Author: Deborah

At a recent meeting of children’s librarians, someone mentioned that we need to address the topic of burnout at a conference.   Everyone in the room agreed.

In fact, librarians seem particularly susceptible to burnout.  In Running on Empty: Dealing with Burnout in the Library Setting, Tim and Zahra M. Baird identify the following work-related stressors that contribute to burnout among librarians: budget cuts, the quick response time to reference questions, censorship issues, heavy workload, the overload of clerical duties, poor management and supervision, technology-related problems, the lack of time for (or no voice in) collection development duties, the lack of closure for ongoing projects, a shift in priorities, low pay, obnoxious public/patrons and few opportunities for advancement. 

Sound familiar?  Lately, I have heard several librarians say “it just isn’t fun anymore.”  Perhaps many of us have just been in the profession too long and long to retire (but can’t) or perhaps the nature of our jobs has changed so much and we have not changed enough.  For those who want to avoid burnout, what can be done?

And so I turn to the wise children’s librarians of NH.  What do you do to avoid burnout?  How would you like to see this topic explored at a conference?  Do you know a speaker who could address this issue?

Last week the CHILIS Conference and Kids, Books and the Arts showcase took place on a day fraught with threatening weather predictions and potentially difficult driving conditions.  Many people asked me why we didn’t re-schedule or why we chose an early March date for the event.

When  presenters apply for the Kids, Books and the Arts showcase, they must commit to being present on a particular date.  If we had tried to re-schedule the conference at the last minute, it would have been very difficult to find a date that worked for all of the presenters, let alone find another venue that suited our needs.  The performing hall at SNHU is only available to us during their spring break, which happens to occur–at least in recent years–during the first week of March.  We could perhaps use a different hall at SNHU later in March, but it seats fewer people and the parking is much more challenging.  We have also looked at other possible venues besides SNHU, but so far we have not found anything that compares in terms of price and performing space.

If we found another appropriate venue for later in the spring  and held the showcase in April, then Kids, Books and the Arts grant applications would be due considerably later and grant notifications would not take place until late April or early May.  As it is, librarians have expressed concern that the current schedule (applications due late March and grant notifications sent in early April) make it hard to secure popular presenters who are often booked much earlier in the year.  And, we have held a spring conference in early April and we had the worst weather we’ve ever experienced–a wet, heavy snowstorm which resulted in no power for the first hour at the conference venue.

One idea I have for eliminating (or reducing) the risk of weather issues is to hold only one CHILIS Conference each year–in October.  The morning would be devoted to one or two programs and the afternoon would be reserved for the showcase.  It is difficult to pull off two conferences each year, and attendance has been dropping at the fall conference.  It may be time to consider this option.  We would have one year where we would have to hold the KBA showcase both in the spring and the fall (and the fundraising for the program would be tricky), but it could be done.

Please offer your suggestions.  The conferences and KBA program are for you and we need to figure out the best solution together! For the first three people who post a reply, I will send you a free children’s book!