Date of Award

12-24-2025

Date Published

January 2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Cultural Foundations of Education

Advisor(s)

Alan Foley

Keywords

Critical Disability Studies;Critical Ethnography;Critical Policy Analysis;Disabled Experiences;Dysconscious Ableism;Public Librarianship

Subject Categories

Disability Studies | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the operation of dysconscious ableism in public librarianship and its impact on disabled patrons and staff. Drawing on critical disability studies, critical theory, and ethnographic methods, the study explores how public library policies, practices, and professional beliefs perpetuate ableist norms and marginalize disabled individuals. The research is grounded in three central questions: (1) How does dysconscious ableism operate in public librarianship? (2) What are the lived experiences of disabled patrons and staff in public library spaces? (3) What strategies can disrupt dysconscious ableism and promote a more inclusive, anti-ableist praxis? Data were collected through interviews with librarians and disabled patrons, and through critical policy analysis of library documents from a county-wide public library system in New York State. Thematic coding and counter-storytelling methods were employed to analyze the data. Findings reveal that library policies often reflect vague, subjective, and deficit-based understandings of disability, reinforcing exclusion through terms like “disruptive behavior” and privileging mythical norms of independence and productivity. Disabled patrons and staff reported experiences of internalized oppression, access barriers, and emotional labor, while also identifying moments of inclusion and community. These findings align with dysconscious ableism. The study contributes to Library and Information Studies (LIS) by introducing dysconscious ableism as a critical framework for analyzing institutional exclusion. It offers a model for disrupting ableist norms through tools such as intersectionality, universal design, collective responsibility, and anti-WEIRD-centric perspectives. Recommendations include revising policies, centering disabled voices, and embedding anti-ableist frameworks in LIS education and practice. This work calls for a transformative shift in public librarianship toward justice-oriented, liberatory practices that affirm disability as a valued identity and source of knowledge.

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Open Access

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