Guest Webinar Series: Spring Renewal and Wellness

This spring we have a series of webinars presented by librarians from around the region on the topic of “Spring Renewal and Wellness.” Register for each webinar below: Insights and Practical Tips on Practicing Mindful Librarianship to Manage Stress Friday, February 20, 2015 11:00 AM–12:00 PM (Central Time) Mindfulness practice has tremendous potential to help librarians manage work-related stress and improve the quality of our library services. Librarians are trained to effectively manage a fast changing information and technology environment, and to enable others to succeed and thrive in a 21st century knowledge society. However, such rapid technological change, combined with economic uncertainty, changing user habits and ever-evolving models of library service, can exact a human toll. Ever-increasing demands, having to "do more with less" and constant multitasking can make us feel time-starved, spending our energy worrying about the past and projecting into the future. Chronic stress and burnout can result. Mindfulness practice has much to offer to allay this state of "mindlessness" and bring us back to a balanced, healthy state. It trains us to: 1) be present, nonjudgmentally, in the moment; 2) focus on simplicity in all things; 3) adopt and maintain a "beginner's mind" and 4) practice loving kindness and compassion on a daily basis. Such mindfulness techniques as breathing, meditation, and the practice of yoga and Tai Chi are powerful ways that we as librarians can begin to incorporate mindfulness in our daily lives, enabling us to provide library services with a spirit of engagement, joy, and fulfillment. Presenters: Kristen Mastel Outreach and Instruction Librarian University of Minnesota Libraries – Twin Cities Jenny Innes Research and Instruction Librarian George Washington University Libraries Health & Wellness Thursday, March 12, 2015 1:00 PM–2:00 PM (Central Time) Health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness topics are about as ubiquitous as conversations about the weather. Because it's a topic that seems to always be on our mind, let's take a look at sources of trustworthy information written for a variety of ages available in the Electronic Library for Minnesota (ELM) and tips for finding that information quickly. Presenter: Jennifer Hootman Reference Outreach & Instruction Librarian Minitex Identifying and Responding to Microaggressions Wednesday, April 1, 2015 1:00 PM–2:00 PM (Central Time) This webinar is an introduction and conversation about microaggressions; brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative (racial, GLBTA, gender) slights and insults toward people. During this webinar you will be introduced to the concept of microaggressions and presented with tools for recognizing and confronting microaggressions. Presenter: Jody Gray Diversity Outreach Librarian University of Minnesota Libraries – Twin Cities