The University of North Carolina Libraries recently suffered significant cuts to its materials budget. This spring Texas A&M University librarians had to choose between remaining in the library as professional staff or remaining tenured faculty members in an academic department. Both circumstances presented significant challenges to library staff and operations. Particularly difficult was watching these events unfold nationally on social media and in library and higher education publications.
During this lively discussion, we will summarize key events and impacts to each library, as well as consider the underlining questions that have arisen in both of our institutions: How should libraries respond to unexpected, unwelcome change, particularly when it plays out in a public forum? How can such a change cause the library to look at its structure or procedures in a new light and identify the positives to build upon? How do we seize on the moment to create new opportunities? Additionally, we will touch on the specific challenges to successfully recruiting after negative, national publicity in an already challenging hiring environment.
Join us for a lively discussion on refocusing and rebuilding after a crisis.
The University of North Carolina Libraries recently suffered significant cuts to its materials budget. This spring Texas A&M University librarians had to choose between remaining in the library as professional staff or remaining tenured faculty members in an academic department. Both circumstances presented significant challenges to library staff and operations. Particularly difficult was watching these events unfold nationally on social media and in library and higher education publications.
During this lively discussion, we will summarize key events and impacts to each library, as well as consider the underlining questions that have arisen in both of our institutions: How should libraries respond to unexpected, unwelcome change, particularly when it plays out in a public forum? How can such a change cause the library to look at its structure or procedures in a new light and identify the positives to build upon? How do we seize on the moment to create new opportunities? Additionally, we will touch on the specific challenges to successfully recruiting after negative, national publicity in an already challenging hiring environment.
Join us for a lively discussion on refocusing and rebuilding after a crisis.
