Ep. 111 Don't Get Burned By Summer

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Episode Summary: 
Ever felt completely burned out even though you’re only halfway through summer? We have too! In this episode, learn more about common and not so common signs of burnout and some important strategies beyond self-care that just might help you head it off a little this year. 

00:00 – Introduction
01:16 – What is burnout and why does it happen in library work  
04:04 – Less commonly cited signs of burnout
07:20 – Thinking basic self-care and beyond to collective care
11:40 – More places you can learn about burnout in the library and collective care
13:58 – Book & resource recommendations
15:37 – Closing 

References:
Collaborative Summer Library Program
Colorado Youth Services Library Network mailing list
Hidden Voices: Piano Music by Black Women Composers from University of Colorado Boulder
Job burnout: How to spot it and take action - Mayo Clinic
“Feeling the Burnout” from Library Journal
Mental Health and Wellness series from the Colorado State Library
The Science Behind Our Burnout: Compassion Fatigue in Libraries webinar
State Library Staff Day training menu for Colorado folks to request free staff day training at their libraries
What you are looking for is in the library by Michiko Aoyama (Author); Alison Watts (Translator)
Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kristen Miller
Meet Me at the Library: A Place to Foster Social Connection and Promote Democracy by Shamichael Hallman 

Next Drop-in Chat:
Hey Colorado library folks! Join us on January 28, 2025 at 11:00 am to noon Mountain Time for our next online Summer Drop-in Chat. No need to register. Come when you can, stay for as long as you can. See you soon! 

Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here. 

Transcript

Sunshine and Stories podcast transcript for Episode 111 

[00:00] [music]   

Kate Compton: You're listening to Sunshine and Stories, a Kate-cast from the
Colorado State Library's summer design studio with your hosts,   

Kate Brunner: Kate Brunner   

Kate Compton: And Kate Compton.   

Kate Brunner: Tune in every other week as we explore one summer reading topic. From colorful program ideas to community wide engagement to avoiding burnout, we have got you covered.    

Kate Compton: If you have other questions or want to dive into any topic further, check out Libraries Learn.org for our next live summer drop in chat date happening Tuesdays starting this fall.   

[00:40] Kate Compton: The Hidden Voices Project of the American Music Research Center at the University of Colorado was designed to explore, document and make public piano music by Black women composers. On the project website you can view information about these composers, as well as listen to graduate students playing their pieces. Music is one of my favorite ways of decompressing and having a little self-care time. But today's art fact also aligns with the idea of combating burnout by not hiding our voices or our true selves at work.

[01:16] Kate Brunner: OK, today we are talking about a somewhat heavier topic maybe. We’re talking about job burnout today. And Kate, I know you've had the opportunity to do a lot of research around this and like looking into it and lots of different sources and information around it. But I think a great place for us to start today would be just with what is burnout? When we say job burnout, what are we talking about?

Kate Compton: Yeah. So, the Mayo Clinic is one of the articles that I feel like sums it up the best. And they say that job burnout is a type of stress linked to work. It usually includes being worn out physically or emotionally. And job burnout also involves feeling useless, powerless and empty.

Kate Brunner: Hmmm. I think I can say that I have definitely felt that worn out piece, physically and emotionally professionally, in my work for sure. You know, I think a lot of us could potentially identify with that definition of burnout. So, have you come across anything that speaks to like why this happens in libraries and maybe especially during summer programming? Or you know, have any thoughts to share around that? Or anecdotes to share?

Kate Compton: We'll link to it in the show notes, but there's a great Library Journal article called “Feeling the Burnout”. And I think she talks a lot about the place where librarians are and needing to help others and maybe not having all the resources or time. So, kind of having that feeling of helplessness. But I think also in our job, we're hearing from librarians all the time that things are just really busy and anytime you're getting busy and having a real high stack of to do lists, you kind of feel that loss of control. You have too much to do, not enough time to prioritize and be intentional about your work.

I think especially during summer you can feel like your work life balance is a little off. When a lot of the rest of the world is going out and traveling and having fun and doing stuff, and that's really when we buckle in and start driving up the highway like we're, we're going full force, so. I think there's sometimes a disconnect between what's happening in your community and what your work looks like too.

Kate Brunner: I think I've definitely had the experience during summer of heading to the library in the morning right after breakfast and then really not coming back home until practically, the sun's gone down, dinner time or after. Just because there are so many programs happening and so much work happening within the library to support the community through a summer program. Personally, I've definitely had that kind of summer experience and too many of those days too close together definitely contributes to that feeling of being worn out, for sure, for me.

[04:03] Kate Brunner: Besides like physical exhaustion, potentially [laughs] what other like signs of burnout, you know, should we sort of be on the lookout for? Be mindful of?

Kate Compton: Yeah. The Mayo Clinic has a great list also. So a few of these are just kind of are you questioning the value of your work when you're going in or throughout your day? Are you feeling kind of less impactful? Are you feeling emotionally and physically like you have to drag yourself to work? Having trouble getting started on some of those littler tasks? Maybe things that used to bring you joy like story time now feels like this hard drudgery. Do you feel removed from your work and the people at work? I think we all know libraries are such fun places with a great community of employees and staff. But if things get too busy, you might not feel like you have time to check in and you know, have that morning coffee with your favorite co-worker because you're too busy. Have you lost patience with coworkers, customers, and clients? I think this is a big thing that happens for all of us, right? There's always that point in the day where you’re just like, you've answered too many questions. The printers stopped working too many times. Whatever it is, it can be a lot. And so when you're having that repeated feeling of kind of that loss of patience and it's going beyond just feeling that loss of patience. But acting on it too.

Definitely that lack of energy just. And I think that's a physical feeling, but it's also an emotional feeling of not feeling the joy and excitement around the job. Definitely finding it hard to focus. I think I know for myself if I start sending emails with misspellings or the wrong date or the wrong time, I can remind myself. OK, slow down. Is this the creep of things going a little too far? Definitely, are you feeling satisfied from what you're getting done? Are you feeling let down by your job? Are you doubting your skills and ability?

And I think all of these, this list is things that might come up here and there, but it's kind of this repeated pattern of all of these things. Some other ideas they have to keep an eye out for is using food, drugs or alcohol to kind of numb or make yourself feel better. Or numb some of those harder feelings. Have your sleeping habits change? And also any physical ailments. Like are you starting to get headaches, stomachache, bowel problems, other physical complaints that don't really tie to any other known cause?

Kate Brunner: Yeah, I think that's a lot of things to think about. I appreciate you highlighting the idea that it's not necessarily just one of these things, but it's sort of this pattern across. And you might not check every box on the list. But when you start seeing all of these pieces, being mindful of pulling back a little bit and seeing that from a wider lens. Like this is a pattern here that I'm experiencing that. I, you know, I think everybody has an off day sometimes. But is this persistent and I'm having a hard time shaking this, shaking these feelings or these physical sensations or what not, I think.

[07:21] Kate Brunner: There's a lot of talk out there about self-care and burnout, and I think there's value in that. And I think you know, there are some important strategies there. I think sometimes we miss an opportunity when we only talk about self-care as like, that is the way to combat burnout. And I think maybe there are some other ideas, some broader ideas out there. And so, I know you've done a little bit of looking into this. So, are there any in particular that you'd love to highlight today?

Kate Compton: I think that's a great point, Kate, that self-care can only go so far. And when we're thinking about burnout, a lot of it comes from that feeling of helplessness and control. So, looking at the things you can control like self-care; are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating things that are going to make you feel good?

But there are other things that you're just going to have to start talking to people about. There’s going to maybe need to be changes that you have to have that kind of that administrative level. I think we don't necessarily have all the answers. We don’t have a magic wand we’re going to wave and all of a sudden everything is going to be better. But why I really wanted to have this topic in our kind of summer reading episodes was the most important thing is being able to talk about this. And have that conversation among staff members. So that you can say, hey, I listened to this. I know some ideas about how to identify it. I’m starting to notice it in myself, are you? And having that kind of back and forth and bringing it to the forefront helps almost alleviate some of that feeling of guilt that can come with that feeling of burnout.

So I mentioned before, Jennifer Dixon has an article in Library Journal called “Feeling the Burnout”. And she says “The more librarians talk about what they're experiencing, the easier it will be to spot the signs of burnout and to help each other. There's certainly no easy way out. Burnout among librarians is the result of a host of systematic issues. No one person or institution will transform things overnight. But talking openly about the issue can be a start.”

Kate Brunner: That idea really appeals to me. I think one of the pieces that appeals to me the most in there is also possibly the opportunity to be proactive. Could a conversation about heading off burnout be part of your planning process for your summer program? Could those conversations start before the summer burnout kicks in?

Kate Compton: I love that. And so, Mayo Clinic has some other ideas about looking at your options, talking with your boss about those concerns. Maybe that starts this conversation looking at how you can change schedules, how you can change what tasks are getting done, what goals you have, what has to happen and what can wait. And obviously seeking support, I think feeling like you have a community that combats burnout is a big way that you can control your proactive combating a burnout. And then they give ideas around some sorts of relaxing activities. Getting exercise, getting sleep, practicing mindfulness. Some of these kind of self-care topics that we hear again and again as well that they are mentioning, but also we know can only go so far.

Kate Brunner: Yeah, I think there's also potentially an opportunity there. I kind of wonder about how? How we could engage in those relaxing activities or get some sort of physical movement or mindfulness practice in with our colleagues together as a staff? And could that be a team building kind of activity that is also benefiting our well-being at the same time?

Kate Compton: I think one of the biggest things about self-care is it sometimes can feel like an extra thing on the To Do List and then it just adds to the burnout of like, well, I have to also go do this thing. When we combine it and make it social and sometimes even build it into the schedule, right? If you have a morning huddle every day and you're going to do some deep breathing together as a group or, OK, we're going to hold this one-on-one meeting as a walk around the library. It's almost like it's a required self-care as opposed to like one more thing that I have to do.

Kate Brunner: Yeah, it holds space for it. I really like that idea. 

[11:40] Kate Brunner: We have some other resources that we've been cultivating and collecting. I guess maybe curating would be the best word for it. And Christine Krieger has been facilitating and bringing in speakers about this topic and you can find a lot of those resources on Libraries Learn.org. They address everything from personal perspectives to organizational perspectives as far as burnout for folks working at all levels of the library from like frontline to senior leadership. They take on topics like co-creating a culture of care and sustainable work practices, which might be particularly relevant for summer when we get ambitious, very ambitious, I think, sometimes with our summer programs. There are also some webinars that talk about what makes for a work environment that promotes well-being and even how burnout contributes to compassion, fatigue and ways of addressing them both. I especially want to sort of highlight that compassion fatigue piece. Cydney Clink and Rose Marie Fraser, from Mesa County, did an incredible webinar on that topic and so we’ll include links to all of those webinars in the show notes.

And the other link that we’ll include is the menu of Staff Day trainings that the State Library provides. There are Staff Day trainings on this and many, many other topics that are available on request for any Colorado library system. And again, like I said, we'll include that one in the show notes as well.

So Kate, I really want to thank you for making sure that this topic ended up on our list of episodes for this new podcast project of ours this year. I think this is a really important thing to talk about, especially through the lens of summer. So thank you for that.

Kate Compton: Yeah. I guess the last thing I want to say is that we have these Staff Day trainings that we can come out and do, but I think at the end of the day, you and I are available if you know, especially during summer. If somebody needs a little thought partner or a way to connect and offload some of these feelings, reach out. We’re always happy to help and talk and anyone at the State Library is willing to do that as well.

Kate Brunner: Definitely, yeah. We are your colleagues too. So we are your fellow librarians, and we're happy to support you in many different ways with… with your summer program. That includes supporting you around this particular topic, as well.

[13:58] Kate Brunner: Let's talk bookish, self-care and inspiration y’all, with a handful of library-related stories to relax and recharge with a little.  

What you are looking for is in the library by Michiko Aoyamais a bestselling Japanese novel set in Tokyo. This sweet story is about five community members who discover that their local librarian possesses some very unique readers advisory skills. As the librarian connects with each of these five people and recommends specific books for each of them, the reader, who may also be a library professional like you, is reminded of what happens when the right book gets to the right reader at just the right time. Then for a story set in a completely different location, check out Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kristen Miller. This wry, tongue in cheek story is about Beverly, a small-town school board member facing off with Lula Dean, a neighbor, determined to challenge almost every book in their local public library. With a little help from Beverly's mischievous daughter, the whole town discovers the power of literature and the freedom to read. And if you're more of a nonfiction person, try Meet Me at the Library: A Place to Foster Social Connection and Promote Democracy by Shamichael Hallman, which is all about how public libraries and the people like you who work in them, create spaces for community members to come together.

Whether it's through books or games or naps, don't forget to take care of yourselves and your fellow intrepid summer program facilitators this year. Your communities need you in so many different ways during the summertime and you can't care for them if you're not taking care of yourselves and each other. And remember, Colorado folks, Kate and I are always here to support you and cheer you on.

[15:37]Kate Brunner: That's our Kate cast for today, y’all but we hope you'll join the upcoming community drop in discussion. 

Kate Compton: We're hosting these discussions all year long. All Colorado library professionals involved in summer programming are welcome. No need to register, stay for the full hour or just pop in to say hi to colleagues across the state. Details for the next drop-in session can be found in the show notes for this episode and on Libraries Learn.org the Colorado State Library’s continuing education calendar
and archive.  

Kate Brunner: We'd like to say thank you to all the Colorado library professionals who shared book recommendations, program successes and other artful ideas with us as we were designing this year's podcast. This project is also made possible by a grant from the US Institute for Museum and Library
Services.   

Kate Compton: Thanks for joining us and we'll catch you next time.   

[16:25] [music]