Good workplaces require both autonomy—giving employees a sense of ownership over how and where they work—and collaboration in pursuit of common goals. They see employees for who they are and support them, pay them enough money to live comfortably, and provide the resources, training, and support they need to be successful.
 
In two parts, Innovative Library Workplaces provides the tools you need to make your workplace a good one for your employees.

• Human Resources in Libraries
  • Recruiting and Hiring
  • Onboarding and Training
  • Salary Studies and Unions
• Work Culture and Organization
  • Employee Morale
  • Flexible Work Arrangements
  • Strategic Planning and Reorganizing 

Though this book took root during the pandemic, it is not of the pandemic: The changes wrought are permanent. Innovative Library Workplaces proposes a way forward after this monumental disruption, recognizing that neither the pandemic nor the work culture prior to it is a good model for what comes next.

Lisa Kallman Hopkins is an associate librarian at Texas A&M University-Central Texas in Killeen near Fort Cavazos. She is the head of Technical Services and assistant dean of the University Library and Archives. In her role as head of Technical Services, she is directly responsible for systems and e-resources and manages cataloging and acquisitions, interlibrary loan, e-reserves, and textbook reserves. She is the university copyright specialist and copyeditor. She has submitted chapters to Transforming Acquisitions and Collection Services: Perspectives on Collaboration within and across Libraries and Technical Services: Adapting to the Changing Environment; has coauthored a chapter in Universal Design for Learning in Academic Libraries: Theory into Practice; and has coedited this book.
 
Bridgit McCafferty is the dean of the University Library and Archives at Texas A&M University-Central Texas and has led the library for eleven years. Prior to this, she was in charge of reference and instruction services. She has taken on major administrative projects for her university, including recently chairing the SACSCOC Accreditation Reaffirmation Compliance Committee. She is the author of Library Management: A Practical Guide for Librarians and the coauthor of British Postmodernism: Strategies and Sources.
 

Introduction
Part 1. Human Resources in Libraries
Recruiting and Hiring
Chapter 1. HR as Strategic Partner: Practical Approaches for Building HR Capacity in an Academic Library Setting
Cinthya Ippoliti
 
Chapter 2. Subvert the Dominant Paradigm: Reimagining Academic Library Hiring Processes
Xan Arch and Isaac Gilman
Chapter 3. Toward a Growth-Based Paradigm: Centering Candidate Experiences in the Hiring and Onboarding Processes
Annie Bélanger, Sheila Garcia-Mazari, and Bruna Ngassa
 
Chapter 4. Moving toward More Inclusive Hiring
Lea J. Briggs and Rodney Lippard
 
Onboarding and Training
Chapter 5. Paving the Way for Professional Success with an Onboarding Road Map
Joyce Garczynski
 
Chapter 6. Beyond Onboarding: Developing a Library Tenure Success Program
Kim Clarke
 
Chapter 7. Continuous Professional Development for Academic Library Employees
Lisa Kallman Hopkins
 
Chapter 8. Succession Planning from the Middle
Brynne Norton and Jennifer E. M. Cotton
 
Salary Studies and Unions
Chapter 9. Assessing Salary Equitably: A Review and Case Study of UVA Library’s Salary Review and Adjustment Initiative
Mira Waller, Carla Lee, Donna Tolson, and Gail White
 
Chapter 10. A Salary Study Model for Academic Libraries: Leveraging Strategic Salary Studies to Generate Library Employee Goodwill
Bridgit McCafferty and Shawna Kennedy-Witthar
 
Chapter 11. Employee Unions in Academic Libraries: Something Old and Something New
Bridgit McCafferty
 
Part II. Work Culture and Organization
Employee Morale
Chapter 12. Wellness Initiatives in Academic Libraries
Dawn M. Harris, Bridgit McCafferty, Sandra Yvette Desjardins, and Johnnie Porter
 
Chapter 13. Offering More Than Just a Desk and Chair: Combatting Librarian Burnout
Jennifer Batson, Kelly Williams, Margaret Dawson, and Sandra Yvette Desjardins
 
Chapter 14. Damp, Dark, and Dull: Addressing the Impact of Library Workspace Woes on Health, Productivity, and Morale
Melinda H. Berg, Janet Chan, Janet Schalk, and Ann Coppola
 
Flexible Work Arrangements
Chapter 15. The New Normal: An Empirical Examination of Remote Work in Academic Libraries
Lisa Kallman Hopkins, Andria F. Schwegler, Rebecca L. Hopkins, and Bridgit McCafferty
 
Chapter 16. Flexible Work Empowers: An Inclusive Strategy for Recruitment and Retention of Academic Librarians
Dana Reijerkerk and Kristen J. Nyitray
 
Strategic Planning and Reorganizing
Chapter 17. Empowering Employees through Strategic Initiatives
Jessica J. Boyer
 
Chapter 18. Breaking Down Structures to Build Up Staff: Organizational Change in an Academic Library
Isaac Gilman
 
Chapter 19. Envision, Revision, and Balance: A Case Study of a Participation-Based, Employee-Focused Academic Library Unit Restructuring
Vickie Albrecht, Kristy McKeown, Coralee Leroux, and Geoff Sinclair
 
Chapter 20. Rebuilding the Structure at a Medium-Sized Research Library: A Case Study
Kimberly Burke Sweetman
 
Chapter 21. Rightsizing Technical Services: Practical Adaptations for Rapidly Evolving Libraries
Kathaleen McCormick, Kristy White, and Tracie Ballock
 
Chapter 22. Calming the Chaos of Library Technology
Todd R. Digby and Laurie N. Taylor
 
About the Editors and Authors