[ALCTS-acqnet] Invitation: Study of low morale in public librarians

A recent study reveals that low morale is the result of repeated and
protracted exposure to emotional, verbal/written, and systemic abuse or
neglect in the workplace (Kendrick 2017; access study information at
http://bit.ly/2yk5lc0). Recent commentary and scholarship centering expanding
job duties and library services, mission creep, and funding concerns — along
with a dearth of research focusing on workplace dynamics and behaviors that
cause low morale  in public library environments — highlight the need to
discover other factors that may impact low morale development for this group.

If you are 1) a credentialed librarian who 2) works or has worked in a North
American public library and 3) who has faced low morale as defined above, you
are invited to participate in a study exploring:
1) differences in the emotional paths and impacts of low morale environments
on  credentialed public librarians in North America,
2) the relationship(s) between environmental triggers, emotional paths, and
biological changes stemming from working in low morale environments, and
3) How these relationships, paths, and biological changes are identified,
reduced, or resolved through various cognitive, physical, or other processes
and actions.

This study is being investigated by Kaetrena Davis Kendrick (Associate
Professor, Associate Librarian, University of South Carolina Lancaster).

If you choose to participate, I will conduct a telephone interview with you
that will last 45-60 minutes, and you will also be asked to complete a brief
survey which should only take 5-6 minutes to complete. Survey responses will
be anonymous and kept separately from interview responses. Interviews will be
confidential and participants will not be identified personally.

Participation in this study is completely voluntary. If you are interested in
participating, please contact me directly by phone or email to set up a
telephone appointment. If you know of anyone else who might be eligible and
who is interested in participating, please feel free to forward this
invitation to them.

Principal Investigator contact information:

Kaetrena Davis Kendrick: 803-313-7061; kaetrena_at_mailbox.sc.edu

If you have questions about this study, you may contact the researcher at the
contact points listed above. If you have questions or concerns about your
rights as a participant in this research study, you may contact the University
of South Carolina’s Office of Research Compliance at 803-777-7095.

Thanks for your interest in and support of this study.

Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, M.S.L.S.

Works Cited

Kendrick, K.D. (2017). The low-morale experience of academic librarians: A
phenomenological study. Journal of Library Administration, 57(8): 846-878.