Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2022
Publication Title
Academic Librarian Burnout: Causes and Responses
Department
Library and Information Services
Abstract
This chapter explores the high incidence of dysfunctional organizational cultures among academic libraries and how these cultures accelerate burnout among librarians, particularly newer librarians. Our data show that there are a variety of factors that lead to dysfunctional organizational cultures in libraries, including generational conflict, salary inequities, lack of representation of women and people of color in leadership positions, and poor leadership. In combating dysfunction and burnout, we recognize the idea that individuals are responsible for managing their burnout through various means of self-care or saying “no.” However, in this book chapter, we assert that it is both the organization’s responsibility to nurture an environment that allows librarians to create productive working ecosystems and the individual’s responsibility to proactively address workplace dysfunction by leaving or making needed changes within the organization.
Recommended Citation
Del Rio, Lora, Juliet Kerico Gray, and Lis Pankl. “The effect of dysfunctional organizational culture on burnout in academic libraries.” In Academic Librarian Burnout: Causes and Responses, edited by Holm, Christina, Ana Guimaraes, and Nashieli Marcano, 125-142. Chicago: Association of College & Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, 2022.