Article
Contemplating Library Instruction: Integrating Contemplative Practices in a Mid-sized Academic Library
The Journal of Academic Librarianship
(2021)
Abstract
In recent years there has been growing interest in the integration of contemplative practices into higher education, but little has been published regarding contemplative practices or contemplative pedagogies in academic libraries. Nor have explicit links been made to critical librarianship (critlib), particularly regarding the stress associated with the profession and the “resilience narrative” of “doing more with less”. In this paper, we review the literature and describe our experiences introducing a variety of contemplative elements into our library instruction program, most recently in the virtual environment. Building on the three levels of “intervention” modeled by Barbezat and Bush (2014) to include librarians, and incorporating critlib theory, we describe the contemplative practices we have used with a view to alleviating librarian, student, and faculty stress and burnout, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anecdotal reports suggest a broad interest in such practices and their potential effectiveness in reducing distraction and stress. However, future study is needed to systematically evaluate the outcomes of CP during library instruction.
Keywords
- Contemplative pedagogy,
- Critical librarianship,
- Vocational awe,
- Resilience,
- COVID-19
Disciplines
Publication Date
May, 2021
DOI
10.1016/j.acalib.2021.102329
Citation Information
Brooke Duffy, Lisa M Rose-Wiles and Martha M. Loesch. "Contemplating Library Instruction: Integrating Contemplative Practices in a Mid-sized Academic Library" The Journal of Academic Librarianship Vol. 47 Iss. 3 (2021) ISSN: 0099-1333 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/lisa_rose_wiles/57/