Good afternoon,
We hope that everyone is safe and well. We would like to invite you to participate in our research study titled, “Workload in Special Collections public services librarianship: challenges, feelings, and impact.” This study defines public services as reference, instruction, and outreach.
In 2019, the PI and Co-PI conducted a research project entitled on “A content and comparative analysis of job advertisements for Special Collections professionals using ACRL RBMS Guidelines” in order to 1) analyze and compare skilled level public services special collections job advertisements and 2) identify responsibilities that exceeded public services to further the discussion on burnout. The key findings revealed that there was a significant amount of additional work, and the work-work conflict framework is a lens through which we should view this problem (Warren & Scoulas, in press). From the results of the study conducted by Warren and Scoulas, we can conclude that overworked professionals will eventually experience burnout. The current study is designed to follow up on the previous study by conducting a survey of Special Collections librarians who work in academic libraries in the United States.
The goal of this study is 1) to identify duties that exceed position descriptions, 2) to explore how Special Collection librarians, feel about and manage their additional duties and 3) to examine the impact of the additional duties on work/life balance and productivity.
If you are 1) a special collections librarian (rare book librarian, outreach archivist, etc.) in public services in a U.S. academic institution, and 2) a special collections librarian who has had to manage duties outside of your official job description for 3 or more years, you are eligible to participate in this study.
This survey should take you less than 10 minutes to complete. You will be asked questions about your academic background, responsibilities, challenges, and support you receive in performing your daily tasks. Your decision to participate in this study is voluntary and you have the right to terminate your participation at any time. You may skip any questions you do not wish to answer. If you have questions about this project, you may contact the Principal Investigator, Kellee E. Warren, Special Collections Librarian, UIC at kwarre4@uic.edu.
This research has been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board, which is a committee that works to protect your rights and welfare. If you have questions or concerns about your rights as a research subject you may contact (anonymously if you wish) the Institutional Review Board at 1-866-789-6215 or uicirb@uic.edu.
Click here to access the survey:
Thank you for participating in our survey. If you would like to enter our lottery for a $25 gift card, please include your contact information at the conclusion of the survey.
Principal Investigator:
Kellee Warren, MLIS
Assistant Professor and Special Collections Librarian
University of Illinois at Chicago, University Library
Co-Investigator:Jung Mi Scoulas, PhD
Clinical Assistant Professor and Assessment Coordinator
University of Illinois at Chicago, University Library
Research Protocol: # 2020-0365
Publishing in the Archives Profession 