Effective Library Leadership for Reducing and Responding to Staff Stress and Trauma

Session archive – Part I

Session slides (PDF)

Session II was not recorded.

This two-part virtual workshop (January 23 & 30) aims to support library managers/administrators with both responding to and reducing staff stress and trauma, and includes content about:

Library leadership strategies for reducing staff stress and trauma, including:

• Organizational approaches for creating a “culture of care” and a psychologically safe environment
• Strategies for assisting staff with managing and responding to patron challenges, including how to create an effective behavioral response guide to reinforce policy, model boundary-setting with patrons, and empower staff to take action when needed
• Supporting “sustainable practice,” which means creating a supportive workplace that emphasizes and embeds self-care and community-care strategies throughout the organization to support staff retention, job satisfaction, and overall well-being

Library leadership strategies for responding to staff stress and trauma, including:

• Implementing “reflective practice” strategies throughout your library
• Creating crisis response plans for psychological emergencies
• Supporting staff after a crisis

Participants will learn about the strategies, practice several techniques together in small groups, and walk away with a preliminary plan for steps they can take to improve responses to staff stress and trauma in their own libraries.

Part I will focus on content about the strategies. Part II is highly is interactive and includes time for participants to work on their own plan with support from the facilitator. Participants should plan connect using a device that has a working microphone and camera if possible.

About the presenter

Dr. Beth Wahler is a researcher, consultant, trainer, and scholar who studies public library staff and patron needs, trauma-informed librarianship, staff experiences of workplace violence and stress, staff readiness for social services in the library, library-based social work practicum placements, and other types of social work-informed public library interventions and collaborations. She works with libraries of all sizes, from small or rural libraries to urban libraries, as well as both individual and large statewide or regional library organizations to understand staff experiences and challenges, patron needs, and strategies for supporting libraries in the valuable services they provide.