[3][4][5] Her research focus includes inclusion, equity, and diversity in libraries, and her work led her to coin the term "vocational awe.
[20] In September 2018, Ettarh wrote the foreword to the Library Juice Press book Pushing the Margins: Women of Color and Intersectionality in LIS.
She argued that by leaving the libraries as one of the few open spaces on campus, students could potentially expose themselves to a deadly virus in order to succeed academically.
"[28] In March 2022, Ettarh told Library Journal that the pandemic had "brought home the idea that work can’t love you back".
She also focuses on inclusion, equity, and diversity in libraries,[35] including social and organizational privilege,[5] and the notion of vocational awe as related to librarians.
[42] Abby Hargreaves of Book Riot argued that there is "staunch reality" in examining the ALA "Library Bill of Rights", saying it deserves a "sense of awe".
Cartoonist Alison Bechdel described Dykes to Watch Out For protagonist Mo Testa as falling into "the pitfall of vocational awe, believing that her public library job is a religious calling".
[5] Ettarh identified herself as first-generation American, queer, and disabled women of color in a Library Journal profile.