Call for Proposals: Chapters for Workplace Culture in Academic Libraries. Due September 1

This is a call for proposals for chapters for an upcoming book titled “Workplace Culture in Academic Libraries: The Early Twenty-First Century.” This book will be edited by Kelly Blessinger and Paul Hrycaj of Louisiana State University and published by Chandos Press.

This book will focus on various aspects of workplace culture in academic libraries from the practitioners’ viewpoint, as opposed to that of the theoretician. Basic questions the book will be concerned with: What conditions contribute to an excellent academic library work environment? What helps to make a particular academic library a great place to work? Articles should focus on actual programs while placing the discussion in a scholarly context. Each article should minimally have an introduction, literature review, and conclusion. More research-based articles should also include a problem statement, methodology, and results. It will be preferable for authors to be current academic librarians, though articles from those who are not current practitioners will be acceptable as long as they are based on previous experience as a practitioner.


The editors have already approved chapter proposals from several  invited authors, but we still have areas where proposals are needed.  These areas are:

1.       Staff morale: Interpersonal relations and attitudes: Staff organizations, social committees and other ways academic libraries can improve morale.

2.       Mentoring/coaching: Creating pathways: Programs in place to match less-experienced librarians with more experienced librarians to provide personal assistance in their professional development.

3.       Communication and information sharing: Wikis, intranets, retreats, and just plain talking:  Different methods used to encourage communication pathways between staff members to increase awareness, retain knowledge, and prevent duplication of effort.

1.       Staff motivation/incentives: Methods managers can use to motivate their staff (including practical examples) and innovative ways to provide incentives to staff in the absence of raises.

2.       Adventures in shared management: Models from other universities: Innovations in less hierarchical and most holistic styles of management, how to empower workers by increasing their involvement in management and thereby their ownership of outcomes.

To submit a proposal, please submit the following by September 1, 2011 to Kelly Blessinger at kblessi@lsu.edu:

1) A one to two paragraph summary of your idea for a chapter

2) A current curriculum vitae

3) Citations to current works or a writing sample


Any additional questions can be directed to either editor:

Kelly Blessinger
kblessi@lsu.edu
225-578-8538

Paul Hrycaj
phryca1@lsu.edu

225-578-2629