Call for Proposals:
Researchers Holm, Guimaraes, and Wood welcome chapter proposals on topics related to burnout in academic libraries. We have outlined several suggested chapter topics; however, we also welcome proposals for topics that we have not identified. You need not be an academic librarian to submit a proposal. This book will be published by the Association of College and Research Libraries.
Book’s Working Title:
Academic Librarian Burnout: Causes and Responses
Deadline for Proposal Submission
October 15, 2020
Editors
Christina E. Holm, MLIS
- Instruction Coordinator
- Kennesaw State University Library System
Ana B. Guimaraes, MSLIS
- Director of Collection Development
- Kennesaw State University Library System
Barbara Wood
- Associate Director of Education and Engagement
- Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Georgia
Overview of Book
The nature of library work and academia have been transformed by forces such as the pace of technological change, reduced budgets, a global pandemic, and shifting understandings of what it means to be a librarian. While these changes have transformed the work of the library, librarians have rushed to adopt, correct, and even challenge changes to tradition. This work has been fueled by a professional mindset that situates librarianship as a vocation and its maintenance requires increasing levels of passion and commitment from everyday librarians. It is, therefore, not surprising that a 2018 survey found that academic librarians in the United States have a work-related Copenhagen Burnout Inventory score of 49.6. In fact, the burnout score of academic librarians in the United States is higher than the burnout score reported by similar helping professions whose members have participated in the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. Having established a baseline assessment of academic librarian burnout, the authors of that study have returned to examine the nature of academic librarian burnout.
Proposal Timeline
- Proposals are due October 15, 2020 by 5:00 pm (Pacific Time)
- Authors will be notified of acceptance January 2021
- Final chapters will be due September 2021
- Publication is anticipated to take place in either 2022 or 2023
Suggested Topic Areas:
Section 1: Burnout typified in librarians
- What causes burnout in the academic librarian?
- Depression vs. burnout
- Generational differences in burnout
- Ethnic differences in burnout
- Burnout-Driven career changes
Section 2: Conditions that cause burnout
- History of librarianship and a shift towards “vocational awe”
- Dysfunctional organizational cultures
- Role of leadership styles
- Institutional inequalities driving burnout
- Precarious position of librarians in academia
Section 3: Individual Responses to Burnout
- Burnout prevention and self-care action plans
- Retirement with a plan
- Working with you is killing me
Section 4: Organizational Responses to Burnout
- What can a manager do?
- Positive leadership in action
- Ethical continuing education for library administrators
- Survey of ethics in MLIS programs
Proposal Guidelines
Proposals should follow the Chicago Manual of Style 12th edition and use 12 pt., Times New Roman font, 1-inch margins, and be double spaced, please download this proposal template, complete it, and attach it in your submission.
Proposals should include the following elements:
- Author name(s)
- Institutional affiliation(s)
- Job title(s)
- Short 2 sentence biography addressing how the author(s) are involved with academic libraries.
- Manuscript’s Working Title
- Topic/area your proposal falls under
- 500-word Abstract
- Submission description, i.e. Case Study, survey, etc.
- Brief (100-200-word) statement of impact on the profession
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Our Research
Please find the post-print of our article here or visit the Journal of Library Administration to download our published version.
Our Dataset
Please find the dataset used in our 2018 study on academic librarian burnout here. This dataset is available under CC BY-NC.