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REGISTER ONLY IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND LIVE. SEATS ARE LIMITED.
People often choose to become librarians out of a love for literacy and a desire to help others. While library school is fantastic for teaching such essential skills as reference interviews, collection development strategies, and even management skills, it does not traditionally provide instruction on managing patron behavioral issues and conflict resolution skills with challenging co-workers. In addition, librarians also face mounting demands such as filling multiple roles in times of shrinking budgets while juggling the demands of being adept at providing high level customer service that they may find themselves poorly equipped to manage.
In the face of such unanticipated workplace stressors, many librarians tend to make their own self-care needs a low priority which places them at an increased risk of burnout. Those who work with patrons who share their trauma stories or who witness violence in their libraries may also experience vicarious trauma or compassion fatigue. Being alert to signs of emotional distress and its impact on their own functioning is key for librarians to continue to meet the needs of their community of users and to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Attendees will participate in discussions and breakout rooms during the session to share their own perspectives, challenges, and tips for self-care. Handouts will be provided to assist attendees in assessing their self-care and forming an effective self-care plan.
Participating librarians will:
- recognize the impact of chronic stress
- differentiate between burnout, vicarious trauma, and mental health concerns such as depression or anxiety
- identify strategies for self-care
- be able to navigate the mental health system more effectively and advocate for mental health in their own library community
Dawn Behrend is a second-career librarian with over 20 years of experience as a master’s level clinical psychologist. In addition to her work as an academic librarian, Ms. Behrend continues to work in private practice. This interactive session will provide information about recognizing the impact of chronic stress as well as differentiating burnout, vicarious trauma, and mental health concerns such as depression or anxiety. Ms. Behrend will provide attendees with tips for effective self-care, such as healthy coping skills, mindfulness techniques, and maintaining healthy boundaries. For those who find themselves in need of mental health treatment, Ms. Behrend will provide attendees with strategies for effectively navigating the mental health system. Attendees will also learn ways in which they can become mental health advocates for their own library community.
Create a login profile at mtstatelibrary.moonami.com and self enroll in the Fall Workshops course space (use the passkey LibraryLearning) to access all the information for Fall Workshops in one place plus open discussion forums for each session and a live chat during the whole conference.
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