The Essential Work: Centering Our Values, Health, and Humanity – Part I: Presentations

The Delaware Valley Chapter of ACRL invites you to participate in our Spring 2022 Programs, collectively titled The Essential Work: Centering Our Values, Health, and Humanity. This program and our guiding questions were inspired by the ongoing uncertainty around and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past 22 months we have been asked to reinvent our work, (re)define what is “essential,” and negotiate the tension between our values and our responsibilities. This spring we invite you to join us as we explore our guiding questions:

• How has the pandemic changed our understanding of the value of our work and which workers are most “essential” to our organizations? 
• How has the culture of our workplaces and our profession supported or undermined our health and wellbeing?
• How can we negotiate the conflict between our personal values and our practical responsibilities?

Shared learning is a fundamental part of our mission, and we have so much to learn from one another as we reflect on the past two years.  To support that continued learning, this first event in our series will feature “sparkler talk” (15min) presentations from a selection of our community members on topics relevant to our guiding questions. Following the presentations, there will be a short panel discussion and Q&A.

• “Retooling Technical Services: Life After the Great Resignation” 
  Melissa Brooks, Head of Technical Services and Associate Professor at the University of Southern Mississippi 
• “Treating Illness with Trust: How COVID-19  Changed Attitudes Toward Illness at Trexler Library”
  Sarah Pelczynski-Kunda, Public Services Assistant at Muhlenberg College Trexler Library 
•  “Are Librarians Essential Workers?”
  Allyson Wind, Electronic Resources Librarian, East Stroudsburg University

This event is made possible by the generous support of our sponsors: 

College and Research Division of the Pennsylvania Library Association https://crdpala.org/ This project is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor. Show your appreciation by becoming a member of PaLA! And if you are a member – thank you!

Associated College Libraries of Central Pennsylvania https://www.aclcp.org/ 

Delaware Library Association https://dla.lib.de.us/