MLA Zoom LinkThe COVID-19 pandemic increased the level of stress on academic library workers already struggling with budget cuts, increased work requirements and responsibilities, and overall campus stresses. Now federal funding reductions, "death by a thousand cuts,” and continued attacks on higher education challenge us in our communities.
In 2021, we analyzed survey data from 679 U.S. library workers, and in January 2025, we interviewed 29 respondents to learn more about their motivations for choosing to work in an academic library, and their experiences with expectations of emotional regulation. Critically examining workplace norms and expectations of service may be perceived as displaying a “negative attitude"" by others, turning attention on the individual rather than systems and structures. We were interested in how expressing any extreme emotions, but particularly those that are frequently perceived to be negative, impacted people in their work environment.
In this presentation, we will share initial data from the interviews in relation to the themes that developed in our survey, challenging us to consider what keeps us engaged in academic library settings. We examine how these experiences and expectations play out in personal narratives in the current post-pandemic and changing environment in the United States. We invite questions and a discussion of how these themes present themselves in our own libraries.
