Course Information
| Session |
|---|
| Credits | 1.5 CEUs or 15 PDHs |
|---|
Deconstructing the Low-Morale Experience in Academic Libraries
$250.00
Credits: 1.5 CEUs or 15 PDHs
Kaetrena Davis Kendrick’s 2017 study on low morale in academic librarians revealed the social, environmental, and systemic impact factors of this phenomenon. Implications for ethics, collegiality, professionalism, continuing education, and career mobility were also linked in this groundbreaking qualitative study. Simultaneously, literature on workplace incivility, toxicity, burnout, and bullying reflect a critical need for dialogue about, reflection on, and recovery from low morale outcomes suffered in academic library environments.
Employing the use of reflective writing/aesthetic expression, assigned readings, and community participation, this course will offer opportunities for analysis, critique, and reflection on the low morale experience.
At the end of this course, participants who have experienced low morale in academic libraries (or other library environments) will be able to:
- Make sense of their low morale experience(s);
- Identify, reduce, or interrupt the role of occupational and systemic barriers to resolving low morale; and
- Identify and cultivate leadership behaviors that decrease low morale in academic (or other) library environments.
Trigger warnings: Participants will be asked to revisit instances of low morale they have faced. As a result, negative memories and associated emotions, including anger, grief, and shame, may (re)-surface.
Course Description
Kaetrena Davis Kendrick’s 2017 study on low morale in academic librarians revealed the social, environmental, and systemic impact factors of this phenomenon. Implications for ethics, collegiality, professionalism, continuing education, and career mobility were also linked in this groundbreaking qualitative study. Simultaneously, literature on workplace incivility, toxicity, burnout, and bullying reflect a critical need for dialogue about, reflection on, and recovery from low morale outcomes suffered in academic library environments.
Employing the use of reflective writing/aesthetic expression, assigned readings, and community participation, this course will offer opportunities for analysis, critique, and reflection on the low morale experience.
At the end of this course, participants who have experienced low morale in academic libraries (or other library environments) will be able to:
- Make sense of their low morale experience(s);
- Identify, reduce, or interrupt the role of occupational and systemic barriers to resolving low morale; and
- Identify and cultivate leadership behaviors that decrease low morale in academic (or other) library environments.
Trigger warnings: Participants will be asked to revisit instances of low morale they have faced. As a result, negative memories and associated emotions, including anger, grief, and shame, may (re)-surface.
Kaetrena Davis Kendrick
Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, M.S.L.S. earned her M.S.L.S. from the historic Clark Atlanta University School of Library and Information Studies, and she is Founder of Kendrick Consulting and Communications, LLC (Renewals). Known for her work on ethics, equity, diversity and inclusion, and communities of practice in libraries, Kendrick’s research on low-morale experiences in library workplaces is recognized as groundbreaking and validating for library employees at all levels. In her daily and long-term work, Kendrick has transformed library programs, services, and culture via creativity, leadership, and advocacy. She is committed to centering well-being, creativity, and empathy in the workplace and promoting career clarity and rejuvenation to workers. In 2019, Kendrick was named the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Academic/Research Librarian of the Year, and she is the 2024-2025 Follett Chair with the Dominican University School of Information Studies. Learn more about her work.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.