“Finding a Way To Say ‘No’”: Library Employees' Responses to Sexual Harassment as Emotional Labour

Patron-perpetrated sexual harassment (PPSH) is a form of gender-based violence and a pervasive problem in libraries. However, contending with PPSH requires the performance of emotional labour by library workers because of workplace cultures and professional values that prioritize patron and institutional comfort. To better understand library workers' emotional labour as they respond to PPSH, we analyzed 510 survey responses where participants shared their experiences of, their responses to, and feelings about, PPSH. Three responsive strategies emerged: acceptance, indirect refusal, or direct refusal. Overwhelmingly, library workers reported negative emotions about the incidents. Despite these negative feelings, library workers consistently responded to PPSH by performing emotional labour that upheld “polite and professional” values. Our findings raise concerning questions for the field of library and information studies about the implicit and explicit expectations placed on library workers to perform emotional labour in response to PPSH, particularly within the context of a feminized profession and with the knowledge that PPSH harms library workers. Our goal is to support library workers and their institutions to “find a way to say ‘no’” to gender-based violence in the workplace. Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science & Technology | Oct. 27 – 31, 2023 | London, United Kingdom. Author(s) retain copyright, but ASIS&T receives an exclusive publication license.