| Abstract: |
With the dissolution of the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and the attacks on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) by current administrations at the federal, state, and local levels, librarians are seeing unprecedented threats to their institutions and jobs. In this context, library employees are experiencing unprecedented precarity and anxiety, and many feel abandoned, ignored, or gaslit by their leaders. In this column, we reflect on the precarity of the profession at this moment, and offer strategies for managers to enact a trauma-informed approach to management. We argue that, without the understanding, engagement, and endorsement of management, efforts to implement trauma-informed approaches to other areas of library operations will be impeded. Trauma-aware managers are essential to building this approach from the top down as well as supporting grass-roots efforts by your employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |