RSS feedsThe popular perception of libraries as tranquil retreats from the hurly-burly of everyday life is, as readers will know, misplaced. Librarians can find themselves on the receiving end of verbal, and occasionally physical, abuse from library users, and bullying and harassment are as likely to happen in a library as in any other workplace.
Sheila Pantry has drawn up a useful guide to dealing with the stresses of working in a library. In a clearly laid out book, she outlines the causes of stress, the practical steps librarians can take to deal with it, and the legal responsibilities that managers have for the wellbeing of their staff. As she points out, the “easy access, long opening hours and friendly, helpful staff” make libraries welcoming places to visit, but heighten the vulnerability of those who work in them.
The book contains useful advice on dealing with problems before they escalate out of control. Pantry explains how to carry out risk assessments, how to create a good working environment, and how to follow a grievance procedure.
Occasionally, the advice steers perilously close to the blindingly obvious (“Should you find yourself in danger, your primary aim is to get away fast, avoiding violence”), but on the whole Pantry does a good job of describing the best approaches to dealing with bullying, aggression and harassment.
Pantry concludes the book with some emails sent her by CILIP members, recounting their experiences of stress in the workplace. Some of these accounts, mostly of bullying that had been inadequately dealt with by management, are hair-raising examples of what can happen if a potential problem isn’t nipped in the bud. Had they been included in the main body of the text, case studies such as these would have made the book a livelier and more engaging read.
That caveat aside, Managing Stress and Conflict in Libraries will prove a helpful resource both for those who work in libraries and their managers.
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