Managing Workplace Stress and Burnout

Who should take this course

This course is relevant for any library worker experiencing burnout.

This will be a 2-week online course and will include:

• Facilitated discussions: Audience participation in Q&A and discussion with guest speakers.
  
  
• Live sessions: Guest speaker presentations by leaders in their field. (All sessions are recorded for on demand access for six months after the course ends.)
  
  
• Asynchronous workshop: Project-based weekly assignments to connect what you’re learning to your professional life. Includes written feedback from an expert in the field who functions as the workshop facilitator, as well as peer conversation via discussion forums. Workshop available for all multi-week courses plus half-day courses where indicated.
  
  
• Early access on-demand resources: Access to a series of past live session archives from Library Journal and School Library Journal courses to explore at your own pace.
  
  
• Online Classroom: The virtual learning platform that holds all course content and is accessible for six months after the course ends.

*Note: You do not have to complete the asynchronous work during these two weeks; it will be open to you for six months. However, the feedback from facilitators will only be available from September 25-October 9. 

Expected time commitment

If you watch the recordings of all sessions and participate in the asynchronous workshop, you'll spend approximately 2-4 hours per week on this course. You'll earn 10 hours of PD credit and a Library Journal certificate of completion.

On-demand access

All live guest speaker sessions are recorded and available on-demand for six months following the initial broadcast as a part of your purchase.

Certificate of completion

Complete the course and earn 10 professional development credit hours. We provide a certificate that is emailed to you.

Accessibility

All guest speaker sessions feature auto captioning and are made available on demand after the initial broadcast. Please email course-support@libraryjournal.com upon registration if you require any special accommodations and we will make our best efforts to facilitate them.

Support

For support with online courses, please contact course-support@libraryjournal.com.

Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, MSLS, Researcher, Leader, Consultant and Coach

Kaetrena's mission is to inspire authentic collegiality, and to promote well-being, share the gifts of creativity, and cultivate empathetic, engaged leadership in the workplace.

She is a graduate of the historic Clark Atlanta University School of Library and Information Studies. Her research interests include professionalism, ethics, racial and ethnic diversity in the LIS field, and the role of communities of practice in practical academic librarianship. She is co-editor of The Small and Rural Academic Library: Leveraging Resources and Overcoming Limitations (Chicago: ACRL 2016) and author of Kaleidoscopic Concern: An Annotated, Chronological Bibliography of Diversity, Recruitment, Retention, and Other Concerns Regarding African American and Ethnic Library Professionals and Global Evolution: An Annotated, Chronological Bibliography of International Students in U.S. Academic Libraries (ACRL 2009, 2007).

She is the 2024-2025 Follett Chair with the Dominican University School of Information Studies.

In 2019 she was named the Association of College & Research Libraries’ (ACRL) Academic/Research Librarian of the Year. Learn more about the award.

Kaetrena's most recent formally published work is “The Cornered Office: A Qualitative Study of Low-Morale Experiences in Formal Library Leaders.” Journal of Library Administration.

Week 1: Understanding and Contextualizing Burnout
Thursday, September 25, 2025

Course & Workshop Introduction | 2:00-2:15 pm ET
An introduction to the weekly assignments, an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course, and a chance to complete the course pre-assessment.

Session 1 | 2:20-3:20 pm ET
Exploring Burnout in Libraries: Queries and Conversations
What is burnout exactly? How does it impact library work and operations? In our first session, we’ll consider focused reflections about experiences of burnout in library workplaces. We’ll start the discussion of how to support yourself and your team as you experience and move through burnout.

Break | 3:20-3:30 pm ET

Session 2 | 3:30-4:25 pm ET
Deeper Dives: Historic and Contemporary Concerns
What are some factors that contribute to burnout for library workers? In this session, we’ll explore legacy and modern industrial and organizational influences that introduce or expand burnout. Leave with a fuller understanding of what causes burnout and how you might establish proactive practices to reduce or prevent some aspects of burnout.

Reflection & Closing Remarks | 4:25-4:30 pm ET

Week 2: Strategies for Mitigating Burnout
Thursday, October 2, 2025

Weekly Workshop Introduction | 2:00-2:15 pm ET| 2:00-2:15 pm ET
An introduction to the weekly assignments and a chance to ask questions about the online workshop.

Session 3 | 2:15-3:15 pm ET
Mitigating Burnout: Considering Countermeasures
What can we do to intervene and/or reduce the impacts of burnout for library workers? This session will explore some established and emerging countermeasures, including an emerging framework in library and information sciences practice. Leave with practical ideas to help yourself and your teams build healthy resilience and self-advocacy.

Break | 3:15-3:25 pm ET

Session 4 | 3:25-4:25 pm ET
Mitigating Burnout: Creating Community
In the past two weeks, we’ll have shared our experiences as library workers across the country. In this final session, we’ll continue exploring a framework to work against burnout that honors your humanity and centers community. You’ll learn tangible ways to build networks of support to help manage and prevent burnout. Leave with clear goals and ideas to enact and model well-being in your workplaces.

Reflection & Closing Remarks | 4:25-4:30 pm ET

Discounted rates are available for a limited time only. Secure your tickets now to lock in the best price.

Group Rates

We offer discounts for groups of 3 or more.

For larger groups of 15 or more, we offer the option to apply group rates across multiple courses to receive significant discounts. For more information, select “Bulk Course Credits Packages” in the form below.

Request Discounted Group Pricing

For support with group purchases, please contact groupsales@libraryjournal.com.