A Derridean Reclamation of Hospitality in Library and Information Science

Abstract

The goal of my research is to introduce Derridean hospitality to Library and Information Science in a way that frames the service model of librarianship as well as elevates the labor of hospitality within the field. Derridean hospitality encompasses Derridean deconstruction, so I explore hospitality in LIS by writing in a series of deconstructions. First, I explore the self-deconstruction within the etymology of the term “hospitality,” an endeavor which tears hospitality from the complacent and transactional ways it has previously been invoked in LIS scholarship and practice. Next, I present Derrida’s conceptual deconstruction of hospitality, exploring the mediation between unconditional and conditional hospitality. This deconstruction is used in fields adjacent to LIS to re-frame service and elevate hospitality labor, benefits which I argue it can also accomplish within LIS. Finally, I explore Derrida’s deconstruction of host and guest, applying this deconstruction to the librarian’s role as host and outlining the intellectual and affective responsibilities of such a role. Together, these deconstructions complicate and elevate hospitality within LIS while providing an ethical heuristic through which to mediate tension in the field.