Call for Chapter Proposals

Editors Brandon K. West and Elizabeth Galoozis are soliciting chapters for their upcoming ACRL edited volume titled Thriving as a Mid-Career Librarian: Identity, Advocacy, and Pathways. Proposals must be submitted by January 8, 2021; first drafts will be due by May 17, 2021.

Book Description

There’s a lot of advice out there for new librarians, and for librarians at all career stages looking to become leaders or administrators. But what about the rest of us? The mid-career stage often brings more questions than answers: How do we continue to grow professionally if we don’t want to move upward? How do we make decisions about whether to stay at an institution (or in the profession) or go? What strategies do we use to sustain ourselves amidst burnout, constant change, wage compression, or even boredom? How do we navigate cultures of white supremacy and hierarchy? We often have conversations about these topics informally, but there are few meaningful resources for this particular stage of a librarian’s career.

This book will explore the different contexts in which mid-career librarians are working. Not all librarians in the same career stage, or even in the same library, are grappling with the same issues or will make similar decisions. Most often, leadership is touted as the only path for the mid-career librarian, but not everyone is interested in or capable of pursuing these types of positions. For this reason, this book will offer strategies and practical advice for navigating mid-career, based on different roles in libraries, positionalities, and identities, as well as the need to serve as one's own advocate long-term. This book is for librarians interested in thriving in their mid-career, written by those who have been there and who are there now.

Book Sections

We are looking for proposals that address one or more of these following subsections. You may propose ideas not included here.

Section 1: Staying Engaged in Your Career

We are soliciting chapters that focus on specific roles within academic libraries and the unique qualities that keep each type of role engaged in their work.

We are seeking chapters that highlight the voices of a wide range of roles, including, but limited to:

• Reference and Instruction Librarians

• Digital learning/Instructional Design Librarians

• Collection Development/Acquisitions Librarians

• Special Collections Librarians and/or Archivists

• Systems Librarians

• Scholarly Communications Librarians

Section 2: The Role of Identity in Shaping Mid-Career Librarianship

We are soliciting chapters from authors for whom their identity has presented barriers to their careers, and explore how these folks have sustained themselves in light of any adversity they may face.

We are seeking chapters that highlight the voices of a wide range of roles, including, but not limited to:

• Librarians who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender

• BIPOC librarians

• Feminist librarians

• Librarians with disabilities

• Librarians with familial responsibilities (e.g., children, aging parents, etc.)

Section 3: Being Your Own Advocate

In this section of the book, we will solicit chapters that highlight strategies for navigating day-to-day and year-to-year conditions within complex institutional environments. We will focus on individual strategies rather than institutional ones, though they may intersect.

We are seeking chapters that highlight a wide range of topics, including, but limited to:

• Handling management changes in the library

• Deciding when it’s time to leave a position (or the profession)

• Being a mentor for new librarians or other professionals

• Leveraging the union to support your work or job stability

• Planning for promotion

• Strategies for dealing with burnout

Section 4: To Lead or Not to Lead?

We are soliciting chapters that consider multiple factors in deciding whether, and how, to assume leadership responsibilities. They may include: internal and external expectations, work-life balance, and institutional structures.

We are seeking chapters that highlight a wide range of roles, including, but limited to:

• Deciding that leadership is not something you wish to pursue

• Wanting to stay in a middle-management position

• Knowing when you want to move into a leadership or management position

• Leading others in informal capacities

• Deciding leadership is something you want to assume (perhaps at a different institution)

• Leaving leadership for a non-leadership role

Submitting a Proposal

Visit the Proposals section of this website to learn about proposal guidelines.