InfoGuides: Community Engagement for Libraries: Self-Care for Library Staff

Self-Care for Library Staff

ALA Support: Mental Health Resources in Libraries- Materials from ALA Library collection and ALA publications that detail how to promote mental health for patrons and staff in libraries.
Self-Care for Library Workers: A list of freely available resources and archived webinars from Infopeople and other professional development providers supporting self-care work for library workers (Califa.org)
Mental Health Information at Your Library: LibGuide (Massachusetts Library System)
Mental Health Resources for Libraries – A robust list of articles, webinars, publications and resources curated by WebJunction focusing on issues that affect library staff and possible solutions.
Urban Library Trauma Study (Urban Librarians Unite, 2022) -The Urban Library Trauma Study (ULTS) used emancipatory and participatory action research frameworks to explore how public library workers in urban centers experience trauma while providing library services and create a path forward for exploring institutional and individual solutions that will enable library workers and their institutions to continue providing vital library services to communities in need while still caring for the well being of staff.

More resources to come!

WebJunction archived webinars
- Where Compassion Meets Action: California State Library Mental Health Initiative Webinar Series (WebJunction, 2019)
- Prioritizing and Promoting Self-Care to Avoid Burnout (2021, Nicole T. Bryan)
- Taking Care of Self, Staff, and Community ( 2022, Brenda Hough)
- Low Morale in Libraries: Impacts and Countermeasures (2023, Kaetrena Davis Kendrick)
- Revitalizing Morale: Cultivating a Supportive Library Culture (2023, Kaetrena Davis Kendrick)
- Library Safety and Security: A Holistic Approach (2023, Melissa Munn)
- Creating a person-centered library: Supporting patrons while avoiding burnout (2024, Beth Wahler)
- Libraries Foster Social Connection: Responding to the Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation (2024, Brooke Doyle)

More webinars to be added!

Articles:

Vocational Awe and Librarianship: The Lies We Tell Ourselves (Ettarh, In the Library with the Lead Pipe, 2018)
Where Compassion Meets Action: California State Library Mental Health Initiative Webinar Series (WebJunction, 2019)
Academic Librarians’ Experiences and Perceptions on Mental Illness Stigma and the Workplace (C&RL, 2019)
Taking Care of Self, Staff and Community (WebJunction, 2021)
Feeling the Burnout ( Dixon, Library Journal, 2022)
Advocating for Mental Health Together: Why Library Professionals Should Be At The Forefront of Advocacy (Marquez, ACRLog, 2023)
Researching Low Morale in Libraries (WebJunction, 2023)
Causes of Burnout in Librararies (Newman, Blog Post, 2024)
What’s Missing in Conversations about Libraries and Mental Illness (In the Library with the Lead Pipe, 2024)
Working for Well-Being (Udell, American Libaries Magazine, 2024)
The Insidious Effects of Hurrying (Wiens, Harvard Business Review, 2025)
The 7 Types of Rest Librarians Actually Need and How to Get Them (Newman, librarianbyday.net, Blog, 2025)

Books:

Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others by Laura van Dernoot Kipsky with Connie Burk (2007)
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski & Amelia Nagoski (2019)
Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey (2022)
We Will Rest! by Tricia Hersey (2024)