Recipes for Mindfulness in Your Library: Supporting Resilience and Community Engagement

by Madeleine Charney (Editor), Jenny Colvin (Editor), Richard Moniz (Editor)

Mindfulness not only offers the possibility of a healthy life/career balance for librarians themselves, but in challenging times of rapid social change and uncertainty, it also represents a powerful way to build community resilience. In fact, mindfulness experiences can be structured to nurture the kind of civic engagement and discourse essential for library support. This collection explores a wide range of approaches that demonstrate how librarians have integrated mindfulness into their teaching, collections, services, programming, spaces, partnerships, and professional development. An inspirational idea generator for library administrators, marketers, and outreach staff, in this book the contributors delve into such mindful activities as

using a work journal to practice reflective writing;
mindful strategies for leading library teams;
yoga and meditation groups at public libraries;
helping students destress with a library Zen Zone;
deploying digital resources to promote mindfulness;
mindful scholarship at Minneapolis College; and
overcoming research anxiety using a mindful approach.


As more librarians commit to individual and sustained reflection and practices in their own lives, those approaches can expand to include the communities they serve. This collection offers more than a dozen in-depth examples of mindfulness in action.

Genres: Professional Development, Library Science, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

Published January 23, 2019

Reviews

[Bobbi Galvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were constant reminders for collaboration and a reminder to continue to look at your library with fresh eyes. It also suggested that libraries try new programs for six months when starting new ones.

[Jeana Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much of a mindfulness practice person but it can’t hurt to try something new! While most of the ideas shared are from college/academic libraries, they probably could be adapted to public libraries or it might even be a great opportunity to partner with local academic libraries if you have one.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is really most helpful for academic libraries, which was disappointing to me. I didn't really learn anything new.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for program sharing; set mostly in academic libraries

[Ruby · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The anger that metamorphoses into resentment isolates us.” Book by Ernest Kurtz & Katherine Ketchum

[Bridie]

Lowkey not convinced

[Ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

Taken out of order and read the chapters that interested me first. Then went back and read all the other chapters. Has lots of good information for mainstream libraries. Not so much for my little ole branch.