Leading from Within: Cultivating Managerial Self-Care for Resilient Organizations

Mid-level library managers are often caught between the upper management’s expectations and the frontline staff’s needs. Balancing budgets, meeting deadlines, and handling personnel issues can lead to high levels of stress, which can take a toll on their mental health. The focus on employee well-being often takes a backseat to operational needs. When managers prioritize operational needs over employee well-being, it can contribute to a toxic workplace culture.

However, prioritizing mental health is crucial not only for the individual manager’s success but also for fostering a healthy workplace culture. In many cases, there’s a lack of support for mid-level managers in terms of mental health resources and training. They may feel isolated in their roles, without peers or supervisors who understand the unique challenges they face.

This discussion panel will explore the unique challenges faced by mid-level library managers in maintaining their own mental health while also supporting the well-being of their team members.

Session archive

Resources

• Stress Tested: Compassion Fatigue is taking a toll among librarians
• Panel on Moral Injury
• Creating Caring Institutions: Politics, Plurality, and Purpose. Ethics and Social Welfare
• Promoting Wellbeing in the Workplace
• Mental Health Colorado
• Mental Health First Aid
• You aren’t lazy. You just need to slow down – article about the book Laziness Does not Exist

View additional archived and upcoming Mental Health & Wellness panels.

About the panelists

Tara Bannon Williamson is a Branch Supervisor at the Park Hill Branch of the Denver Public Library and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver with the MLIS program. Tara’s current pursuits include intentional community building through deliberative dialogue and civic engagement and locating Denver’s best nachos.

After more than a decade in library administration, Jayne Blodgett has returned to the faculty as a Collections/Discovery librarian at the University of Northern Colorado. Her research interests include space utilization, student outreach, and compassion fatigue/burnout in library workers. In her free time, Jayne enjoys reading, hiking, and trying out new recipes.

Rick Medrano (he/him) is the Outreach Manager for the High Plains Library District in Weld County, CO. He has been in libraries since 2010 and has held a variety of roles from page to board member. Through his work, Rick strives to ensure that library services are accessible to all members of the community, despite physical, social, or economic barriers.

Kristi Roque is the Manager of the Rawlings Library and Customer Experience for the Pueblo City County Library District. She has a background in human services and has spent time working in public health and as an Executive Director of a non-profit. Kristi values a restorative approach to library code of conduct behaviors especially as they pertain to youth.

Bridget Farrell is the Coordinator of Library Instruction and Reference Services at the
University of Denver Libraries. Her research focuses on mentorship of librarians and
graduate student as well as the scholarship of teaching and learning in library
instruction.

Alejandro Marquez (he/him), is a Science and Engineering Librarian at University of Denver Libraries. He also served in the Peace Corps in El Salvador where he worked as a Municipal Development volunteer. His research interests include library employee mental health and well-being.