On May 18th, a group of 30 library workers met at Temple University’s Charles Library to discuss Wellness and Our Work, a conference organized by the Delaware Valley Chapter of ACRL. The presentations demonstrated that library workers in our area are thinking critically about the work they are tasked to do, how they facilitate excellent services in times of increasing scarcity and caring for their patron communities.
Our first set of lightning round presentations focused on the wellness of library workers. Heather Dalal and Melissa Hoffmann, librarians at Rider University, began the day with the presentation “How Vocational Awe Taught Us to Prioritize.” They reflected on their own challenges: heavy workloads, creating a working environment that serves themselves, and prioritizing the needs of their students. The solution they will implement this coming year is to utilize Credo Information Literacy tutorials to replace low-level instruction – a step that they hope will decrease their rote instruction and increase the number of students they can support. This generated conversation amongst attendees as we debated if the use of video tutorials would disadvantage first year students. Heather and Melissa presented a challenging, but relatable scenario – librarians prioritizing instruction over their own self-care.
Russel Michalak, Library Director at Goldey-Beacom College, continued the day by offering strategies from Peter Drucker’s Managing Oneself. Russel has found these strategies incredibly useful as his library staff was reduced from 22 to one. By using technology and temporary workers, along with Drucker’s strategies, Russel has been able to accomplish a significant weeding project while mentoring student workers. He encouraged attendees to prioritize relationships and celebrate successes, while being honest about their limitations.
Tina Hertel, Library Director at Muhlenberg College, concluded our first lightning round sessions with a presentation titled “(Re)Write your Job Description.” She allowed library workers to review their job descriptions and consider: (1) What do you do that is in your job description? (2) What do you do that isn’t in your job description? (3) What do you want to do?. This opportunity allowed library workers to consider how they like to work, their schedule, and their work/life integration – a term that Tina prefers over work/life balance.
Before our second set of lightning rounds, we were treated to tours of the Charles Library. This beautiful and highly functional building provides a number of spaces for students to work independently or in groups (the diner booths are cool!). There is a central, single point of service that has a self-checkout option. Monographs that are purchased in the last five years or are pleasant to browse (art and architecture books, for example) are located on the fourth floor. However, an additional 1.4 million volumes are able to be requested and are then pulled from a massive storage room by an automated retrieval system. The average time from patron request to the book being able to be picked up at the desk is one hour – though staff assured us that books were often available in much less time.
Our final set of lightning rounds focused on how library spaces facilitate wellness. Hannah Tardie, Makerspace Manager at Temple University, presented “Play and Belonging Through Making,” and provided us with a wonderful introduction to the work of D.W. Winnicott, David Graeber, and José Muñoz – whose theories of play, gift-giving, and queerness, respectively, are central to her work in the Charles Library makerspace.
Then, Justin Hill, Emily Schiller, and John Oram, also of Temple University, provided an overview of the services available to individuals in their community beyond the traditional academic students, staff, and faculty. Community members have free access to computers 2 hours/day, 7 days a week, and 50 pages (double-sided) of printing monthly. They have partnered with the Digital Equity Center to give away desktop computers and provided families with computer literacy workshops. They framed this work as providing wellness opportunities for others through digital equity, access to online resources, reentry, work-skill development, and providing a sense of agency; but, they also highlighted that their own wellness has been supported through diversification of duties and a sense of purpose and accomplishment.
Brendan Johnson of Penn State Abington shared a research project he undertook to investigate student use of the library space. Through the use of grounded theory, he demonstrated that students use library spaces to combat stress through emotion-focused and problem-focused coping. Library spaces allow for the accomplishment of academic endeavors towards completion of their tasks, but also socializing and sitting quietly – important for emotional well-being.
Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian at Temple University, provided the final lightning round presentation of the day, “Impact of Green Roof on Student Study Space.” The Charles Library boasts a beautiful green roof that has the brightness of early spring on the day of the conference and changes seasonally – tall cone flowers bloom in the summer. Steven outlined that biophilic design is an integration of nature into architecture/urban environments. Through a student survey, he demonstrated that it impacts students’ choice of study space while also facilitating wellness for birds and pollinators.
Following lunch, James Templeton, Assistant Vice President and Temple University Architect, and John Cearley, Associate at S/L/A/M Collaborative, shared the details of the renovation of the Paley Library. Paley Library sits across from the Charles Library and will soon house the College of Public Health. The architects are attempting to get this new space WELL Certified, which prioritizes air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, cognitive and emotional health, accessibility and social equity, and innovation, to produce a people-first place. They gave attendees a look at the vision for the building and emphasized that there are 100 different strategies possible to pursue WELL certification and that the certification only requires about 40 to be completed. James and John continue to work to make this building the “healthiest place on campus.”
The day was concluded with roundtable discussions in an unconference style. Topics were brainstormed by attendees and conversations were abundant. This DVC program elevated the incredible work done by folks in our area and offered opportunities for networking and connection – a nice break from business as usual at the end of the semester.