Waltz’s column acknowledges how long-standing issues of burnout, employee disengagement, and low morale have been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. She directs readers to re-center motivation and engagement strategies through Appreciative Inquiry methods and related outcomes. Access the column (possible paywall).
Exploring the question “why can’t librarians just say ‘no’?,” through the lens of multiple disciplines and communication channels, Authors Meyers, Narlock, Martinez-Montavon, and Stathers track the development of crisis narratives and intersections/parallels with vocational awe in librarianship. The study is accompanied by a multimedia Scalar project incorporating critique and film, offering a unique lens of …
Renewals Reach: Tracking librarians’ ability to refuse Read More »
Liz Vine’s invited paper for the 2021 Association of College & Research Libraries’ conference discusses the role of High Impact Practices through the lens of experiential learning, and with an eye towards equity and learner-centered pedagogy. The 2019 low morale study (done with Ione T. Damasco) is noted in discussions of BIPOC experiencing a dearth …
Renewals Reach: High Impact Practices & Student Employment Read More »
Matteson, Ming, and Silva apply organizational justice theory to decision-making in library administration and consider the role of this application in improving employee perceptions of the workplace, particularly where perceptions of fairness, autonomy and other factors. Access the article (possible paywall).
Contextualizing the impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, which have combined and augmented the previously established cultural, economic, and political gaps in library workplaces, Virginia Moran and Talia Nadir discuss the convergence of toxic positivity, resilience narratives, and vocational awe in their invited paper for the Association of College & Research Libraries’ 2021 Conference. Noting …
Renewals Reach: Toxic Positivity in Librarianship Read More »
A phenomenological study was created to discover user expectations of academic libraries and compare them to consumer behaviors in shopping malls. The authors found similarities linking pleasant experiences in both spaces. The 2017 low morale study was noted for its methodology. Read the article (paywall).
Katrina Spencer’s in-depth guide helps readers recognize the characteristics and behaviors associated with overcommitment. It includes a checklist of countermeasures to systematically reduce or respond to expectations that ignore human capacity or exploit/augment systems that promote or perpetuate overwork, over-functioning, and associated physical and mental health outcomes. The 2017 low morale study is included in …
Stark and Dobry’s poster session for the 2019 Northern California & Nevada Medical Group/Medical Library Group of Southern California and Arizona Joint Meeting includes an overview of literature on libraries as dysfunctional workplaces, along with associated behaviors and outcomes. They offer brief recommendations for roles library workers and formal library leaders can take to reduce …
Renewals Reach: Power and privilege in libraries Read More »
In their chapter, “We’re not libraries; we’re people: Identity and emotional labor in providing face-to-face service in libraries,” Hernandez and Oberlies explore LIS service norms and how they clash with library employees who work in public services. They also share the results of a survey they distributed to gather information about the distribution of emotional …
Renewals Reach: Identity, Emotional Labor, and Service Read More »
Cameron, Pierce, and Conroy’s study centers tenure-track academic librarians and measures work-stress levels and connections to organizational support systems. The report validates links between lack of support and employee stress, and offers an interesting finding regarding connections between professional confidence and stress. Their work cites the 2017 low morale study. Access the article (possible paywall).