Perspectives on Job Stress in the Serials Information World

Abstract

Contrary to popular opinion, libraries are not stress-free environments. Working with serials can cause stress in libraries and in the professions that provide and manage subscriptions, content, delivery, archives, and other aspects of these continuing resources. The stresses inherent in the serials information chain are exacerbated in a climate of rapidly expanding content, technology, and enduser expectations compounded by a global economic downturn. Two science librarians, a cataloging coordinator, and a serials agent field representative describe challenges in their professions and offer advice on how to cope with the resulting stress. Serials Review 2009; 35:35-41.

Role-related Stress Experienced by Academic Librarians

“…For example, in an in-depth study of stress experienced by a small group of academic librarians in the United Kingdom, a number of participants described the stressfulness of being unable to determine their specific jobrelated responsibilities, or dealing with what they perceived to be an unmanageable workload (Farler & Broady-Preston, 2006). In a similar article, several serial librarians described stressors that they encountered in their jobs, including uncertainty associated with changes in technology and rising expectations from users (Burke, Mayo, Lener, & Mellinger, 2009). Although this descriptive literature offers rich examples and serves as a useful first step in delineating the stressors experienced by librarians, it offers little in terms of a comprehensive, systematic understanding of the stressors and their relation to important outcomes.…”

Evaluating the well-being of public library workers

“…Research papers by Bunge (1987) and Schneider (1991) represent the only published studies to consider library stress using empirical, research methods. Other accounts comprise the speculative views of the authors (for example Bold, 1982;Burke et al, 2009;Topper, 2007) that lack data to validate the opinions that they share. The study by Bunge (1987) involves some 850 employees working in a range of different US library settings and claims that library work can be highly stressful.…”