Academic Librarians’ Experiences and Perceptions on Mental Illness Stigma and the Workplace

Abstract

Research has been conducted within academia about faculty members and students who have experienced mental illness from a variety of theoretical perspectives, including disability studies. While this research acknowledges that the stigma surrounding mental illness keeps people from sharing their experiences, there has not been research that focused specifically on librarians in higher education. This study sought to determine if mental illness stigma affects academic librarians and their professional environments, including teaching and providing services for students, using a survey modeled on one from the psychological literature. The responses revealed that stigma greatly influences academic librarians, particularly with regard to disclosure. An allowance for disclosure without the fear of stigmatization would not only help librarians but would also help other members of our academic communities. Sharing these survey results can begin to fill a gap that exists in the literature between librarians experiencing mental illness, the stigma that they experience because of it, and changing our academic culture.

Between Graduation and a Brick Wall: Burnout and Mental Illness in New Librarians

“…Library administration should work towards removing that stigma by increasing awareness and advocacy for library staff and members of the public dealing with mental illnesses. Some research has stated that having administrators and managerial staff attend mental health training or workshops has helped reduce institutional stigma and given those in charge better resources and ideas of how to help their staff (Burns & Green, 2019). This can aid in creating a better work environment for librarians with mental illnesses, and can in turn assist patrons in similar situations.…”

Awareness of Mental Health Challenges and its Implications for Job Performance among Library Staff at the Workplace: A Qualitative Study

“…Literature shows that when it comes to mental health in academic institutions, the focus has mostly been on faculty members and students who have experienced mental illness; yet, researches that have focuses specifically on librarians and their professional environments, including teaching and service provision to students are scarce (Burns & Green, 2019).…”

“…Mental health among librarians is a bigger issue that research hasn't covered enough thus far (Niebauer, 2020;Thompson, 2009) and stigma surrounding mental health challenges affects academic librarians specifically regarding disclosure and unawareness of how to deal with their own stress related issues let alone those of the diversified clients that they serve on day-to-day basis (Burns & Green, 2019).…”

Library Teaching Anxiety: Understanding and Supporting a Persistent Issue in Librarianship

“…They determined that "higher neuroticism and lower extraversion were related to teaching anxiety." 11 Teaching anxiety's potential connection to other types of anxiety also connects it to a growing body of literature invested in exploring mental illness within librarianship. This is reflected in recent publications, such as "Academic Librarians' Experiences and Perceptions on Mental Illness Stigma and the Workplace," in which the authors report on the results of a survey addressing the effects of mental health stigma on academic librarians.…”