Imposter Syndrome: The Struggle Is Real
For years, I have lived by the phrase “fake it till you make it,” and it turns out there is a term for this in the professional workplace setting as well. This phenomenon is discussed in the article by Amanda Chapman titled “Using the assessment process to overcome Imposter Syndrome in mature students.” Imposter syndrome is defined as “a condition where the sufferers feel they are in the wrong place and manifests in a fear of exposure whereby someone might realize that ‘they shouldn’t be here’ and ask them to leave” [1]. In Chapman’s article, she discusses how to use assessment processes to help students overcome these feelings of being a fraud by reiterating their skills and competencies.
In my own experience of attending graduate school and receiving my master’s in library science, I frequently felt like I would be told that I did not belong in graduate school. It was a little reassuring to learn about imposter syndrome and that others felt this way too, but I still felt like a fraud despite maintaining a 4.0 GPA in all my courses. Even now as a successful academic librarian with two and a half years of experience, I feel the lingering shadow of imposter syndrome looming large over me. This seems to be a common ailment for librarians everywhere, so common in fact that Erin Elizabeth Owens wrote an article titled “Impostor Phenomenon and Skills Confidence among Scholarly Communications Librarians in the United States” [2]. Owens discusses how the imposter phenomenon affects librarians who have extensive experience in their field but still feel like academic frauds despite their accomplishments. This article also contemplates if these feelings of inadequacy stem from assisting faculty far more degreed or academically recognized than the librarian providing the instructions.
While I believe that may be a valid point, I disagree with it personally. I have seen other librarians try to validate themselves and attempt to equate their experience with those of the doctors and medical specialists they assist, but we are librarians not medical faculty doctors. I am confident enough in my researching skills to help a school of pharmacy faculty member locate relevant articles, regardless of if I understand all the medical terms and medications mentioned in the search. I am here to serve as a bridge to the information for the faculty member, and I am confident in my skills to connect them with the articles they require. I do not feel the need to have a doctorate degree to be considered the equal of the faculty I help. I am a librarian and proud to help to the best of my abilities.
I have also experienced the argument that librarians should be faculty to be on “even ground” with the faculty we assist. However, this argument is flawed to me since our faculty are medical doctors, with several that are specialists in their field study. How is our position as a librarian with a master’s degree supposed to be considered equal to that of medical faculty with a doctorate and sometimes a PhD degree?
My own personal imposter syndrome kicks in when giving new student and faculty orientations. I have done these presentations several times, and yet each time I fear that someone will call me a fraud and kick me out. I am knowledgeable about the topics I am going over with students and faculty, but each time I stand up and give these presentations imposter syndrome kicks in hardcore.
Perhaps these feelings of inadequacy stem from the fact that as librarians, we serve as a bridge to information instead of as the actual source of the needed information? I am happy to help out students and faculty, connecting them with the information they are looking for to answer their questions. The expectation of knowing the answer to every question is far-fetched, but knowing how to find the answer is a skill that I enjoy improving and teaching to others.
References
- Chapman A. Using the assessment process to overcome Imposter Syndrome in mature students. J Furth High Educ. 2017;41(2):112–9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2015.1062851.
- Owens EE. Impostor phenomenon and skills confidence among scholarly communications librarians in the United States. Coll Res Libr. 2021;82(4):490–512. DOI: https:/doi.org/10.5860/crl.82.4.490.