Joe Eshleman - Böcker

The Mindful Librarian: Connecting the Practice of Mindfulness to Librarianship explores mindfulness, approaching it in such a way as to relate specifically to the many roles or challenges librarians face. Coinciding with the increased need to juggle a variety of tasks, technologies, ebooks, and databases, the new Association of College & Research Libraries Framework for Information Literacy, and the challenges faced by solo librarians in school libraries which have suffered cutbacks in help in recent years, the time is exactly right for this publication.

The authors hope to be helpful in some small way towards improving the joy and quality of life that librarians and library science students experience in their personal lives and jobs. The loftier goal would be to create a new lens from which to view librarianship, having a transformative impact on readers, and opening a new dialog within the profession.

The topic of mindfulness is not new; it has been connected to various religious traditions in a wide variety of ways for centuries, most notably Buddhism. In the latter part of the 20th century, however, a secular version was popularized largely by the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn and his work on MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) at the University of Massachusetts's Medical School.

The medical benefits and the overall quality of life improvements from its adoption have exploded in recent years, in particular, the last two decades which have seen mindfulness traditions incorporated into education to a greater degree and with very positive results.

Presents the only current LIS book that covers this topic in a way that applies directly to librarians Provides a topic that will be appealing to librarians, as it speaks to the pressures of budget cuts and consumer culture being felt across the academy Seeks to improve the joy and quality of life that librarians and library science students experience in their personal lives and jobs

With online education options more ubiquitous and sophisticated than ever, the need for academic librarians to be conversant with digital resources and design thinking has become increasingly important. The way forward is through collaboration with instructional designers, which allows librarians to gain a better understanding of digital resource construction, design, goals, and responsibilities. In this book, the authors demonstrate that when librarians and instructional designers pool their knowledge of curriculum and technology, together they can impact changes that help to better serve faculty, students, and staff to address changes that are affecting higher education. Illustrated using plentiful examples of successful collaboration in higher education, this bookintroduces the history of collaborative endeavors between instructional designers and librarians, sharing ideas for institutions of every sizereviews key emerging issues, including intellectual property, digital scholarship, data services, digital publishing, and scholarly communication;addresses library instruction, particularly the new information literacy framework and threshold concepts, and how the movement towards online library instruction can be supported through collaboration with instructional designers;describes the complementary roles of librarians and instructional designers in detail, followed by a case study in collaboration at Davidson College, an evolving digital project that mirrors changes in technology and collaboration over more than a decade;shows how librarians and instructional designers can work together to encourage, inform, train, and support both faculty and students in the use of digital media, media databases, online media, public domain resources, and streaming media tools;highlights creative opportunities inherent in the design and use of the Learning Management System (LMS); andlooks ahead to how emerging technologies are already leading to new jobs at the intersection of librarianship and technology, such as the instructional design librarian.With a firm foundation on best practices drawn from a variety of institutions, this book maps out a partnership between academic librarians and instructional designers that will lead to improved outcomes.

Frankly, it’s not something we like to talk about. There is an unfortunate stigma to acknowledging workplace dysfunction, let alone trying to grapple with the problem. But negative behaviors such as incivility, toxicity, deviant behavior, workplace politics, and team and leadership dysfunction not only make the library a stressful workplace, they also run counter to the core values of librarianship. An important tool for library leaders and managers as well as library staff, this book examines these negative relationship-based issues and suggests practical, research-based solutions bydiscussing the importance of understanding oneself as related to the library workplace;identifying attributes specific to libraries that foster personal success;showing how organizational dysfunction is rooted in problems such as poor communication, inadequate leadership, and lack of employee engagement;breaking down relatable scenarios to analyze what’s behind them and how to defuse them, ranging from a gossipy coworker who fails to contribute to the organization to workplace bullying and mobbing;exploring causes, results, and potential solutions in the areas of cyberloafing, fraud, theft, and sabotage;delving into the importance of conflict management, surveying a variety of approaches and applications;examining the use of teams in libraries and the impact of favoritism, nepotism, and sexism; andproviding techniques for successful collaboration, leadership, organizational communication, and other key management topics.By tackling the dysfunctional library head on, managers as well as library workers who find themselves in a toxic situation will be poised to better meet library goals and move the library forward.

Like other workplaces, libraries can sometimes be stressful, with library workers bearing the brunt of such problems as uncivil patrons, poor communication, inadequate leadership, and toxic behaviors by fellow employees. But there's hope. Following up their acclaimed examination of the dysfunctional library ("should be essential reading for library leaders" raves Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association), here the authors present a book of proactive solutions and guidance culled from their own research, including interviews with library administrators and staff. Sharing valuable insights that will stimulate thought and discussion towards the goal of a healthier and more harmonious workplace, this book:addresses the subject from four viewpoints-individual, team, leader, and organization-focusing on solutions and practical steps in each area;shows how self-reflection and self-awareness can be key starting points for exploring workplace issues;offers numerous suggestions for wellness and self-care; provides tips for improving interpersonal communication and conversations in ways that prevent silos and span boundaries;sheds light on forming and sustaining cohesive library teams, then provides solutions for misaligned teams and dissenters;discusses why effectively conveying vision, role modeling, and demonstrating empathy are all crucial behaviors of library leaders;shares actions library leaders can take to engage employees in the change process;examines how organizational structures can either detract or contribute to a library's success; anddetails types of training that can be utilized to minimize dysfunction, including training for bias, empathy, conflict management, and diversity.Filled with beneficial advice on every page, this resource will help libraries be better workplaces for everyone.