Learn holistic strategies for reducing stress and trauma in your team. 

Course Description 

How can supervisors best support their teams when stress and burnout are at an all-time high? This interactive, half-day workshop will support library supervisors in learning how workplace stress impacts them, their staff, and their library. You will learn how to plan and implement strategies to increase support for staff, reduce avoidable stressors, and respond effectively to unavoidable stress. You will leave understanding how to assess your library’s unique needs, and you will get support creating a plan to take actionable next steps to address stress and trauma in your library. 

This course includes one half-day (4 hours) of live, online presentations from an expert speaker, as well as three weeks of a guided asynchronous workshop with facilitated peer cohorts and assignments. In this workshop, you’ll have the opportunity to practice what you’ve learned through prompted activities, share and crowdsource issues with peers, and get feedback from peers and your facilitator. 

The live sessions run on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 from 12:00 to 4:00 pm (recorded for on demand viewing) with an asynchronous workshop over 3 weeks. Don’t miss this opportunity!

Learning Outcomes

After you attend this course, you’ll be able to:

• Synthesize research about changing library user needs and how these needs impact staff at all levels

• Understand how organizational factors impact workplace stress and experiences of trauma

• Assess your library’s unique needs and plan effective next steps to address them

• Identify potential collaborators in your local area to assist with staff and patron needs

• Identify strategies for assisting staff with personal self-care and building resilience to stress

• Identify ways to implement “community care” strategies throughout the library to improve well-being for all

• Articulate effective advocacy strategies to increase buy-in and support from the “powers that be” in your libraries and communities

Who should take this course?

This course is for library directors, managers, or anyone in a supervisory role.

Course Features 

This is an online course with a half-day of live, online speaker presentations and an asynchronous 3-week workshop and will include:

• Live sessions: Guest speaker presentations by leaders in their field. (All sessions are recorded for on demand access for six months after the course ends.) 

• Facilitated discussions: Audience participation in Q&A and discussion with guest speakers.

• Interactive working sessions: Optional breakout groups during live sessions to practice skills with peers.

• Asynchronous workshop: Project-based weekly assignments to connect what you’re learning to your professional life. Includes written feedback from an expert in the field who functions as the workshop facilitator, as well as peer conversation via discussion forums.

• Early access on-demand resources: Access to a series of past live session archives from Library Journal and School Library Journal courses to explore at your own pace. 

• Online Classroom: The virtual learning platform that holds all course content and is accessible for six months after the course ends. 

Course Instructor 

Expected time commitment

If you attend or watch the recordings of all live sessions and participate fully in the asynchronous workshop, you'll spend approximately 4 hours per week on this course. You'll earn 12 hours of PD credit and a Library Journal certificate of completion. 

On-demand access

All live guest speaker sessions are recorded and available on-demand for six months following the initial broadcast as a part of your purchase.

Certificate of completion 

Complete the course and earn 12 professional development credit hours. We provide a certificate that is emailed to you. 

Accessibility

All guest speaker sessions feature live captioning and are made available on demand after the initial broadcast. Please email libraryjournal@edmaker.co upon registration if you require any special accommodations and we will make our best efforts to facilitate them.

Support

For support with online courses, please contact libraryjournal@edmaker.co.

Group Rates

We offer discounts for groups of 3 or more. Groups have the option to collaborate in the same workshop group, where discussions and project-based assignments receive feedback from an experienced librarian.

For larger groups of 15 or more, we offer the option to apply group rates across multiple courses to receive significant discounts. For more information, select “Bulk Course Credits Packages” in the form below. 

Request a group discount!

By registering for this event you confirm that you have read and agree to our Code of Conduct.

Half-Day Online Course | Tuesday, December 3

Course Instructor 

Session 1 | 12:00-12:45 pm ET
Stress, Trauma, and Burnout: Changing Library Needs
This introductory session will cover the latest research on library staff stress, trauma, and burnout. You will learn how changing customer needs, organizational factors, and the current political climate are impacting stress and strain for both staff and administrators. You will leave understanding what contributes to stress, trauma, and burnout and reflecting on the biggest factors impacting your own teams.

Session 2 | 12:45-1:30 pm ET
Creating a Person-Centered Culture
This session will cover theories and applications of “person-centered care.” You will learn how these concepts apply to library settings for both patrons and staff. You will understand practical ways to develop and sustain a healthy workplace culture, focusing on four distinct workplace “cultures” including a culture of care, clarity, accountability, and reflection. 

Session 3 1:30-2:00 PM ET 
Assessing Your Library’s Unique Needs
This session will discuss the importance of assessing each library’s unique needs. You will learn how to conduct an organizational self-assessment to determine your needs. This will equip you to begin this self-assessment in the asynchronous workshop.  

Break | 2:00-2:15 pm ET

Session 4 | 2:15-3:05 pm ET
Reducing and Responding to Staff Stress and Trauma
This session will differentiate between types of staff stress and trauma that are avoidable versus unavoidable. You will learn practical, proactive strategies for reducing and preventing avoidable stress and trauma as well as how to improve library responses after an unavoidable high-stress or crisis situation to reduce the effects of the crisis for staff. You will learn about reflective practice techniques, crisis response plans, and compassionate supervisory responses. You will also leave with an understanding of red flags that indicate a need to refer to or consult with a trained mental health professional. You will leave this session prepared for the asynchronous workshop focused on implementing reflective practice strategies with your own team.

Session 5 | 3:05-3:45 pm ET
Increasing Collaborations and Buy-In to Support Staff and Patrons
This session will focus on strategies for building support and buy-in for the strategies you need to implement in your library. The role of collaborations and partnerships for reducing staff stress will be discussed, including how to identify specific partners in your local area. You will learn effective advocacy strategies to gain support from potential partners as well as the powers-that-be such as boards, administrators, or other stakeholders. You will leave knowing how to begin a community asset map, which you will continue in the asynchronous workshop. 

Workshop Q&A | 3:45-4:00 pm ET
An introduction to this course assignments and an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course.
 

Online Course Preview

A preview of how we build your library skills and bring inspiration to your projects with our online learning experience.

Course Format

One-Week Timeline (Course Runs 3+ Weeks)

DAYS 1-2 On-Demand	DAY 3 4 hours	DAYS 4-7 1-2 hours (optional)
PRE-LIVE SESSION - Resources - Discussions - Bonus Content	LIVE SESSIONS - Guest speakers via webcast -  Facilitated discussions - Recordings available for 6 months	ASYNCHRONOUS WORKSHOP - Project-based weekly assignments - Written feedback from a facilitator - Peer conversation via discussion forums

Course Features

Live session with Andrea Blackman and Tasneem Ansariyah Grace	Live Guest Speakers Sessions Guest speaker presentations by leaders in their field.  Audience participation in Q&A and discussion with guest speakers. Optional interactive working sessions with breakout groups during live sessions to practice skills with peers.

Recordings of guest speakers

Recordings Available On Demand Sessions are recorded for on demand access for six months after the course ends.

Asynchronous workshop

Online Classroom + Asynchronous Workshop The virtual learning platform that holds all course content and is accessible for six months after the course ends.  Live session recordings. Project-based weekly assignments.  Written feedback from an expert in the field who functions as the workshop facilitator. Peer conversation via discussion forums.

Early Access On-Demand Resources

Early Access On-Demand Resources Bonus: Register early and get access to a series of past live session archives from Library Journal and School Library Journal courses to explore at your own pace.  Some courses include supporting resources in the online classroom.