The Mindful Librarian

The Mindful Librarian: Connecting the Practice of Mindfulness to Librarianship explores mindfulness, approaching it in such a way as to relate specifically to the many roles or challenges librarians face. Coinciding with the increased need to juggle a variety of tasks, technologies, ebooks, and databases, the new Association of College & Research Libraries Framework for Information Literacy, and the challenges faced by solo librarians in school libraries which have suffered cutbacks in help in recent years, the time is exactly right for this publication.

The authors hope to be helpful in some small way towards improving the joy and quality of life that librarians and library science students experience in their personal lives and jobs. The loftier goal would be to create a new lens from which to view librarianship, having a transformative impact on readers, and opening a new dialog within the profession.

The topic of mindfulness is not new; it has been connected to various religious traditions in a wide variety of ways for centuries, most notably Buddhism. In the latter part of the 20th century, however, a secular version was popularized largely by the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn and his work on MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) at the University of Massachusetts’s Medical School.

The medical benefits and the overall quality of life improvements from its adoption have exploded in recent years, in particular, the last two decades which have seen mindfulness traditions incorporated into education to a greater degree and with very positive results.

• Presents the only current LIS book that covers this topic in a way that applies directly to librarians
• Provides a topic that will be appealing to librarians, as it speaks to the pressures of budget cuts and consumer culture being felt across the academy
• Seeks to improve the joy and quality of life that librarians and library science students experience in their personal lives and jobs

Academic librarians and graduate students of library and information science. The intended market for this book would be for anyone who works in a public, school, special, or academic library or who is studying library science and who feel they are challenged by the stress, uncertainty, and adversity in their lives in their role as librarians. Some nonlibrary faculty, especially those who integrate mindfulness into their classes or work with librarians on a regular basis may be interested in the book as well.

• Introduction
  • Further Notes on This Textbook
  • References
• Chapter 1. A Brief Introduction to Mindfulness: Origins, Science, the Brain, and Practice
  • Abstract
  • Roots of Mindfulness in Modern Western Society
  • Important Mindfulness Concepts
  • Selected Mindfulness Techniques
  • Ten Quick Tips for Becoming More Mindful
  • Recommended Resources
• Chapter 2. The Mindfulness Movement in Education
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Development in K–12
  • Developments in Higher Education
  • Conclusion
  • Practical Ideas to Get Started
  • Recommended Resources
• Chapter 3. Applying Mindfulness to the Undergraduate Research Process
  • Abstract
  • What Is Mindful Research?
  • The Mindful Approach
  • The Student Perspective
  • The Faculty Perspective
  • The Librarian Perspective
  • Conclusion: Bringing It All Together in a Mindful Way
  • Recommended Resources
• Chapter 4. The Association of College and Research Libraries Framework for Information Literacy: Connecting to Mindfulness
  • Abstract
  • The ACRL Framework
  • The ACRL Framework and Dispositions
  • The ACRL Framework and Threshold Concepts
  • The ACRL Framework and the Frames
  • Bringing It All Together—Mindful Librarians and the ACRL Framework
  • Recommended Resources
• Chapter 5. Mindful Reference Service
  • Abstract
  • History and Introduction: The Development of Guidelines
  • Connecting RUSA’s Guidelines and Mindful Practice
  • Conclusion
  • Recommended Resources
• Chapter 6. Building Mindful Relationships with Faculty
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Social Interaction and State of Mind
  • Mindful Listening
  • Mindfulness and Interpersonal Synchronicity
  • Conclusion
  • Recommended Resources
• Chapter 7. Mindful Library Leadership
  • Abstract
  • Introduction to Mindful Leadership
  • Mindful Leaders
  • Mindful Relationships
  • Mindful Organization
  • Neuroscience
  • Conclusion
  • Recommended Resources
• Chapter 8. The Solo Librarian
  • Abstract
  • Mindfulness and the Solo Librarian: An Antidote to Burnout
  • Conclusion
  • Recommended Resources
• Conclusion
  • Bibliography