SOS for Library Professionals
The creation of a compassionate library ecosystem requires
librarians, paraprofessionals, and supervisors to work in tandem to
ensure that the workplace environment incorporates collegiality,
self-care, and an acknowledgement of personal difference that allows all
employees to operate within a sphere of safety. Incorporating
compassionate and respectful practices into everyday interactions is
only the beginning; the process also includes empowering employees to
engage in activities that reflect their value, support and celebrate
individual differences, and provide opportunities for healthy
disagreement.
While the recognition that everyone is different
and worthy of respect can be difficult to achieve, developing a climate
that emphasizes this ethos is essential and worthwhile, especially in
times fraught with uncertainty. Creating this type of environment can be
distilled down into three major elements that will be covered in this
presentation: permitting librarians and library staff to set boundaries
related to their work output and input, building a shared concept of
collegiality and practicing those qualities every day, and promoting and
supporting self-care strategies that are mindful of individual
differences. This presentation will discuss how supervisors can work
with their departments to integrate these elements, leading to a more
connected and effective team.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this webinar, attendees will learn:
- How to incorporate practices that promote positivity and well-being into their library environments in ways that promote department/team success;
- How respect, boundaries, and self-care can reduce interpersonal stress within the library; and
- How suggested activities can be scaled to fit their individual institutions, leading to actionable items.
Who Should Attend: Librarians and library administrators working in middle to upper management who supervise others.
Presenter:
Elana Karshmer is the Head of Reference &
Research Services at New Mexico State University. She completed her M.A.
(L.I.S.) and PhD in English at USF. In 2009 Elana was named an American
Library Association Emerging Leader, and in 2014, she won the ALA
Library Instruction Roundtable’s Innovation in Instruction award for her
work with first-year students. Elana is also a Past-President of the
Florida Library Association and Florida ACRL. She has a PhD in
postcolonial literature, focusing on the work of South African women
writers, and has published articles in the fields of literature and
library & information science. She has presented extensively both
nationally and internationally and is especially concerned with the role
of middle- and upper- administrators in promoting the success of
libraries and libraries in the communities they serve. Elana believes
that her work as a librarian allows her to teach critical thinking in a
more efficient manner. Her work as a literary scholar enhances her
ability to teach research skills and her work as a librarian gives her a
unique perspective on the literary research process; in short, both
fields contribute to one another and help her develop new ways of
reaching students, faculty, and colleagues.
Tech Requirements