Drawing on research and frameworks from scholars across disciplines, including Tricia Hersey and Meredith Farkas, this workshop addresses how slow librarianship principles can be applied to library management. The workshop will explore practical strategies for effective management, leading with care, and integrating slow librarianship principles into the day-to-day work of library management. The workshop will lead with examples from a department head navigating managing multiple aspects of a large library service under established organizational goals, incorporating self-reflection exercises to gain clarity on feelings of complicity, and performativity, and challenging traditional expectations of a library manager and department head.
Participants will come away from the workshop with:
- Practical strategies for fostering meaningful connections with their team and prioritizing autonomy and empowerment in the workplace
- Examples of exercises that support wellbeing and reflection while navigating managing a library service during personal hardships
- Practices that support participatory decision-making
About our presenter: Alyssa Brissett is the Head of Reference at Bobst Library, New York University. In this role, she oversees the Reference Services Department at Bobst Library and manages the virtual and in-person reference services at Bobst, including the 24/7 Ask a Librarian chat that services the entire NYU community. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science from Wayne State University, a Master of Arts in Childhood Education from New York University and a BA in Anthropology and English from Cornell University. Her research interests include critical library practice, organizational change and culture, and social justice in libraries. Alyssa most recently co-edited the volume Practicing Social Justice in Libraries, as part of the Routledge Guides to Practice in Libraries, Archives and Information Science series.