Reflecting on Burnout

Small black and white dog sitting in a lap in a hammock chair looking at the camers

Sometime during the last month, while working on the section on the much-over-due book, a light clicked for me - I am experiencing burnout. There are many factors that contribute to burnout that result from poor policies, management, and working conditions. I can honestly say that most of what led me to burnout were my … Continue reading Reflecting on Burnout →

Edited: On moments of courage and the lack thereof

a Scrabble try with the word "courage" spelled out

Edited April 2, 2021 10:35am CT I have edited this post to apologize for the harm my blog post caused. I owe these panelists an apology for not being more hands-on with them before the symposium. I should have taken the time to reach out to them individually and get to know them. It is … Continue reading Edited: On moments of courage and the lack thereof →

February is the Hardest Month

iPhone screeshot. It reads "Monday February 15. Good morning. Partly cloudy conditions with a wind chill of -26 degrees. -8 degrees."

Recently I had this conversation a couple of different times with friends. Although it is not library-specific, it feels right to share these thoughts on the blog. A couple of years ago, in February, while sitting at the airport with a delayed flight to Baltimore, I decided I was over February. As someone who struggles … Continue reading February is the Hardest Month →

Stepping Back from Social Media To Take Time to Write and Reduce Stress

image of 5 dark flat rocks stacked on top of each other with leaves in the background. "Fostering Wellness in the Library Workplace" "Coming late 2020/early 2021 from ALA editions"

Like all of us, my world was thrown into chaos in March when libraries began measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. March 12th was the last day I was "in the office." I have a chronic cough, which was (understandably), making people nervous, and I could work from home, so I started before the … Continue reading Stepping Back from Social Media To Take Time to Write and Reduce Stress →

Joining the Team at the University of Iowa Libraries and the National Network of the Libraries of Medicine

I am thrilled to announce that I have accepted a position at the University of Iowa. I will be the Community Outreach Librarian from the Great Midwest Region of the National Network of Medical Libraries. I will be developing and promoting outreach and education within communities in the Greater Midwest Region (GMR) of the National Network of … Continue reading Joining the Team at the University of Iowa Libraries and the National Network of the Libraries of Medicine →

Colorado Here I Come!

Last week I passed my thesis defense! (Probably the one and only time I'll use a .gif on this blog, but it had to be done! 😉 ) I have already posted about this on Twitter and Facebook and many people asked me - what next? Now that everything is final I am happy to … Continue reading Colorado Here I Come! →

Please Help These Iowa Students Get 1.5 Million Postcards

As many of you know I returned to my home state of Iowa a couple of years ago. I love my home state, there are a lot of great things happening here, and I try to support as many as I can. I grew about less than half an hour from Danville, so I'm happy … Continue reading Please Help These Iowa Students Get 1.5 Million Postcards →