LSU Libraries Associate Librarians Kelly Blessinger and Paul Hrycaj have edited a new book, published by Chandos Press, titled Workplace Culture in Academic Libraries: The Early 21st Century.

Workplace culture refers to conditions that collectively influence the work atmosphere. These can include policies, norms, and unwritten standards for behavior. The book, containing twenty-one chapters from academic librarians and directors throughout North America, focuses on various aspects of workplace culture in academic libraries from the practitioners’ viewpoint, as opposed to that of the theoretician. Articles focus on actual programs while placing the discussion in a scholarly context. The book asks what conditions contribute to an excellent academic library work environment, and what helps to make a particular academic library a great place to work.

Chapters cover various aspects of workplace culture in academic libraries, including: Overview of workplace culture; Assessment; Acclimation for new librarians; Workforce diversity; Physical environment; Staff morale; Interaction between departments; Tenure track/Academic culture; Mentoring/coaching; Generational differences; Motivation/incentives; Complaints/Conflict management; and Organizational transparency.

Kelly Blessinger is the Reference Assistant Coordinator at Louisiana State University (LSU) Libraries and has held this position since 2006, prior to which she was an assistant level librarian at LSU since 1999. She received her Master of Library and Information Sciences from the University of South Carolina.

Paul Hrycaj is an Instruction and Reference Librarian at Louisiana State University Libraries and has been in this position since 2003. Paul received his MLS degree and his PhD in Philosophy from Syracuse University.