Revitalizing Morale: Cultivating a Supportive Library Culture
In this webinar, delve deeper into essential facets that foster a healthy and supportive library culture, exploring institutional and individual solutions to countering low morale.
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Building on research and insights presented in the webinar, Low Morale in Libraries: Impacts and Countermeasures, this panel discussion delves deeper into essential facets that foster a healthy and supportive library culture, exploring institutional and individual solutions to countering low morale. Examining how organizational culture, library hierarchies, and management styles affect the workplace experiences of library staff, we’ll explore various strategies for library staff working to navigate power dynamics and advocate for positive personal or organizational change. Recognizing the trauma, stress, and burnout experienced by library staff, we’ll consider how to:
- Assertively communicate needs while embracing change, set boundaries to address toxic positivity, and foster a compassionate environment
- Explore visionary leadership approaches for inclusive libraries and promote collaboration for library staff at all levels
- Gain insights on trauma-informed practices and collective care to help recover from burnout and foster empathy and resilience
Join this panel of researchers, library practitioners, and changemakers as they share experiences, research, and practical strategies to help foster a healthier, empowered library environment.
Panelists
- Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, Researcher, Leader, Consultant, and Coach, Renewals
- Sunnie Scarpa, Library Director, Wallingford Public Library (CT)
- Ann Glusker, Social Sciences Librarian, University of California, Berkeley
- Lauren Comito, Branch Manager, Brooklyn Public Library, and Executive Director, Urban Librarians Unite
- Angelica Rodriguez, Assistant Branch Manager, Hartford Public Library, Park Street Library @ the Lyric (CT)
Access Recording
- View Webinar Recording (You will be prompted to sign in to our free Course Catalog.)
Webinar Attachments
- View chat (xls)
- View captions (txt)
- Note: no slides, panel discussion
Related Resources and Links
- Researching Low Morale in Libraries, a WebJunction interview with Kaetrena Davis Kendrick
- Low Morale in Libraries: Impacts and Countermeasures, WebJunction webinar
- Kendrick’s list of Published Low Morale Studies
- Glusker, A., Emmelhainz, C., Estrada, N., & Dyess, B. (2022). “Viewed as equals”: The impacts of library organizational cultures and management on library staff morale. Journal of Library Administration, 62(2), 153–189. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2022.2026119
- 2022 Urban Library Trauma Study and on Library Trauma Cycle, Urban Libraries Unite
- Additional resources on Trauma
- Free resources from the Trauma Stewardship Institute
- Freedom Project, Trauma Informed Practice, Educational Guide (pdf)
- My grandmother's hands : racialized trauma and the pathway to mending our hearts and bodies, by Resmaa Menakem
- Renewers Communities
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RenewersLIS
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renewerslis/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/RenewersL
- Mental Health Resources for Libraries, a WebJunction collection both in support of library staff mental health, and to help inform the work of connecting the community to resources.
- WorldCat.org list of 12 books on Empathetic Leadership, recommended by Sunnie and Kaetrena
- Sunnie shared, How Humble Leadership Really Works, by Dan Cable
- Additional recommendations shared in chat
- Baby, Don’t Walk Away Mad -- Just Walk Away From That Toxic Job, Erin Schultz
- What is slow librarianship? by Meredith Farkas
- By Kim Scott, Just work : get sh*t done, fast & fair and Radical candor : be a kick-ass boss without losing your humanity and see also, Radical Radical Candor website
- How To Survive A Toxic Work Environment, by Caroline Castrillon
- Management in a Changing World from managementcenter.org
- Leaders eat last : why some teams pull together and others don't, by Simon Sinek (someone added, anything by Simon Sinek!)
- Ask a manager : how to navigate clueless colleagues, lunch-stealing bosses, and the rest of your life at work, by Alison Green
- Dare to lead : brave work, tough conversations, whole hearts, by Brene Brown
- Unreasonable hospitality : the remarkable power of giving people more than they expect, by Will Guidara
- New courses on WebJunction:
- From Burnout to Balance
- De-escalation Strategies for Libraries, Archives, and Museum Staff
Date
11 October 2023
Time
3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Eastern Daylight Time, North America [UTC -4]
Webinar panelist Kaetrena Davis Kendrick
Webinar panelist Sunnie Scarpa
Webinar panelist Ann Glusker
Webinar panelist Lauren Comito
Webinar panelist Angelica Rodriguez
Upcoming Webinars
04 June 2025