Mindfulness in Libraries

In the cold, icy, snowy, dark, month of January I took an unusual (I thought for librarians) course called “Mindfulness for Librarians: Handling Stress and Thriving Under Pressure.”  Having read a number of books over the years on mindfulness, and tried to practice (often unsuccessfully) in my personal life, and through inspiration from librarian colleagues I respect applying these concepts in their librarianship and teaching,  I thought I would try it out this course.

Though the course was 100% online (no virtual synchronous meet ups) – which is not always my best style to learn –  over the 4 weeks,  the engagement of students as well as instructors, keep my attention. The class  size was large, making it hard to read everyone’s posts and respond, but I managed to pick up tips and ideas.  Simply realizing everyone else enrolled was also struggling with an information overload, too many meetings/projects and not enough staff, etc scenarios too and looking for ways to be mindful and present in these situations was helpful and bonding.   I enjoyed readings  and discussions about “job demands-resources theory,” librarians and burnout, why relationships are important in libraries, mindful reference interactions, and job crafting – and I  recommend  an article by Schein “learning leader as cultural manager.” I found the mediation exercises (such as the Insight Timer Mediation App,  these from UCLA, this loving kindness meditation, and Jon Kabat-Zinn resources.)  and discussion about our struggles to practice very helpful. I joined a Facebook group  with others from the course, that is sharing and virtually meeting up for synchronous  mindfulness sessions. Others are now taking various online/in person  Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction courses.

I hope to bring some of these ideas and methods into my work place by sharing applicable ideas/reading with others,  encouraging being present for my staff and role modeling that behavior, and bringing mindfulness and mediation moments throughout the work day. Wish me luck!

Other Recommended Readings for the Course:

Charney, Madeleine. Contemplative Studies LibGuide. UMass Amherst Libraries.
http://guides.library.umass.edu/contemplative

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. NY: Harper & Row, 1990.

Eng, Kim. “Kim Eng – Guided Breathing Meditation.” YouTube. YouTube, 4 Oct. 2011.

Frankl, Viktor E. Man’s Search for Meaning. Boston: Beacon, 2006.

Institute for Mindful Leadership. Institute for Mindful Leadership.
http://instituteformindfulleadership.org/  –> this looks interesting to attend!

Kabat-Zinn, Jon. Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment–and Your Life. Boulder, CO: Sounds True, 2012.

Mindful Magazine. http://www.mindful.org/magazine/

Moniz, Richard J., Joe Eshleman, Jo Henry, Howard Slutzky, and Lisa Moniz. The Mindful Librarian: Connecting the Practice of Mindfulness to Librarianship. MA: Chandos/Elsevier, 2016.

Neff, Kristin. Self-compassion: Stop Beating Yourself up and Leave Insecurity behind. New York: William Morrow, 2011.

Rinzler, Lodro. The Buddha Walks into a Bar–: A Guide to Life for a New Generation. Boston:
Shambhala, 2012.

Salomon, Gavriel. “To Be or Not to Be (Mindful).” Paper presented at the American Educational

Research Association Meetings, New Orleans, LA, 1994.
Salzberg, Sharon. Real Happiness at Work: Meditations for Accomplishment, Achievement, and Peace. NY: Workman, 2013.

Shen, Lan. “Improving the Effectiveness of Librarian-faculty Collection Development.” Collaborative Librarianship 4(1), 14-22.

Hạnh, Nhất, and Mai Vo-Dinh. The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation. Boston: Beacon, 1987.