Emotional Dimensions of Academic Librarianship

Abstract

This chapter is the heart of this whole discussion: the emotional dimensions of academic librarianship. The chapter examines the nature of academic librarianship and what makes it an emotionally-laborious profession, exploring such topics as faculty status and tenure; change, technology, and innovation; intrapersonal challenges; subject specialty; campus leadership; and economic factors. The chapter explores what the academic librarianship literature is reporting regarding emotion within the profession, reporting on physical health problems, mental health problems, and the professional impact. It also discusses issues of gender and race/ethnicity and reaches beyond the borders of the U.S. to examine how librarians all over the globe are affected.