Spencer Acadia > Quotes

“Middle managers sit at a curious intersection of power; they are a significant factor in employee morale (Glusker et al., 2022; Kennedy & Garewal, 2020), yet relatively powerless to effect meaningful organ- izational change beyond their unit. Middle managers are subject to undermining from every level in academic libraries, whether from peer managers establishing their turf, from unhappy or ambitious direct reports, or from senior leaders that use shakeups or austerity measures as a way to establish power and demonstrate innov- ation and impact to campus leaders.
Chapter 7”
― Spencer Acadia, Libraries as Dysfunctional Organizations and Workplaces

“Academic libraries, like the institutions they occupy, are often deeply hierarchical organizations masquerading as egalitarian ones (Freedman & Vreven, 2016).
Chapter 7”
― Spencer Acadia, Libraries as Dysfunctional Organizations and Workplaces

“Those who have never worked in libraries view library work with the empty awe of admiration (Seale & Mirza, 2019), as a place where librarians fulfill a noble calling (Ettarh, 2018). Library employees, however, at times, experience their workplaces as marginalizing, demanding, disempowering, discouraging, frustrating, and draining, yet still are drawn into a chance to make a difference and follow their passions. Within this context, librarians may commit sabotage for several reasons.
Chapter 7”
― Spencer Acadia, Libraries as Dysfunctional Organizations and Workplaces

“Does the problem of incivility in academic libraries lie with individuals? Do libraries really hire that many “bad apples?” Not likely.Thus, a sensible approach to understanding workplace incivility is to consider group behavior within organizations rather than individual behaviors.
Chapter 13”
― Spencer Acadia, Libraries as Dysfunctional Organizations and Workplaces