in other venues, this is the first in-depth exploration of the extent to which fatness affects how these interviewees think about and perform their professional identities. We discuss how fatness influences librarians’ entry to and promotion within the field, as well as how our bodies may complicate or enhance relationships with library users and communities. A particular focus of this discussion is the intersectional complexities of identity formation and performance for fat librarians who embody multiple marginalized identities. Beyond sharing study results, this session aims to center the voices and experiences of fat people working in libraries so that we may see ourselves represented in library scholarship, examine the extent to which the profession engages in hegemonic anti-fatness, and advocate for more inclusive libraries. View recording on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wd5ShWO6umI?si=oCp4kGtE2FkEFTtP
“Have you tried the giant search box?”: Training student workers to effectively use discovery platforms
(2021-03-21) Galasso, Meg
Galasso, M. (2021, March 9). “Have you tried the giant search box?”: Training student workers to effectively use discovery platforms. Electronic Resources & Libraries 2021, Online.